Arma Hobby Hayate in 1/72 Scale

Another fine Hayate model in 1/72 scale,  this time built from the Arma Hobby kit by Claudio Moura do Nascimento from Brazil, representing one of the kit markings options as an Otsu aircraft of Hiko Dai 104 Sentai photographed at Ota, Japan in 1945. The Otsu variant intended for bomber interception and ground attack sorties had the 12.7mm cowling weapons replaced with Ho-5 20 mm cannon and is distinguished by different cowling vents, a detail addressed in the Arma Hobby kit. 

 

 

A history of this interesting unit may be found at the Arma Hobby website but the painting and markings section is a little misleading. This is the same aircraft featured on the Brian Knight box art of the Revell Hayate kit of 1965, although the fin tip trim was then interpreted as natural metal. 

The Chutai colour sequence for this unit is confused with two different sequences being reported over time. In his 1978 listing in Koku Fan magazine Minoru Akimoto recorded an untypical sequence of white for the Sentai Hombu (HQ Flight), red for 1 Chutai, yellow for 2 Chutai and blue for 3 Chutai.  In 1989 this red, yellow, blue sequence was repeated in FAOW # 19 on Hayate in and in 1997 in Model Art Extra # 493 in 1997. The late Dr Izawa reported the same sequence although a profile caption in his updated 2022 book* reported the sequence as white for 1 Chutai, red for 2 Chutai and yellow for 3 Chutai. The Arma Hobby website article attributes this aircraft to 2 Chutai leader Lt Mitsuo Tomiya. However Chutai leaders usually had fuselage bands painted in the Chutai colour and as Tomiya had been killed at Linxi, Manchuria on 11 August 1945 it seems unlikely that his aircraft survived to be flown to Ota in Japan and photographed there after hostilities had ended  To further complicate the issue one Japanese online source asserts that the Chutai positions were later changed to reflect the seniority of the Chutai leaders with 3 Chutai being re-designated as 1 Chutai. 

 

This aircraft carried the name 'Mashiki' 益城 in two small white Kanji characters on the starboard fuselage side. The same online source asserts that all the unit's aircraft displayed single character names except for the 3rd Chutai which displayed two character names reflecting the pilot's home region. For this reason it seems possible that this was the aircraft of 3 Chutai leader and Hikotai leader from January 1945 Capt Yoshitaka Kusano (草野 喜孝), the broad white fuselage band perhaps representing his status as Hikotai leader. 

 

 

 

The Sentai insignia represented '104' and was in red (outlined white on some camouflaged aircraft) for all Chutai with Chutai colours applied to spinner, fin tip and wing tips. The wing tip Chutai colours are confirmed by a photograph showing a distant line up of the unit's aircraft. In addition to interception sorties against the B-29 raids on Manchurian targets the unit was finally active in ground attacks against enemy armour and transport during the Soviet invasion using 'Ta Dan' cluster bombs.

 

It is apparent that the unit operated aircraft in the three typical schemes for Hayata - dark blue green over natural metal, olive green/brown over yellowish grey and in overall natural metal. The 2 Chutai Hayate photographed at Ota might have been finished in an overall pale colour, possibly a blueish grey. Claudio used

With special thanks to Claudio for sharing these images of his Arma Hobby Hayate model which might easily be taken for a larger scale than 1/72! 

* The Imperial Japanese Army Fighter Group, Dainippon Kaiga, 2022