Update on Airfix Ki-46

Added a link to the 28 July blog review of the re-released Airfix Ki-46 to a superb and meticulous upgrade build of the 2012 kit on You Tube here, showing the basic good lines of the model. Although your AoJ host doesn't know the builder personally he gets two nice mentions. 

Image credit: Box art © 2012  Hornby Hobbies Ltd.

Rob Ronconi's Nakajima Ko-4 Fighter in 1/72 Scale

Featuring another excellent JAAF biplane model, the Nakajima Ko-4 fighter beautifully crafted by Rob Ronconi from the challenging 1/72 scale, mixed media Azur kit of 2009. 

 

Following Japanese Army adoption of the Ko-3 fighter/trainer (a licence built Nieuport 24 C 1 originally designated Type Ni-24) which had replaced the Hei-1 (SPAD XIII) the Ko-4 fighter was manufactured under licence by Nakajima after examples of the Nieuport 29 C 1 were imported to Japan by the Army in 1923. A total of 608 were produced from 1923 to 1932 as the Army's first mass produced fighter, seeing service from 1925 to 1933. Although deployed during the Manchurian and Shanghai incidents from 1931 to 1932 there was no opportunity to test the design in air combat. And at that time replacement by the Nakajima Type 91 fighter had already begun.  

 

From 1925 the Ko-4 was operated alongside the Ko-3 by two Chutai in the 1st Hiko Rentai (Air Wing*) at Kasumigaura, three Chutai in the 3rd Hiko Rentai at Yokaichi, two Chutai in the 4th Hiko Rentai at Tachiarai and one Chutai in the 7th and 8th Hiko Rentai at Hamamatsu and Pingtung (Formosa) respectively. 

 

In service Army pilots were not enthused by the Ko-4, preferring instead the slower Ko-3 for its superior stability and manoeuvrability. The Ko-4 had a tendency to side slip and stall at pre-stall speeds and possessed a high landing speed. The twin-bay biplane had a wooden monocoque fuselage constructed with layers of hot-glued wooden strips wrapped in a spiral around a mould, strengthened by internal longerons and four plywood bulkheads, then covered with linen and doped with cellulose lacquer. The wings were of fabric covered wood. Powered by a 320 hp Mitsubishi licenced Hispano-Suiza, eight cylinder V-8 water cooled engine giving a maximum speed of 145 mph and a  cruising speed of 106 mph, cooling was provided by the two distinct Lamblin radiators fitted to the wheel struts.  The Ko-4 was armed with two 7.7mm synchronised machine guns.     

 

 

 

With special thanks to Rob for kindly sharing these images of his excellent model with Aviation of Japan and for his patience in waiting for them to be posted here! 

 

* Hiko Rentai is usually translated as 'Air Regiment' but to avoid confusion with the convention here of Hiko Sentai as air regiment this article uses the term 'Air Wing' as used in the seminal Pictorial History of Japanese Military Aviation by Eiichiro Sekigawa, translated and published by Ian Allan in 1974.    

 

Image credit: All model photos © 2026 Rob Ronconi; Box art © 2009 Azur-FRROM

Lifelike Decals New Website

Lifelike Decals have launched a new website and the link in the sidebar has been updated together with the QR code for access via smartphone. The old website will be closed in February but can no longer be used for contact or to place orders. Please use the new website.  

Image credit: Logo © 2026 Lifelike Decals

Airfix Ki-46-II 'Dinah' Flies Again.

The venerable Airfix Mitsubishi Ki-46-II 'Dinah' kit from 1965 flies again in a re-release this year in their 'Vintage Classics' series. The kit is unchanged except for the instructions, decal sheet and darker grey plastic - the original kit was moulded in a lighter grey plastic and the US Airfix Craft Master release in silver plastic.

With the more recent Hasegawa release (2000) and the LS kit (1975, re-released by Arii in 1995 and still intermittently available) there will probably be plenty of scorn for the re-emergence of this 61 year old Airfix kit. Personally I like it, probably due to a hefty dose of nostalgia but also because it better replicates the fine lines of the original aircraft than the more detailed Hasegawa kit. The surface detail is raised but very fine and thankfully the dreaded Airfix riveter had the day off when the mould was cut. The parts of the original kit fitted well (the main components of the Craft Master release can be dry assembled without glue) and it was an easy, relaxing build. Some care needs to be taken with the plug in wings to avoid excessive dihedral but there are no other fit issues. 

The modelling trend now seems to be for ever larger scale kits and more meticulous interior detail even when it can't be seen when the model is completed!  The Airfix Ki-46 has good interior detail for its era - a cockpit floor with integral observer's seat, separate pilot's seat, control column and instrument panel with two bulkheads, the rear incorporating a navigation table. Although the ventral camera window was included there is no camera equipment inside the cockpit but the representation of a camera moulded to the underside of the cockpit floor. Airwaves offer a photo etch set of enhanced details for the kit as AC-72-173, including extended flaps if there is patience enough to fix the 14 tiny runner attachments on each one. Still available from Hannants at £6.50. Paint suggested for the interior, including wheel wells, is Humbrol 56 Aluminium - Metallic.

Cowlings are solid with the crude 'flange' type flaps typical of Airfix kits at the time and a little too tapered without the 'swell' achieved in the LS kit. There is some very rudimentary engine detail within the cowlings but little can be seen once the props and spinners are fitted. The spinners are too long and not representative of the original but it is doubtful any aftermarket replacements will be offered for such an old kit. The kit transparencies are remarkably clear and distortion free for the age of the moulds (the 1994 kit re-release parts are exceptional - crystal clear). A set of masks for all the kit transparencies and wheels is available from UKScaleModeller at £5.75 purchasable from eBay.  

Markings options are as for the original kit with decals printed by Cartograf for Dokuritsu Hiko Dai 18 Chutai (18th Independent Flying Squadron) based in China during 1944 (shown below), but this time the unit's tiger motif is more representative than the leaping 'Esso' tiger of 1965.  Yellow leading edge IFF strips, instrument panel decal (aluminium!) and prop blade markings are also included on the sheet.

In addition a second option offers markings for a captured aircraft operated at Eglin Field, Florida in 1945 (shown above). This aircraft, c/n 2846, was captured at Hollandia, New Guinea and in September 1944 made airworthy by personnel of the 13th Bomb Squadron, 3rd Bomb Group which operated the A-20 Havoc. Red and yellow prop tip stripes for this version are included on the decal sheet. Assigned the Technical Air Intelligence Centre designation TAIC 10 it was shipped to the USA and still displaying the 13th BS insignia on its nose was test flown at NAS Anacostia, NAS Paruxent River and at Eglin Field where it was reported in April 1945, ultimate fate unknown. It seems to have been re-painted in US service but the colour remains open to interpretation. It originally had the rudder painted in the pre-war red, white and blue stripes, subsequently overpainted in a dark colour. The instruction sheet schematic shows olive drab for the rudder as well as for the elevators but in one photo the latter might just be the result of shadow.

A curious note suggests that both options were painted overall in J3 'amber grey' (to be represented by Humbrol 168 Satin Hemp) which was a Navy not an Army colour standard, the Army finish being # 1 Hairyokushoku (灰緑色 - ash green colour). Ki-46 colours as recorded on c/n 2414 were explored at the blog in April 2010  here and indeed appear similar to the Zero amber grey colour, the pale blueish grey observations possibly due to oxidisation and chalking of the surface. A report by FO Bellinger of 5 Sqn RAF from December 1942 described a Ki-46 as having under surfaces of a pale duck egg blue with upper surfaces of a little darker blue, perhaps inspiring the 1978 Airfix re-release suggestion for an 81st Sentai aircraft to be finished in Airfix M8 Duck Egg Blue.   

The Mitsubishi painting process for the Ki-46 was rigorous with an overall primer coat of # 3 Hai ran shoku ( 灰藍色 - ash indigo colour) a dark blue grey, also applied to all interior spaces including cockpit, followed by a mid coat of the elusive # 17 Tan Sei shoku (淡青色 - pale blue colour), not always applied, and finally several top coats of # 1, sanded and polished. Panel divisions were also puttied and sanded before painting, resulting in a very smooth surface finish. 

Previous re-releases of the Airfix Ki-46 kit were featured at the blog in December 2012 here and in November 2008  here. Still worth consideration for an undemanding weekend 'retro' build and it won't break the bank at £9.99. But should you wish to go further there is a very fine build video meticulously updating and enhancing this kit here and your AoJ host gets couple of shout outs too! The final result demonstrates the basic soundness of the Airfix model's lines.

Image credit: Airfix box art and colour/decals schematics © 2026 Hornby Hobbies Ltd; Airwaves photo-etch image © 2026 H G Hannant Ltd; Mask set image © 2026 UKScalemodeller.     

Kawasaki Army Type Otsu 1 (Salmson 2A2) in 1/72 by Rob Ronconi

The first of two more 1/72 scale biplane masterpieces from the miniature aerodrome of Rob Ronconi. The Salmson 2A2 was a reconnaissance and light bomber aircraft designed in France during the First World War. The Salmson saw effective use in French service and also with air units of the American expeditionary force where it came to the attention of Japanese army observers. It could hold its own against enemy fighters too with several American pilots and observer/gunners becoming aces on the type.

After the war the Salmson was taken to Japan with the French military mission (Mission Française d'Aéronautique) of 1919. Kawasaki had acquired manufacturing rights for the aircraft and Salmson's 260 hp 9Za nine cylinder, water cooled engine but in 1920 the Japanese army began manufacturing a copy of the aircraft at their Tokorozawa depot in the pretext of repairing the imported aircraft. Following a protest by Salmsom Kawasaki mediated and manufacturing rights were established with the Army designating the aircraft the Type Otsu 1 Reconnaissance Aircraft and formally accepting it into service in December 1921. Two protoypes had been produced, one from Army parts and the other by Kawasaki from scratch. Kawasaki and the Army then collaborated to manufacture 300 aircraft before production ceased in August 1927. The first 56 were built with imported engines but the remainder with Kawasaki engines.

The Type Otsu 1 saw active and useful service over Siberia in October 1922 and during the Manchurian and Shanghai incidents, performing a diverse range of sorties from the original reconnaissance to include bombing, artillery liaison and supply drops. The Type 1 Otsu continued in Army service until 1933 when the Type 88 Reconnaissance Aircraft (Kawasaki KDA-2) replaced it. The Army adopted the Hai Ryoku Shoku (Ash Green Colour) as a standard overall finish for its aircraft from 1922, incorporated into the Army Aircraft Material Temporary Standards in March 1924 and revised in October 1927. 

With special thanks to Rob for sharing these images of his excellent model built from the Kovozávody Prostějov kit.

Image credit: All model photos © 2026 Rob Ronconi; Colour schematic © 2023 Aviation of Japan

New A6M2b Zero kits from Fine Molds in 1/48

Fine Molds are due to release two new A6M2b Zero kits in 1/48 scale. This month IJN Carrier Fighter Zero Model 21 (Mitsubishi early production) 'Aircraft carrier Akagi', Two schemes for Lt Cdr Shigeru Itaya (A1-155) and his wingman NAP 1/c Shinaji Iwama (A1-153). 

Fine Molds write about this new kit as follows:-

While we currently sell the Zero Fighter Type 52 series, for the development of this Zero Fighter Type 21, we redesigned and developed almost the entire model, including the wings, forward fuselage, cowling, first canopy, and vertical stabilizer (rudder), using new molds. Features of the kit include the ability to choose between folded and unfolded wingtips, separate parts for the canopy frame and glass, and a slide mold for the rear fuselage, ensuring ease of assembly. Furthermore, while there are differences in the ailerons of the actual aircraft depending on the manufacturing lot, this kit reproduces the early Mitsubishi-made type (up to aircraft number 326) equipped with a protruding mass balance.

For release in August A6M2b Zero (Nakajima production) 'Air Battle Over the Solomons'. Two interesting field camouflaged schemes from the 2nd Carrier Division at Buin airfield in April 1943, 2-2-103 and 2-1-128, and X2-113 of 202 Ku at Kendari airfield, Celebes in 1943 (attacks against Darwin).

Fine Molds write about this kit as follows:-

About the Type 21 Zero Carrier-Based Fighter (Nakajima-built)

The Type 21 Zero—the early production variant of the "Zero Carrier-Based Fighter"— performed remarkably during the opening stages of the war. It also saw intense action during 'Operation I-Go,' an air campaign conducted in the Solomon and New Guinea theatres. This operation took place from 7th to 15th April 1943, involving joint sorties by land-based air units and aircraft from the carriers Zuikaku, Jun'yō  and Hiyō. Since Mitsubishi had already ceased production of the Type 21 in June 1942, it is believed that the majority of the Type 21 Zeros participating in this operation were manufactured by Nakajima.

Kit Details

Nakajima Aircraft began mass production of the Zero in November 1941. Nakajima-built units are characterized by a spinner that is more pointed than the Mitsubishi version; additionally, due to the timing of their manufacture, they lack the protruding mass balances on the ailerons. While the airframe paint scheme was initially the same as that of Mitsubishi-built aircraft, Nakajima built planes began featuring a white border around the fuselage 'hinomaru' (red circle insignia) starting around the summer of 1942.

This kit accurately reproduces these manufacturer-specific differences; the canopy frame and transparent sections are molded as separate parts, and the rear fuselage is a single piece created using a slide mold. Markings are included to replicate aircraft from the carriers Jun'yō and Hiyō, as well as an aircraft from the 202nd Air Group finished in the characteristic 'light grey-green' (ame-iro) color.

PS The newly announced 1/48 scale Ki-32 kit from Classic Resin Airframes is resin with 3D printed details and Hannants are showing it as a future release for £159.99! 

Image credit: All © 2026 Fine Molds