Wednesday, 28 May 2025

Kawasaki Ki-32 'Mary' in 1/32 scale by Harvey Low


Kawasaki's chunky Ki-32 'Mary' light bomber is something of a rarity in modelling and none of the available plastic kits in 1/72 scale have done the type justice. The 1985 Merlin kit for all its crudity managed to capture something of the slab-sided character of the aircraft but was a challenge to build and refine.  Now Harvey Low shares another stunning build in the form of a 1/32 scale 'Mary' from a resin kit. Over to Harvey then:-

'Here is my 1/32 Ki-32 'Mary'. LEM Kits is a scale model company from Kyiv Ukraine. The company makes a variety of less well known large scale aircraft. One of their 2023 releases was the 1/32 Japanese Army Type 98 Kawasaki Ki-32 'Mary'. 


'Large scale 1/32 Japanese bombers are not common!  While there are plenty of 1/32 Japanese Army and Navy models (e.g., Oscar, Nate, Zero, Val), this model is oddly the only Japanese Army bomber in 1/32 that I know of (not counting the old vacuform kits of the Ki-30 Ann and Ki-49 Helen from Sanger).


'Entering service in 1937, the Ki-32 Japanese Army light bomber saw active combat in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). Equipping the 3rd, 6th, 10th, 35th, 45th, 65th and 75th Sentai, it also fought the Soviets at the Battle of Nomonhan in 1939. Production ceased in 1940 with 854 being built. The Ki-32 was withdrawn from front-line service after participation in the attack on Hong Kong in December 1941, as more modern Japanese light bombers entered service such as the Ki-48. It was later used as a trainer with some serving in the Manchukuo Air Force to replace the obsolescent Kawasaki Type 88/KDA-2 light bomber. 


'It is noteworthy that there are NO substantive references for this aircraft at all. I could not find any dedicated reference, book or profile – even in Japanese! There are no after-market accessories for this kit at the time of writing either. 


'Ironically the only reference is the original September 1939 manufacturer’s handbook/manual, which  itself is not heavy on detailed photos, but does contain excellent designer diagrams of the interior details! It is actually available free for download through the NDL (National Diet Library) Digital Library.  The NDL Digital Collections enable users to search and view a variety of resources, collected and stored by the National Diet Library Digital Collection of Japan. 


'For detailed building and painting notes for this model, please see the Meng Air Modeller # 116 (Oct/Nov 2024 issue).' 


Harvey Low 

With special thanks to Harvey for sharing these images of his superbly realised model. It's a favourite type and I wish there was an accurate mainstream 1/72 or 1/48 scale kit. More on Ki-32 kits in due course.

On the model the single forward firing machine gun is shown fitted in the port wing just outboard of the undercarriage. Older references such as the Shuppan-Kyodo Encyclopedia of Japanese Aircraft 1900-1945 and Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War by Réne J Francillon (Putnam) show or describe it fitted in the port side of the cowling. Strangely the handbook/manual doesn't seem to show it all. There is no indication of it on the instrument panel layout.  

The Ki-32 had an internal bomb bay and the usual ordinance load was 300kg, A maximum of 450 kg could be carried if fuel was reduced. Bombs could not be released from the bomb bay in a dive and for diving attacks bombs were carried beneath the wings. The Ki-32 aircraft making diving attacks on Kai Tak airfield and other installations at Hong Kong in December 1941 were described as 'Stukas' by witnesses on the ground. 

The design originally called for a retractable undercarriage but wind tunnel testing demonstrated no improvement over a fixed undercarriage, whereas the latter offered advantages in terms of ease of maintenance and field serviceability.  Ichiro Hasegawa described the type as having endless engine problems warranting cancellation but the escalation of the Sino-Japanese conflict saw it go into production. Ground crew referred to the engine troubles of the 'BMW' from the origin of the Ha-92 Otsu engine and described alarming issues such as cracks in the crankcase and rods protruding through the engine cover. It was considered underpowered and struggled in every full load take off trailing a long  flame which scared spectators. However, it was considered to be more manoeuvrable than the contemporary Mitsubishi Type 97 Ki-30 'Ann' and was a faster aircraft than the RAF's comparable Fairey Battle.

First flown in March 1937 the first unit to receive the type was the 9th Hiko Daitai in 1938, followed by the 7th and 5th Hiko Daitai. The Ki-32 was deployed to support ground operations against the Wuchang-Hankow area of China during 1938. Hiko Dai 16 Sentai flew the type during the 1939 Nomonhan Incident and in the campaign over Bataan in the Philippines during April 1942. Production from July 1938 to the spring of 1940 totalled 800 aircraft, averaging 50 per month which was considered remarkably high for the time. 

The external finish was typical of Kawasaki, refined and with no trace of rivets. The tri-colour camouflage scheme associated with the Sino-Japanese conflict was described as tan, dull brown and dark green but artist Shigeo Koike profiled a Hiko Dai 3 Sentai 'Mary' with dark green, mid-green and khaki colours. The 3rd Sentai was one of the oldest JAAF units, established in 1918 as the 3rd Hiko Daitai and subsequently as the 3rd Hiko Rentai. It was re-designated as 3rd Sentai in August 1938 with its main operating field at Yokaichi in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Some suggest that the dark green was in fact a dark blue and Ichiro Hasegawa reported a change of camouflage colouring for the Ki-32.

Image Credits: All model photos © 2025 Harvey Low 

13 comments:

Sergio L. de H. Teixeira said...

Superb model! Thanks so much for sharing.

Bill Gilman said...

Awesome job, Harvey! I love the less well-known types, and you've done an excellent job. Cheers, Bill

Jim Anderson said...

Yes it is a nice build Harvey. I usually don't comment on Army aircraft but I have to say how interesting your underside pictures look with the finely detailed bombs you included. Good info. Thanks Nick again for describing the historical notes of the 'Mary'.

Straggler 脱走兵 said...

Thank you Jim for kindly acknowledging my additional text.

Harvey Low said...

Thanks guys as always for the wonderful comments. My apoligies in that I am not very good at technology so cant always seem to know how to reply but I read them all! Great work by all of you too!!!

Baronvonrob said...

Wow, "Mother Mary", that is a spectacular achievement by Mr. Low !

I’ve long been intrigued by the KI 32 "Mary" with its ungainly looks and inline engine. It’s oh so cool, and I think it would be fabulous if some manufacturer could improve upon the 1/72 versions, which are severely lacking and definitely need to be updated. In the meantime, I’ll just hope and pray that it happens.

Thanks to Nick for the informative text about the elusive Ki32’s actual use in combat, consider me intrigued and now informed

Gratitude to Harvey and Nick

Straggler 脱走兵 said...

Thank you Rob for kindly acknowledging my additional text.

Michael Thurow said...

A rare bird, and it looks wonderful! This is a fine lesson of developing cockpit detail with very little information at hand which can be used as a template by other modellers. The colours and the finish are the cream on the cake. Thanks Harvey, and Nick for the comments on the plane's design and surface treatment (not a rivet monster, this one!)

Skyraider3D said...

Superbly cool model. In 1/32 at that!

Dan Salamone said...

Beautiful work as always Harvey! Love seeing these "lesser known" types. The backstory from Nick is also, as always, very welcome!

Mark Smith said...

In terms of craftmanship and inspiration, another high point for the blog. And an unlikely one! I like never knowing what I'll see here, but a 1/32 build of a Ukranian kit of a Ki-32 (a kit I'd never heard of) snuck up on me. Harvey, you are fearless, and here is more evidence. I love the craftmanship and the photography. And a great job of painting a color scheme seldom modeled because difficult to do this well. And while it's remarkable that there may be 'no dedicated reference, book or profile – even in Japanese', any modeler who wishes to do one now has unique inspiration and much more to go on than before, as well as the knowledge of the NDL and its data on Mary, heretofore unknown to me. Thank you Nick for bringing us such windfalls.

The historical notes were of especial interest for the same reasons of relative neglect, as it's a little shocking to be reminded of the type's activities early in the Pacific War; I usually equate the type with the war in China. In copious reading about that first year of the Pacific War, Mary might have been a ghost, for the little I've heard about its operations. Great post, thanks!

blitzkrieg_bop said...

I really like the camo, congratulations.
As usual, Nick's historical notes are always interesting

Harvey Low said...

Again guys, my humble thanks for all your comments. I have seen some fo your work too and great to be among such artists! As always, Nickm your notes jsut add that extra touch!!!