Friday 6 July 2018

Photo-Etchery ~ Ki-48 Sokei/Lily


I'm not a great fan of photo-etch. That's not due to any inherent faults with any of the vast amount of after market photo-etched detail enhancements now available. Rather it is indicative of my own inability. I have never been able to get on with using super glue. It always seems to end up where it shouldn't and not where it should, with precariously tilted panels and sidewalls which become an immoveable monument to inaccuracy and my clumsiness. The arrival of pre-painted photo-etch just increased the anxiety over the bending, fitting and glueing, with so much more exquisiteness to risk being ruined with clumsy fingers and old man eyesight. 


Recently Fred Boucher of Aeroscale kindly made me aware of the Platz photo-etch set M72X-07 designed for the Hasegawa 1/72 scale Ki-48 Sokei/Lily (above) which he has comprehensively reviewed here. The Hasegawa ex-Mania kit is due to re-appear in September as a 'Special Equipment Version' with the extended fuse rods in the nose of a rather plain-looking special attack aircraft (below). 


Fred's kindness and generosity then went further in providing me with a set. I won't reiterate the information in his review beyond confirming that the set is indeed exquisite. I like the fact that it is designed for an older but much esteemed kit which already has a pretty good interior to work on. Platz have a number of Japanese subject sets available in 1/72 scale, including the J1N Gekko (M72X-09),  G3M Nell (M72X-06), Ginga/Frances (M72X-05), G4M Betty (M72X-02), Ki-67 Peggy (M72X-03 - Aeroscale review here), A6M2 (M72X-01). The sets also cover a number of JASDF aircraft types and are 'projected' by NBM21 and made by Eduard. They can be ordered direct from Platz.

The panels in the Ki-48 set are a mid-toned olive green in the range FS 34130-34151. The modelling convention is for all Kawasaki cockpits to be painted in the yellow-brown colour attributed to the Ki-61 Hien or one of the convenience hobby paints derived from that belief, like RLM 79 (wrong!). Mr. Sunao Katabuchi posited in 2007 that Ki-61 cockpits were painted grey-green and that paint turned more brownish due to photo-chemical discoloration. The paint was sensitive to UV exposure as each component (oligomer or high polymer) was not consistently or effectively purified and contained many aromatic rings. Some extant artifacts in Japan as well as colour photographs appear to bear that out. Contemporaneous photographs taken inside the Ki-48 in service show a mixture of dark and light paints, perhaps the earlier dark-blue grey and later grey-green - or maybe yellow-brown. 

Interior paint colours examined on a Ki-48 wing section were shown at this blog in April 2013 here and were a light olive brown similar to FS 34201, with primers of dark green and dark yellow green. Without pigment analysis whether those colours represent colour shifts is open to speculation.    

When LAC I C Morton of the RAF examined Japanese aircraft at Meiktila in 1945 he reported: "In common with most Japanese aeroplanes seen, the three Oscar 2s had a yellowish-green finish all over the interior."* Morton tended to record any unusual or unexpected colours, so the fact that he examined Ki-48 aircraft in Burma and later Thailand without mentioning their interior colours might lead to a conclusion that they were also finished in a yellowish-green. The Platz paintwork is a little too dark and olive to perfectly fit that description but I doubt that the panels would look out of place with the rest of the interior finished in the yellow-green of the Japanese Army standard # 29 Ki midori iro or even the popular buff green hobby paints attributed to everything Nakajima.


The Ki-48 was popularly referred to by IJAAF personnel as 'Kyu-kyu sôkei' (九九双軽) - not 'Ninety-nine twin light' but 'Nine-nine twin light'. The Japanese abbreviation was - 'so' for sôhatsu (twin motored) and 'kei' for light(ly),  whereas in the West it might have been referred to as a 'light twin'. Morton reported on a Ki-48 examined at Don Muang, Siam in January 1946 (more details here) that the pilot had a 'first class forward view', that the landing speed was very high, with a tendency to instability at low speeds. In the air he thought it travelled fast, with 'a deep-throated roar from the two Kawasaki Type 2 radials'. He observed that all Japanese aircraft he had seen to date had made three-point landings and that Japanese pilots appeared to know their job thoroughly and had plenty of 'air sense'.    

* The Aeroplane Spotter, Vol.VII., No.156, 21 Feb 1946 pages 46-47.    

Image credits: Heading photo vintage postcard; Photo-etch © 2018 Platz Co. Ltd.; Box art © 2018 Hasegawa Corp; Colour chip © 2018 Aviation of Japan

14 comments:

Michael Thurow said...

I understand your frustration with photo-etched parts, Nick. I first tried them in 1994 on a Hellcat cockpit and they didn't stick well with the super glue I used. I then decided that photo-etch doesn't add anything but headaches. Consequently I stayed away from it until about 2000. Meanwhile with the right superglue I became quite proficient in fixing the parts (using the tip of my modelling knife to position the glue which should give about 10 seconds before setting). The best glue in my opinion is Cyberbond 2004 which I used to purchase directly from the UK. Unfortunately, Royal Mail doesn't send any liquids anymore to overseas adresses (grrr...) and it took me over a year to find a good substitute here.
Pre-coloured parts are still not my favourite. The colour is sensitive to dissolving on contact with glue, and in many cases doesn't show the correct hue anyway. They appeal to me a bit like a pre-coloured model!
Thanks for keeping us alert about Jap colour issues.

WD said...

This is great news Nick, especially since the Eduard p/e set for the Lily is long OOP. (I did find two sets online in a small shop in Italy after searching for some years for it.)
I too share your frustration with p/e, and for many of the same reasons. I have two stalled builds (Tamiya A6M's), and while the Eduard p/e is nice, I really do detest the "pre-colored" aspect of it. It either becomes chipped, or part of it just lifts off, etc. Ugh!

Thanks for some great info on interior colors as always.

Warren

WD said...

Oh! Something I forgot to add:

- While I don't have a good relationship with p/e, Hasegawa interiors are so plain, or even non-existent on some kits, that it's a potentially great add on.

Warren

Straggler 脱走兵 said...

Michael and Warren, Thank you both very much for taking the time to post comments in response to my blog articles - I appreciate them. Regards, Nick

David S. said...

I thank you for taking the time posting, Nick!

Always nice to read something Ki-48 related.
Japanese bomber & attack aircraft, let alone Army ones, are in general quite underrepresented in publications, as well as model kits, I think. Therefore posts like yours are of great help.
Over the years following your blog, I read the 2013 one multiple times.

Photo-etched parts are sometimes tricky to handle, but very rewarding.
I suggest evaluating several glues. Cyanoacrylate of thick consistency and medium drying time works best for me most of the time.
Pre-painted parts I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand they sometimes feature extremely detailed dials and placards, but on the other hand they easily disrupt colour-uniformity.

Straggler 脱走兵 said...

Thank you very much for your comment and suggestion re super glues, David.Regards, Nick

Dan Salamone said...

If you have an etched part that needs to be attached to a clear part, or something as a final touch (like a ring & bead style gunsight), they can also be attached with clear lacquer like Gunze Mr. Super Clear out of a bottle. Once dried it'll hold the part firmly, without worry of fogging or other super glue type downsides.

Dan

Straggler 脱走兵 said...

Thanks Dan! Regards
Nick

Mark Smith said...

Dan's suggestion is a good solution for attaching the larger flat pieces like instrument panels and fuse boxes. As to the little pieces, the best stuff I've found is 'Gator's Grip' glue, a white glue not to be confused with Elmers. It lives up to its name and has recently been marketed in 'Thin Blend' also. It's very forgiving and offers plenty of time for drying, after which, the part is on to stay. I didn't even know about Platz parts for these older molds. Once again, great post! And thanks to your generous contributor.

You mentioned 34151, and that was the most common FS # mentioned in Bob Mikesh's early 2-part Japanese Cockpit Interiors monographs. I immediately thought of it when I saw the photo of the p.e. Lots of hobby paint lines include it. Bet one could match those parts reasonably well.

Michael Furry said...

Future floor wax makes a great adhesive for photo-etch parts. it is quite strong and levels out. Parts can also be coated with a layer for added adhesion. The self-leveling property of Future floor wax ensures that there are not any glue marks or blobs to sand away.
I find your blog very informative and highly interesting, keep up the great work!

Straggler 脱走兵 said...

Thank you Mark and Michael for further suggestions!
Regards
Nick

Ronnie Olsthoorn said...

If you want to have a little laugh, google for: super glue Angela Merkel

Have a great weekend!

Ronnie

WD said...

Ronnie,
You bad thing you. ;) ;)

Warren

Ken Glass said...

Thanks for sharing, Nick.