The second 1/144 scale build by Aviation of Japan Texas correspondent Mark Smith features the exquisite Sweet Nakajima Ki-43-I Hayabusa. Such a pity that neither the Hasegawa 1/48 scale or Fujimi 1/72 scale Ki-43-I Oscars have the fuselage lines of the smaller kit and the special magazine issue Fine Molds example in 1/72 scale is not readily available. The cowling and interior gubbins would be impressive on a 1/72 scale kit and is superior to the Fujimi kit in that scale. Over to Mark then:-
'Probably no Japanese WWII aircraft offers a greater variety of markings than Nakajima’s Ki-43 Hayabusa. Its shape has often proved challenging for model companies to capture. Sweet’s 1/144 Ki-43-I version, a double kit which debuted in 2021, shows remarkable fidelity in its efforts to replicate small but telling surface details, and care about those elusive contours. Kudos to Sweet founder and mold-maker Mr Sugita Tatoru, whose company has always managed to capture the essence of his subjects despite the demanding scale. I’ll go out on a limb and say that if you opened this one and decided to, what the heck, just put it together and paint it, it would delight you. And in a matter of hours.
'For anyone who’s already built one or more Sweet Hayabusa, or who plans to soon, and with Nick’s blessing, I’m inviting you to send some images of your finished models to Nick for all to enjoy on Aviation of Japan. There are already several boxings of the kit which have been issued with a variety of markings and Sweet’s usual excellent decals by Cartograf. So consider taking a break from that larger project, and I look forward to seeing your builds on the blog for a ‘Hayabusa Spring’ (and Summer! Ed).
'This model fits so well that to build it hardly needs cement. You might lose a tiny part or two along the way, but if so, there’s another kit in the box.
'Building this one offered the chance to avoid breaking out the airbrush at all, by using a spray bomb of Tamiya AS-12 Natural Metal, and hand painting the green mottle with Tamiya XF-13 ‘J.A. Green’. I had some MYK 1/144 decals squirreled away that had always appealed to me. They were intended for a later model Ki-43-II from 23rd Hiko-Sentai, but I decided to use them anyway, even though I have no evidence that this unit ever had any of the earlier Hayabusa variant on strength. I didn’t see a need to add anything to the model. The most difficult part for me was painting the canopy framing, due to the subtle fidelity of the moulding.
'Using plenty of magnification I found I could apply the tiny green blotches to my satisfaction for a brief period and then…I couldn’t. So I did them in four or five different sessions. Nevertheless, it was nice to finish something quickly and to recapture some of the enjoyment I remembered from the days when I didn’t own an airbrush or even know that I needed one.
'And here’s hoping to see later versions of Peregrine Falcon from Sweet soon.' (Yes please! Ed.)
Beautiful!
With special thanks to Mark for sharing these images and details of his build of this tiny but impressive model.
Image credits: All photos © 2025 Mark Smith
No comments:
Post a Comment