Halinski Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa 1:33

[ruf0us]

Hi Everyone,

I've been building this model since the end of February and it's still 60%-70% done. This is my first 1:33, pre-printed, Halinski model and it's been a huge challenge for me. I'm still not sure if I can ever finish this model. Since it's partially done, this thread will start with looking back at what I've done in five months and then move on to the real-time build report for the rest of the model.

http://www.papermodelers.com/gallery/data/671/medium/IMG_1295.JPG

The aircraft

The aircraft is a Japanese army fighter of WWII, Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa Type II. Threre are 5 known subtypes of Ki-43-II and this airplane is the earliest one, with its distinctive circular oil cooler in front of the Ha-115 radial engine.

The model

KARTONOWY ARSENAL 1/2002 from A. Halinski. This model has been discontinued but some internet retailers may still have it in stock. I chose this model over the newer Ki-43-II (KA 4/2006) because it is simpler, easier to build yet the graphic is superb. You could impress your friends with less effort.:D Seriously, I think this is a good kit for introduction to Halinski models.

I started from the cowling and the engine. I don't think I did great in this section, but this is how it turned out. I had to rebuild the oil cooler from the backup scan because I didn't like the way I did edge coloring.

More pictures will come soon.

Cheers,
Shinji

[kenlwest]

Looks pretty darn good to me!

Ken

[ccoyle]

Agree...looks very nice so far.

[birder]

Looks good rufOus, I need an Oscar myself...will be interested how it goes together for you!

[Tim Crowe]

Great start - cowling looks really nice - looking forward to the rest of this build thread.

Tim

[dansls1]

Excellent start - I look forward to seeing the progress of this one ;)

[Don Boose]

Seeing this build show up made my day, Shinji! I have this one and have seen the one that Bill Geoghegan (DrBill) has been working on. I look forward to seeing your build and I will take careful notes on the entire process.

Don

[ruf0us]

Thanks guys for your kind words.

The cockpit of this model was rather simple and I tried to add some more details. I scanned the instrument panel, punched some holes for the gauges on it and laminated it on the original instrument panel. I punched some holes on the seat, too. Then I added some knobs and a handle to open/close the canopy on the walls. It still looks far less cluttered than the real cockpit, but I think it is convincing enough when you look through the canopy.

Thanks,
Shinji

[Don Boose]

Very convincing, indeed!

Don

[Wily]

I'm going to be watching this thread...cool airplane and super build so far!! :)

[shrike]

Very nicely done indeed.
I've developed more interest in the Ki43 lately as my current IL2 campaign has me trying to survive flocks of them over Sumatra whilst stuck in a Brewster Buffalo.

[Jinrai Butai]

Nice plane and construction, I'll be waiting to see finished. The Zero's brother.

[ruf0us]

Thanks, guys.

Shrike, I figure you are talking about the PC game "IL2 Sturmovik". I always wanted to play that game but my PC isn't powerful enough for realistic 3D graphics. I might buy a copy when XBox 360 version is released.

Jinrai Butai (so you like Ohka?), Hayabusa was indeed the Zero's brother. They share almost identical engines and they are both highly maneuverable and fly long range. Hayabusa has weaker armaments than the Zero, but it has self-sealing fuel tanks and even a cockpit armor plate in the later models. I guess not all Japanese were thinking only about offence back then :)

[ruf0us]

Next, I worked on the fuselage and the tail section.

The fit is very good. I had slight mismatches in graphics around the cockpit, but that's not a big deal. As Michael mentioned in his Hayabusa thread in Zealot, there is an error in the tail section; there are no cutouts to hold the former for the horizontal stabilizer. I figured that they should be right in front of the former for the vertical stabilizer and I cut the holes out. I forgot to take a picture though.

It was a little difficult to shape the fillet for the vertical stabilizer, as it had to be in three-dimensional curve. It is a small but well-designed part.

Cheers,
Shinji

[birder]

Beautiful job on this rufOus, your Oscar is one of the best. The graphics look first class as well.

[Yu Gyokubun]

Japanese airplane wasn't my interest but your excelent presentation almost change my mind...

[GreMir]

Excellent work!

[Don Boose]

It's a real pleasure to see you build this one, Shinji! That fuselage is flawless. And the Ki-43 was certainly a good-looking airplane (in my opinion).

Don

[Jinrai Butai]

Nice details of the cockpit, I'll be waiting the finish of your project...

[Don Boose]

Judging from your screen name, Jinrai Butai, it looks like we have another Forum member with an interest in Japanese aviation -- can we expect to see a model of the Yokosuka Ohka soon?

Don

[Jinrai Butai]

Don Boose

Several years ago I have a predilection for combat aircraft, especially those of WWII and the Nihon Kaigun (the kamikaze pilot) as Zero, Oscar, Val and Ohka. I have in mind the construction of Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero 1 / 72 and this model would be the first in my young papermodel career, I recently discovered this alternative model and I was thinking that is very practical and low cost for which we fear the plastic models. Unfortunately in my country is very little known this hobby and it's very difficult find and buy a model, but I already have some on the waiting list (some planes of the Luftwaffe) and of course I'll try to find a model to assemble the Ohka and Oscar.

I do my best to write in English, I hope you understand me

Thanks & Regards

[Don Boose]

Thank you for the additional information, Jinrai Butai. Your English is perfectly clear. I look forward to seeing your models in the future.

Don

[ruf0us]

Long time no see everyone!

I'm not dead or anything, but I spent some time for my other hobbies (playing with my new Mac, playing some music, playing with my daughter etc.) and I came back.

I've been working with the wings of my Hayabusa and boy it was tough. Partly because I'm a novice modeler and partly because the model has a lot to adjust around the wings.

When I folded the wing part and dry-fitted with the former, I noticed that the former assembly is larger than the outer skin. I had to sand the former off 3 or 4 mm at the wing tip. I also noticed that the outer skin does not fit well around the wheel well, leaving a gap about 0.5mm between the skin and the edge of the wheel well. I had to patch the gap with a piece of thin paper painted yellow.

I'm not too happy with how the fillets turned out. I could not shape the front end of the fillets well and I made some crease at the rear end.

The pictures somehow don't show how bad actually it is. I hope it doesn't get any worse.

Cheers,
Shinji

[Don Boose]

Glad to see you back, Shinji. I'm glad you are not "dead or anything."

Thisis great work. I can see no flaws in those fillets. Indeed, I have been thinkin gof sending you a PM to ask about how you achieved the smooth fillets on your Marek Ki-61. The fillets on my Marek Shoki did not turn out well at all and I would like to know your secret -- whichk, I presume involves a lot of very patient preforming.

Don

[ruf0us]

Thanks, Don.

I remember that the fillets for the Ki-61 was too long I had to trim it at the front. I did not cut the "cut 1mm" lines on the fillets. I just preformed them with aluminum rods in various diameters.

Hey Jinrai Butai, is your avatar taken from the movie "The Sky Crawlers"? How was it? I haven't watched that movie yet but I built the paper model of the fictional airplane that flies in the movie (Sanka B). It is a pusher-type WWII-esque fighter with contra-rotating props and the model was designed by PMODEL.

[Don Boose]

Shinji --Thanks for the fillet info. It confirms my suspicions. I am very unhappy with the gaps in my fillets due to cutting out the lines. For the next Shoki, I will use your approach (also confirmed by dansls1).

Thanks also for the info about "The Sky Crawlers." I was unaware of this anime and have just ordered it through our local independent bookstore. Having recently been captivated by "Last Exile" while grandson Don4 was visiting, I am convinced that "The Sky Crawlers" will appeal to three generations of Booses.

Don

[Bomarc]

Don

I think you'll enjoy your purchase, here's a taste:

YouTube - The Sky Crawlers Large Scale Aerial Battle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4aGva78Ydc)

I'm thinking of picking the DVD up myself, pretty imaginative!

Mike

[Don Boose]

Great clip, Mike. Thanks.

Sorry for the diversion, Shinji, but I'm very glad to made me aware of this anime. I just got word from my local bookmonger that it is inbound.

Keep 'em flying!

Don

[GreMir]

...Hey Jinrai Butai, is your avatar taken from the movie "The Sky Crawlers"? How was it? I haven't watched that movie yet but I built the paper model of the fictional airplane that flies in the movie (Sanka B). It is a pusher-type WWII-esque fighter with contra-rotating props and the model was designed by PMODEL.

The Sanka-B strongly resembles Kyushu J7W1 Shinden, a very real Japanese fighter in P-Model offering ;)
As for the movie - great aerial scenes, rest of the movie on the slow side...

[ruf0us]

I sense this thread going off topic, but this is the Sanka B that I built last October. The model was on the bonus pages of a Japanese book called The Sky Crawler Navigator. I scanned the pages and made some modifications to make it look more real.

I also bought the Kyusyu Shinden from PMODEL, but I'm not sure if I will build it because the colors are too bright and the guns are rendered in 2D...

Shinji

[Don Boose]

Your next posting of images and report on your Ki-43 will bring the thread back in line, Shinji.

Meanwhile, that Sanka B is a fine model of what looks like a very plausible aircraft. All this seems to intersect with Will Aldrich's offerings of late-war experimental aircraft in imaginery operational color schemes (Moonbeam, XP-72).

Don

[GreMir]

I apologize for the offtopic and I should read more carefully, you wrote "designed" not "offered" :o
Is there any way to obtain this Sanka-B or any other of the fighter planes from Sky Crawlers?

[Jinrai Butai]

Every time I go, I find more.

Good Sanka B model, I draw much attention from the engine and propellers, rotating in the opposite direction of the other, it will be possible to fly a plane like that, but this will be another topic of conversation, for now, waiting for the progress of OSCAR.

Thanks and Regards

[ruf0us]

There is nothing to apologize Michael. It was me who started talking about The Sky Crawlers. But I guess it's okay because we are talking about airplanes and card models after all.

If you really want to buy the Sanka B model, you can by it from amazon.co.jp. (Sorry about the weired characters on the link)

Amazon.co.jp： スカイ・クロラ ナビゲーター: 日本テレビ出版部: 本 (http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-language/product/4820300180/ref=dp_change_lang?ie=UTF8&language=en_US)

However, I don't think it's worth the money for most of the people here because it is too expensive for a simple paper model. It costs about $18 plus international shipping fee. Amazon.co.jp ships internationally only by air.

I believe some of the Japanese designers have Sanka models but none of them were released to public. And as far as I know there are no known paper models of the other aircrafts in The Sky Crawlers.

Shinji

[GreMir]

Thanks for the info. The price tag is way to steep for me...

[B-Manic]

I have sky crawler aircraft 3 views including the Sanka if anyone is interested.

[ruf0us]

Hi all,

I went to the Oregon International Air Show last weekend. It turns out taking my 3-year-old daughter to the air show wasn't a good idea. Although she was wearing a 26db NRR earmuff, she kept crying while the F/A-18 Hornet was flying around and she wanted to go home. We went home early and missed the USAF Thunderbirds which I was really looking forward to see.

Anyways, I've been working on some tiny parts on my Hayabusa. I built the head rest, the exhaust pipes and the gunsight.

I thought the green of the head rest was too bright, but I left it as it was. You have to paint the back of the parts for the exhaust pipes, otherwise they will be white inside.

I didn't want make the reflector glasses of the gunsight out of paper, so I made it up with transparent plastic sheets. I'm not really good at building tiny boxes and my gunsight doesn't look clean, but this is how it turns out.

I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Cheers,
Shinji

[Ron0909]

WOW!!! That gunsight came out beautifully. Your workmanship is oustanding. That's real justice done to a really nice bird.

Ron

[Don Boose]

It all looks great to me, Shinji! I'd be pleased to have the skill to build such a gunsight.

Don

[GreMir]

Beautiful work Shinji!

[dansls1]

Great job!

[ruf0us]

Thanks guys for your kind words.

I'm going to build the canopy next so that I don't break the gunsight while working on the undercarriage. The question is if I should open the canopy or not. It shouldn't be difficult to open it because the entire rear section of the canopy slides back on Hayabusa. But I might want to keep the silhouette clean by leaving it closed. I haven't decided yet...

[birder]

This looks super! I like to leave the canopy open to see the gunsight and maybe a little of the cockpit, especially when not much is visable anyway, I guess it's nice to see the details if you can think of a way...it'll look great anyway you do it..

[Amazyah]

Beautiful workmanship! http://smilies.sofrayt.com/%5E/aiw/ok.gif
A joy to watch your progress!
However you decide to proceed, I know it will look excellent! http://smilies.sofrayt.com/%5E/aiw/good.gif

Russell

[ruf0us]

Long time no see...I have only little time to work on my Hayabusa these days, but it is still making progress. I will finish this model however long it takes.

The canopy is finally done. I believe I bought a genuine Halinski plastic canopy, but the quality of the part was not as good as the model itself. It is slightly bigger than it should be and it has unnecessary dent on the top. I had to separate the windshield (the front half) and the canopy(the rear half) and remove excess plastic between them about 1mm wide.

I use Konishi Bond G Clear for attaching the window frame. It is a kind of transparent rubber cement and it bonds plastic and paper very well. It is a little thready but easy to clean up. It is made in Japan and I'm not sure if they sell it outside Japan. I asked my Japanese coworker to buy one for me when he traveled back home. His reaction was like "What the heck is he thinking":D If you go to Japan, don't forget to check that out.

Anyways, here's how it turns out.

Thanks,
Shinji

[Foxbat]

I believe I bought a genuine Halinski plastic canopy, but the quality of the part was not as good as the model itself. It is slightly bigger than it should be and it has unnecessary dent on the top. I had to separate the windshield (the front half) and the canopy(the rear half) and remove excess plastic between them about 1mm wide.

Shinji
Hello Shinji
I've heard a lot opinions about Halinski's canopies. Their quality is not so good as their kits.... (I don't have any yet to say my opinion)
I bought several GPM's canopies. What can I say... Low quality. Rough manufacturing, poor plastic.
IMO, the best canopies are from GOMIX. But they don't have for every model...

Sergey

[GreMir]

Shinji,
Excellent work in every detail.

[Don Boose]

Outstanding work on that canopy, Shinji.

Don