One model per (non-working) day

[Don Boose]

Garry - Yes. But some Japanese records survived, and researchers like Sam Tagaya have put in countless hours analyzing Japanese and Allied photography to try to put together a record of Rikko units and deployments (others have been doing the same thing for other aircraft and units as well as trying to recreate the lost deck logs of Japanese warships by piecing together the surviving documentary and photographic evidence). My own efforts to identify the aircraft that serve as the basis for Bruno's models are hampered by the limitations of my own library and available Internet resources.

Bruno - Pacific Wrecks is a very professional organization that does detailed research. In the case of the rear fuselage marked "62-22" in the Harada collection, I note that Pacific Wrecks say that is from "an unknown Kokutai." It seems clear that the fuselage section and tail have been repainted.

Tagaya says that before December 1941, all G4Ms left the factory with green-brown two-toned camouflage upper surfaces and natural metal undersurfaces. "By late 1941 new aircraft were leaving the assembly line in overall upper surface green camouflage" (p. 196). That finish continued to the end of the war, but by 1944 a number of G4Ms appeared in overall dark green (like 62-22 and K 762-33 at the SAS site), especially aircraft assigned to the kōgeki (attack) hikōtai such as K708, to which 66-22 may have been assigned. Rikko K 762-33 was definitely assigned to 708 Kōgeki Hikōtai of 762 Ku (the "K" over the tail number was often applied to aircraft assigned to the kōgeki hikōtai).

So it seems likely to me that 66-22 would have appeared in overall dark green as in the SAS illustration, which, by the way, provides the same information as in my original identification for 62-22: "762 Naval Air Group 1944 (Showa 19) Ibariki PrefectureKōnoike Airfield."

Don

[scissorsandplanes]

Many thanks for the info.
At least I don't have to reprint the model with a grey underside. (given the price of printer ink )

[scissorsandplanes]

first result of a quick and dirty test build (laser printed with glue that attacks the printer toner when you work as messy as I do)
B

[Don Boose]

Looks fine for a test build (most of my builds look that way at their best).

I defer to your judgment, but do you think the color should be greener - closer to that of the other IJN aircraft so carefully parked on the periphery of your kōkūki kōjō ?

There is a striking similarity between your workbench and photographs of Clark Field in January-February 1945 and Yokosuka in August 1945.

Don

[HobbyBob]

I need to ask a totally newb question... ecardmodels carries a tiny portion of scissorsandplanes models, but his list of models is huge; there are several dozen (probably hundreds) that I'd love to buy, but I can't find them. Can anyone help me?

Sorry if this is a dopey question, but I'm getting frustrated...

[rickstef]

Originally Posted by HobbyBob

I need to ask a totally newb question... ecardmodels carries a tiny portion of scissorsandplanes models, but his list of models is huge; there are several dozen (probably hundreds) that I'd love to buy, but I can't find them. Can anyone help me?

Sorry if this is a dopey question, but I'm getting frustrated...

Frustration will be solved

Just send Bruno a pm, asking about the aircraft you want, and he will send you a paypal or similar link and then files

Rick

[Rata]

Originally Posted by Don Boose

......the other IJN aircraft so carefully parked on the periphery of your kōkūki kōjō ?
Don

Bruno, don't ever apply for this guy's job.

[gomidefilho]

Originally Posted by scissorsandplanes

first result of a quick and dirty test build (laser printed with glue that attacks the printer toner when you work as messy as I do)
B

Very interesting!!!!

[scissorsandplanes]

Thanks, you all.

Indeed, Don, the green color should be like the stockpiled planes behind them, but the laser printer tends to change the color and the contrast considerably.

Here is some more progress. The wings need a little tweaking to improve the dihedral (or lack thereof for the stabilizer) but nothing major.
The rest of the model passed the test so I can consider the next build. (perhaps a locomotive??)

B

[Falco]

Your "pile" is amazing Bruno... makes me want to just dive in and explore!!!