Ki61 by scissors and planes

**CMDRTED** · #1 03-15-2018, 05:13 PM

Bruno from scissors and planes has created one of the coolest bunch of aircraft in 1/100 scale. He has also given away some fantastic free 1/300 aircraft enough to keep us miniature fans happy for decades. The 1/100 kits are fairly detailed, enough so that you can discern the differences between the various marks/ models in a particular aircraft. The only small difficulty is the kits come with little to no instructions. They are simple enough to figure out but if you have never seen that particular aircraft they do present a challenge. I propose to us small scale aircraft fans to post builds of some of your 1/100 scale gems for the benefit of others that may have some difficulty figuring out how that odd looking oblong blob goes together. sometimes just looking at a completed kit may be enough, heck it worked for me. I finished the Ki 61 Kawasaki Hein, call name tony, one of the few in line engine Japanese fighters of WW2. This was sometimes thought of as a Japanese version of the Me-109, but sources say it might have been influenced by the German craft but was of Japanese origin. Here are the parts layed out for construction...

**CMDRTED** · #2 03-15-2018, 05:30 PM

As you can see from the parts post there are a few differences from the pdf kit ecards/Bruno sends to us. I like the parts oriented along the grain of the papers axis. this allows smoother rolling of the curved parts, some say it doesn't matter in this small of a scale but in my opinion this does. also I re-do the wheels as the basic drum type wheels just don't have enough detail for me. each of us has a different modeling assembly sequence, not one is exclusively right or wrong , this one is right for me...
I start with scoring all the parts that can be scored, using a dull surgical scalpel and a steel flat piece of metal as a guide. I wouldn't use wood, plastic and maybe not even aluminum, as these get nicked over time. I cut out parts that need doubled/laminated and the start using a hobby knife, with a #11 blade to cut out parts that would be tough with just scissors...

**CMDRTED** · #3 03-15-2018, 05:46 PM

laminating or doubling parts is simplicity at best. you brush on some glue on one side of a part the fold over the other and apply a little pressure and hey presto a thicker part. but us "master' hobbyists have to build a better mouse trap, or collect tools that "help" us. I use an ink roller I saw on ebay to press/roll the laminated parts and apply what I believe is equal pressure. they come in different sizes up to the width of a whole sheet of paper. and here are the parts layed out for step 2

**CMDRTED** · #4 03-15-2018, 06:07 PM

my next step is sanding down the edges. I do this to the wing tips and along their edges, tail surfaces, along rolled structures so there is not a pronounced gap or bulge, along the long edges of fuselage structures. the pics aren't the clearest , apologies...,
1st is untouched, 2nd sanding along the trailing edges, 3rd the tips

**CMDRTED** · #5 03-15-2018, 06:48 PM

Step 3 is simple, color ALL the edges. I use watercolors, ground up pencil, crayon, or simple watercolor. I mix the color as close as possible lighter if not perfect. step 4 is burnishing. this is using a smooth blunt instrument and squishing or smoothing curves into paper so they closer approximate the actual shape of the part modeled...

**dwyaneward** · #6 03-15-2018, 07:33 PM

Great work so far, Thanks for sharing your techniques, as a newbie I enjoy read others techniques on how to build a paper model.

**CMDRTED** · #7 03-15-2018, 07:34 PM

the last of part 4 is preforming all the parts to there actual shape. It is very important to get the part into this final shape so that the part practically keeps its shape without glue. if the part has to be glued under tension, it generally will not look right or take forever to dry in that shape, or both...
part 5 is another simple part. the last picture, I take very thin glue, I use elmers interior wood glue for my models, and sparingly paint the edges of parts where they have to be glued together.

**Don Boose** · #8 03-15-2018, 07:39 PM

Great tutorial, Ted! Always something new to learn.

Don

**Falco** · #9 03-15-2018, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CMDRTED

It is very important to get the part into this final shape so that the part practically keeps its shape without glue. if the part has to be glued under tension, it generally will not look right or take forever to dry in that shape, or both....

OMG... I cannot believe I never followed this rule!!! I always glued under tension and whined about having to hold the pieces together while the glue dries... This is going to be a game changer for me.

**CMDRTED** · #10 03-15-2018, 10:39 PM

thank you for your kind words. these techniques can apply to larger scale models also. I am very glad to share.
Now the fun begins. All those preformed parts can now start to be assembled. You can start with any of the pieces, I like starting with the fuselage. Here are a few parts placed together...