Aichi E13 "Jake" Interior Colour

The original IJN finishing specifications for the floatplane Aichi E13 "Jake" called for the interior to be painted with an undercoat of brown enamel and a top coat of light grey green enamel. The latter is presumed to be one of the "hairyokushoku" (ash green) colours in the 'M' series of that name in the IJN provisional paint colour standard known as Kariki 117. The closest Munsell value for this paint colour is 7.5 GY 5/2 with the closest FS 595b value being 24226 @ 2.35 (but which is a little too grey and not quite yellow/green enough). This interior colour also compares exactly to the Thorpe identified colour N4 'light grey green'.

Now some further confirmation of this interior colour has been provided by the appearance of the paint surface extant on Aichi "Jake" wreckage studied by Australian researcher Owen Veal (of the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre in Darwin) and shown here via the kind courtesy of Bob Alford (author of 'Darwin's Air War'). The graded scale presented with the images below shows proportional mixes of the Humbrol paint colours 86 'light olive' and 78 'cockpit green' (the latter paint is usually cited for the WWII RAF interior grey-green colour).

With thanks to Bob Alford for the account of the examination and images.

After I posted this blog Mark Smith kindly reminded me about Ichiro Hasegawa's notes on Aichi interior colours included in the Koku Fan magazine. In May, 1984 Hasegawa-san had reported that "One day a 3-seater Type Zero seaplane was salvaged from the bottom of the ocean off the coast of Kisarazu.  Through a friend of mine I have obtained a piece of metal skin from the salvaged seaplane to which anti-corrosive treatment was given to sustain the color scheme. ... Interior was covered in transparent blue with exception to the cockpit that were painted in yellowish-green."  

In May 1982 Hasegawa-san had referred to the interior of Aichi D3A1 AII-231 which he had illustrated in profile as follows:- "Inside of fuselage had been painted by anti-corrosion paint in bluish color... Inside the cockpit was covered in yellowish green."


There is a faint yellowish tone apparent in the 'M' series colours shown above but we cannot be sure that what Hasegawa-san saw was this paint or perhaps one of the other Thorpe identified interior colours N5 'light olive green' (similar to FS 34151) or N6 'buff green' (similar to FS 14255). 

Image credits: Heading painting ©2010 Shigeo Koike; Rendered colour chips ©2010 Straggler; Kariki 117 chips Summer via Fuku BBS; Aichi "Jake" Photographs ©2010 Owen Veal via Bob Alford.

A Bad Attitude of Mind

I've been toying with the idea of making this blog membership and sign-in only to deter abusers. But that would not be fair on those kind souls who share images and details of their builds and, judging by the fate of the private Amair4RAF blog, it would just sink without trace instead of floating along below the surface, the content being more ignored than it is now. Recently, when looking for something else, I came across one of those forum 'celebrity' big scale builds. In one of the posts the builder had included a schematic taken from this site without permission. It was attributed to 'Aviation of Japan' but without a link.  But more importantly it was posted without any context from the original blog article, to the point of being a misleading presentation. The chips were not measured values from actual paint but represented subjective visual comparisons attributed to actual paint seen in the interiors of later variants of the subject aircraft.  I wonder how this person might feel if I showed part of his build here, acknowledging the forum it was taken from but without the courtesy of a link and not bothering to include any context? 'Found this, make of it what you will'. The object, interior colour, elicited the usual gormless opinionation of 'I don't know, but' or 'I once saw . . .' as well as the usual 'paint it how you want, no one can prove . . . ' (curiously missing from discussions of Luftwaffe colours), etc. 

On another forum one chap had lifted information wholesale from this blog and then presented it as if it were the product of his own research and he was coming down from the mountain with tablets of stone. Ok, again he included a link to this blog but that was ignored and he got fawning praise and gratitude from his forumite audience for his 'research'. 

I've come to the conclusion that most extant IJN interior paint represents the applied and variable paints of different manufacturers, plus photo-chemical and other colour shift distortions from thermal and other degradations, to the single colour standard of Kariki 117's M1, as was specified and required. Here care is necessary and the usual caveat that a colour standard and applied paints are not identical beasts. Different paints for different purposes can be manufactured to match a single colour standard, but with different formulae to suit those purposes. And indeed different manufacturers can make paint match a single colour standard using different pigments and constituents. All of which can create and does create variables, especially over time. Paint protected from light and exposure will often become darker and browner, think old decals. A cool green will often become a more olive green in appearance, a bright pale blue become more turquoise in appearance. Too often the consequences are presumed to represent the original. Extant samples of paint from aircraft manufactured over 80 years ago are seductive but should not be presumed to represent a colour standard or be representative of all the aircraft of that type manufactured. In the case of the IJN fitted components were often finished in a darker green than the integral cockpit grey green, so where, exactly did the sample come from? And was it original or re-fitted? 

M1 (the standard) is similar to the RAF's Aircraft Grey Green, still contained in BS381c as # 283 under the same designation . In applied paints it can appear more olive now because the paint binder has become yellowed and darker. Tamiya offer an XF-71 Cockpit Green and assert that 'This shade of green captures the color used in the cockpit of IJN aircraft such as the Zero'.  It is lighter and brighter than the olive green that many choose to paint model Zero cockpits - FS 34151 - Interior green, TT-P-1757 and ANA 611, which is not Japanese. XF-71 is similar to the extant interior paint in the H8K Emily. I once tried their enamel version in the small Pactra-like glass bottle but it proved a greasy thing that preferred to stay wet and re-join itself rather than cover the plastic with a smooth, thin, opaque film applied by brush. That ideal of brush painting was abandoned decades ago and now manufacturers can take advantage of the almost universal use of the airbrush to stint on (expensive) pigments. Golden era Humbrol or Pactra it is not and I got the impression (!) that it was slightly lighter and brighter than the acrylic version.

M1 was succeeded by 1-4 in the Feb 1945 8609 document but remained exactly similar. The Japanese Aeronautic Association Aviation Heritage Archive (JAA AHA) spectrophotometer measured L*a*b* values of the 1-4 swatch (shown below) in the 8609 Standard presents a slightly duller, deeper colour, almost certainly the result of age related degradation. It is a very slightly yellowed grey green and the original should be envisaged as just a little lighter and cooler. It can be the starting point for the cockpit colour of any IJN aircraft. JAA AHA describe it as the IJN anti-glare colour for cockpits and known as 'Pale Green'. Actually Kariki 117 has it designated as 'Hairyokushoku' (ash green colour, e.g, grey green). The late David Aiken always insisted that M1 was the exterior colour of early Zeros. It wasn't, because the Zero camouflage trials which were recorded in early 1942 in the Yoko 0266 report included one Zero (Yo-151) experimentally painted overall in M1. If all Zeros had already been M1 that would not have been necessary and the report would have described the contemporary colour of Zeros as M1 or Hairyokushoku rather than 'J3 Hai iro (ash colour) leaning slightly towards ameiro (candy or amber colour)'. David also liked to present Tamiya XF-76 as M1 based mainly on the appearance of Tamiya's online advertising imagery. It isn't and anyone who has actually applied XF-76 knows it doesn't look like that. If it did Tamiya would not need to sell XF-71. The difference between how Tamiya market the appearance of the paint colour and how it actually looks when applied is a puzzle.

The 8609 swatches sent by the Koku Fan editor Toda-san to US researchers in the 1970s resulted in the 1-4 swatch being compared then to Munsell 7.5 GY 4/2 and FS 34159, which are also shown in comparison to the other colours below.  There is an extant D3A Val ammunition magazine which though variegated across its surfaces, shows the variations of the grey green, including a brighter, paler green. As with many such relics it is difficult to identify the original paint surface from the degraded paint surfaces. A  similar grey green colour is associated with Aichi Jake interiors. And not to forget that paint inside a model cockpit, especially in the smaller scales, will look darker, even with the canopy modelled open.

Make of it what you will! ;-)

Image credit: All © 2024 Aviation of Japan  

Aichi D3A 'Val' Interior in Detail & Colour ~ Part 2

Continuing our exploration of the pilot's cockpit in the Aichi dive-bomber, Photo 1 shows the starboard side of the position with the seat mounting frame visible to the right of the image.

Photo 2 shows the bulkhead behind the pilot with the seat mounting frame and what appears to be an equipment rack.

Photo 3 is another view forwards, through the instrument panel towards the engine firewall, showing the ammunition magazine for the cowling mounted machine guns. The instrument panel has been dislodged to the right. The rusted mounting brackets for the machine guns may be seen and the corresponding apertures in the firewall.

 

On the question of just what the interior colour was, before commenting on the appearance of the colours in these photographs, let's look first at what has been reported elsewhere.

Ryan Toews reported that in his examination of artifacts from a D3A2 s/n 3178 he had matched the interior paint as a green very close to FS *4062. He suspected that this was a "somewhat bluer variation of the similar paint (FS *4095)" found on the Nimitz museum D3A2 by Greg Springer. Greg suggested an alternative colour of FS *4102, available in a number of hobby paint ranges, as an acceptable representation for *4095. A comparison of the colours does not support the notion that *4062 and *4095  are just variations of the same or even similar. As the attached swatches illustrate, the colour families appear quite distinct and different; the DE2000 difference calculation being 14.7 (where 2.0 or less = a close match).

Greg has commented that the yellowish "zinc chromate" colour is a pigment "leaching" from the original paint as a result of degradation, rather than a separate, painted on colour. If that is the case it might explain the residual strong blue-green chroma as a shift from an original, more olive green, but some scientific evidence is needed for this.

A well-known photograph of another artifact, the ammunition magazine for the cowling guns from a D3A1, appears to show two greens. One of them, not dissimilar to FS *4062 and another, paler green. Unfortunately this artifact has not been measured and it is not clear which of the greens may represent the original colour and which the "leached", degraded or fire-damaged shift.

With Special Thanks again to Mark Smith for sharing these unique images with us but Special Thanks also to Ken Glass whose expertise, legwork and expenses all contributed to turning the original colour prints (wherein lies another tale to be told in due course) into the digital images that you see on these pages.

To be continued . . .

Images credit: All photographs © 2009 Mark Smith; Rendered colour swatches © 2009 Straggler.

Val's Rear Seat

For anyone contemplating a build of the Aichi D3A1 in 1/72nd scale some extra detail in the cockpit interior will probably factor as a consideration, especially if the canopy is to be displayed in an open configuration. The brief review of the Dragon kit deliberately omitted reference to the observer's seat  as its unusual configuration warranted a more detailed treatment. All three (+1) available kits in 1/72nd scale provide only a seat for the observer and none of them depicts it correctly or completely. One has to look to the Hasegawa 1/48th scale kit for a presentation that more closely replicates not just the original seat but the complex seat mounting arrangement too - albeit in simplified form. There is a drawing of the seat mechanism in FAOW 130 taken from the engineering manual but viewed in line art profile it is a little difficult to work out what is going on. There is also a cutaway drawing in the same reference but unfortunately it does not show the seat arrangement clearly.   

The Airfix kit has identical pilot and observer seats which bear no resemblance whatsoever to the originals, being merely supports for the Biggles Twins. By cutting them down, the addition of plastic card and re-shaping they can be made to better approximate the real seats but if the builder of the Airfix kit wants even a representative interior a lot of additional work lies ahead. As noted elsewhere the Dragon kit features incorrectly identical seats for the pilot and observer with the latter supported directly on the floor of the cockpit without any representation of the framework around the seat. The Fujimi seat is a better shape and unlike the Dragon kit it differs correctly from the pilot's seat. However it is also mounted directly onto the cockpit floor so will again need the fabrication of a representative support cradle. For those curious about the ZTS Plastyk kit there is an in-box review here. It is a clone of the Fujimi kit. Rather curiously the Airfix and Dragon kits do not contain a machine gun for the observer although they are shown deployed on the box art. The Fujimi kit contains a nicely moulded gun but no mounting provision and it is marked 'not for use' and not shown on the instructions! A suitable gun could be pinched from other kits or there are some aftermarket white metal and resin replacements available intermittently.

The Maru Mechanic schematic for the interior (shown above) also simplifies the framework around the observer's seat into a rigid construction (it was not) and there are other details which are crudely or incorrectly depicted. The observer's seat was a bucket type, slightly smaller than the pilot's seat and with the seat pan designed to hold the parachute pack. It was supported on a transverse bar between two vertical hydraulic arms fixed to the cockpit sides on pivoting locking brackets, so there was no attachment to the cockpit floor beneath the seat. The seat could be swivelled through 180° on a central spindle on the transverse bar to face the rear. The hydraulic supporting arms could be compressed to raise the seat from the lower front facing position to the higher firing position and unlocked to allow them (and the seat) to swing rearwards in order for the observer to raise his gun to the near vertical if required. The gun mounting itself was on a 'Y' yoke from the top of each hydraulic arm to a single central support fixed to the cockpit floor behind the seat. This central support had an articulated bar on which the observer placed his feet. The whole arrangement formed a kind of tubular cradle around the seat that none of the 1/72nd scale kits has attempted to replicate. For those modellers who do not have access to a 1/48th scale Hasegawa kit the instructions (shown below) may help in visualising how the seat was actually supported (together with other missing cockpit details from the 1/72 kits).

When not in use the machine gun was stored vertically on the left side of the cockpit as shown in the Hasegawa instructions. To go into action the observer had to open his canopy, raise and turn his seat, unlock the arms to allow the seat to swing then mount and arm the machine gun. The rear machine gun in the D3A1 was the Navy Type 92 7.7mm flexible machine gun, a license-built variant of the British BSA built Lewis type light machine gun so guns of that type could also be used for a 1/72 model.

Interior Colours

Airfix suggest an unlikely combination of Humbrol paints with matt black (33) for the cockpit "floor" (actually the bottom of the fuselage) and matt middle blue (89) - Maru Mechanic inspired? - for the cockpit sides with matt aluminium (56) for the seats. Fujimi suggest "Gunze"/GSI Creos paints gray (H22) for the two seats and "metallic blue green" (H63), presumably aotake, for the rest of the interior. The seriously flawed Dragon instructions provide no suggestions at all for the interior colours. The Hasegawa 1/48th scale kit suggests a mix of "Gunze"/GSI Creos paints - 70% yellow (H4/4) + 15% green (H6/6) + 15% brown (H7/7) to make "yellow green". I have not tried this but envisage it would result in a "light olive green" (Thorpe's N5 approx. FS 34151) or "buff green" (Thorpe's N6 approx FS 14255) similar to the much touted "Nakajima interior green" paint colour. Robert C Mikesh (Japanese Aircraft Interiors 1940-1945, Monogram Aviation Publications, 2000) also reports a "yellowish green" interior colour which he unaccountably compares to (Thorpe's) N2 - a dark green.

Thorpe N5 Light Olive Green and N6 Buff Green

The FAOW cutaway depicts a pale green - similar to the Tamiya XF-71 IJN cockpit green colour. There are artifacts knocking about which show colours ranging from a light apple green, through a slightly blueish green to a definite olive green. Some further colour notes may be found here and here.

Image credits: Header painting © circa 1970 Bandai; Kit seat comparison image author; Kit Instructions: © 2002 Hasegawa Corporation; Others web.

Aichi B7A2 'Ryusei' ('Grace') Colours

This schematic on the subject of Aichi B7A2 (Navy Carrier Attack Bomber 'Ryusei') colours was prepared in response to another private request and may also be shared here. The colours are as measured and recorded on the surviving NASM example by Robert C Mikesh and documented in his article 'Japanese Aircraft Colors at NASM' which appeared in Vol.3 No.1 of the Asahi Journal and also in the B7A2 feature of his book 'Japanese Aircraft Interiors 1940-1945' (Monogram Aviation Publications, 2000).

In Asahi Journal Mr Mikesh noted that the cockpits were "full of parts and very dirty from earlier outdoor storage" therefore no measurements were made. In his subsequent book Mr Mikesh assessed the cockpit interior as "severely weathered and oxidised" but nevertheless recorded the colorimeter measurements shown here.

The upper external surfaces appeared to be a very dark and greyish green (black green) that corresponds closely to the Kariki 117 colour standards 'D0' or 'D1' which Ryôichi Watanabe has also compared to FS 1/26081 and the Luftwaffe RLM 74 (Arawasi magazine Issue 9 Apr-Jun 2008).

The external lower surfaces are a cool, neutral grey very close to FS 36293 which is just slightly darker. Whether this surface is oxidised/chalked and would reveal a warmer "olive grey" if rubbed back is not mentioned and is unknown.

Mr Mikesh compares the main interior colour from two measurements as being close to the standard Munsell 2.5 G 3/2. In fact this is not the closest value, @ 5.91 and 5.44, but rather those are 10 GY 4/1 @ 3.99 and 5 G 3/1 @ 1.97 respectively. However, I concur that these colours may represent a faded and oxidised N2. The closest FS 595b values to the actual colour measurements are 34092 @ 3.12 and 26081 @ 3.14 respectively.

The armour plate behind the pilot's seat conforms to this general colour but again the standard Munsell value of 2.5 BG 4/2 cited by Mr Mikesh is not the closest @ 5.91 but that is rather 10 G 4/1 @ 3.62. The closest FS 595b value is 34092 @ 4.16. This is even more indicative of faded N2.

The instrument panel appears brown and measures as such in Munsell but Mr Mikesh feels that this colour is a very badly degraded N2. The dark brown colours as measured are included here but again Mr Mikesh's preferred standard Munsell value of 5 YR 2/1 is not the closest @ 2.71 & 4.65 but those are rather 7.5 YR 2/1 @ 2.49 and 5 YR 2/0.5 @ 2.71 respectively. The closest FS 595b values are 37056 @ 3.45 and 37031 @ 2.04 respectively.

Although not specifically mentioned, wheel wells and undercarriage doors on 'Ryusei' appear to have been finished in the translucent blue-green 'aotake'.

Courtesy of Mark Smith a link to an interesting 1/48th B7A2 modelling article by Milton Bell is here. This article mentions that the bulkhead between the two cockpit positions is 'aotake' as indicated by the Shigeo Koike box art. The Mikesh book photographs do not appear to show that but I believe that Mr Mikesh would have noted it if that were the case. Unfortunately we do not know the source of Mr Koike's information.

Images credit: Rendered colour chips © 2009 Straggler incorporating original Kariki 117 paint standard plates.

Aichi M6A1 Seiran Colours

This schematic on the subject of Aichi M6A1 Seiran (Navy Experimental 17-Shi Special Attack Aeroplane) colours was prepared in response to a private request and may be shared here. The colours are as measured and recorded on the surviving NASM example by Robert C Mikesh and documented in his article 'Japanese Aircraft Colors at NASM' which appeared in Vol.3 No.1 of the Asahi Journal and also in the Seiran feature of his book 'Japanese Aircraft Interiors 1940-1945' (Monogram Aviation Publications, 2000).

Regarding the interior colours Mr Mikesh noted that they predominantly approximated the Thorpe identified colour N2 which has been matched to Munsell value 10 G 3/2 (see Thorpe Colour Table).

In his monograph on this type in the Monogram Close-Up series published as #13 'Aichi M6A1 Seiran' (Monogram Aviation Publications, 1975), Mr Mikesh identified the upper surfaces as being 'Dark Green' Munsell 10G 3/2 with the lower surfaces as 'Light Grey' Munsell N 7.5 and the interior as 'Olive Green' Munsell 10 Y 4/4. The latter value Munsell 10 Y 4/4 is the colour identified as N5 'Light Olive Green' by Thorpe.

Mr Mikesh also authored two earlier booklets on the subject of Japanese interior colours in the Monogram Close-Up series as #14 and #15 respectively, 'Japanese Cockpit Interiors', Parts 1 and 2, (Monogram Aviation Publications, 1976). In this publication he identifies Munsell 10 G 3/2 as 'Exterior Navy Green' and notes that there is no close FS 595b equivalent to it. The closest is actually 34058 @ 3.99 but it is too blueish in appearance (a value of 2.0 or less equals a close match).

An excellent account of the last operational use of Seiran may be found in 'I-400 Japan's Secret Aircraft-Carrying Submarine - Objective Panama Canal' by Henry Sakaida, Gary Nila and Koji Takaki (Hikoki Publications, 2006). The type is also covered in Ryusuke Ishiguru and Tadeusz Januszewski's superb 'Japanese Special Attack Aircraft & Flying Bombs' (Mushroom Model Publications, 2009) reviewed here.

Image credits: Seiran colour photograph Mark H Brown/USAFA via author; Rendered colour chips © 2009 Straggler incorporating original Kariki 117 paint standard plates.

"Dinah with the Finah Linah"

When the Airfix Ki-46 first appeared in 1965 it seemed an exotic choice for this most British of model makers. The Airfix Aichi D3A1 'Val' had been released the year before, in 1964, so perhaps the Nakajima B5N 'Kate' might have been a more expected stablemate. However, 'Dinah' had attracted the attention and admiration of the wartime RAF and a rare surviving example existed in England. A little surprising then that Airfix chose to represent the Ki-46-II rather than the even more streamlined Ki-46-III survivor.

The kit was cleanly molded in light grey plastic and captured the overall shape and lines of the original very well indeed. Markings for a single option, from the unidentified (by Airfix) 18th Dokuritsu Hiko Chutai (DHC - Independent Flying or Flight Squadron), were included. The Hinomaru were in the usual bright and unsaturated Airfix printers vermilion and the "Tiger on the Tail" bore more than a passing resemblance to the leaping tiger depicted in the then current Esso Petrol advertising"Put a Tiger in Your Tank". Painting instructions called for overall Matt Light Grey with red spinners and the memorable box art depicted an almost off-white Dinah attempting to take off from  a smoke-palled tropical airfield under attack by Corsairs.

This box art was duplicated, albeit in a truncated version, by the Airfix 'Craft Master' version of the kit marketed in the USA by MPC. This version was molded in a rather brittle silver plastic.

Problems with the kit, disregarding the raised surface detail, are the poorly shaped spinners, crude "flanged" cowling flaps and stalky, simplistic undercarriage. There were no separate engines and the "engine" detail molded within the cowlings is crude. Unusually for the time a basic interior was  featured which included an instrument panel, control column, bulkheads and seats. Cameras were molded to the underside of the cockpit floor and could be viewed through transparencies. All very commendable for the time. The Airfix kit may be further improved by using the Aeroclub/Airwaves photo-etch detail set specifically designed for it and available from Hannants.

The LS (now Arii) series of Ki-46 kits (of which more anon) was also issued in the mid-1960's but I am not sure whether it was before or after the Airfix kit. I don't recall seeing them until much later and the earliest boxing I have displays the "Japan Safety Toy" mark which I think was introduced in the late sixties (?). In addition to the Ki-46-II and Ki-46-III early production, LS issued a kit of the Ki-46-III Otsu interceptor and the Ki-46-II Kai trainer. Some compromise in details resulted from the use of common parts to all the kits. The LS series are beautiful kits, with fine engraved detail. The representation of the fabric covered control surfaces is superb if exaggerated. Some have suggested that these kits are slightly under-scale, being to the 1/75th scale of earlier LS offerings, but in fact they match up well to 1/72nd scale plans.

The Airfix kit was re-issued with new box art and "new" flash in 1979 (the box is marked as © 1978) and this time two markings options were offered, for the 76th DHC based in the East Indies in 1943 and the 81st Sentai 2nd Chutai in Malaya during 1942. The box art depicted the 76th DHC Dinah, with a unique anti-glare panel, being pursued by a couple of Wildcats. Painting instructions gave this as overall Light Aircraft Grey (M13 in the original Airfix paints collection) with Brick Red (M1) spinners and Deep Cream (M15) wing leading edge ID strips. The box art showed a pretty decent dark reddish brown for the spinners. Interestingly the 81st Sentai option was given as being Duck Egg Blue (M8) overall, perhaps a fair out of the tin representation of the pale blue-green JAAF paint colour # 1 Hairyokushoku (ash green colour). 

The last re-issue of the Airfix kit, in 1994, displayed box art changed once more to depict a brown aircraft of the 81st Sentai 1st Chutai over Malaya in 1942. An alternative option returned to a tiger-adorned machine of the 18th DHC but this time the tiger was closer to the JAAF originals in appearance.  The unusual brown choice was called out as Humbrol Matt 160 German Camouflage Red Brown with Matt 28 Camouflage Grey undersurfaces, whilst the 18th DHC example was called out as Matt 28 overall. The decal sheet included for the first time an instrument panel decal depicted, also unusually, as red brown! Images of the decal sheets and additional comments are here. This Airfix classic was to be re-issued once more by Hornby in 2013 as covered here. 

The colours of Dinah have always been a subject of some conjecture and most recently the case has been made, based on the evidence of relics and at least one colour photograph, that they appear to have been factory painted in a similar "olive gray" to the Mitsubishi-built Zero. One of the issues in identifying this colour is that when exposed it often developed a blueish-grey "chalking" which means that contemporaneous descriptions of grey or blue-grey Dinahs may not have been what they seemed. 

Ki-46 # 2414, brought down by Spitfires of 457 Sqn RAAF north of Coomalie on 18th July 1943 was examined two days after its crash by F/O Claude Pender, the Intelligence Officer of No.5 Fighter Sector, and his examination report describes the aircraft as follows:-

"The general appearance of the aircraft was quite new, probably not having flown more than 30 hours. The Dinah was of grey painted metal, the tail assembly and ailerons were covered in grey fabric . . ."

Strike one for Airfix. This does not sound like the grey chalking of exposed "olive-gray" paint. Another Dinah had been brought down by the Spitfires of 54 Sqn near Darwin on the 6th February 1943 and the combat report described the aircraft as being "coloured a greyish blue". Combat reports from the Burma theatre also describe grey, blue-grey, pale green and even "beautiful pale blue" paintwork. A contemporaneous Japanese painting of a 18th DHC Ki-46-II in flight shows a strikingly bluish looking grey similar to FS 36320. As a strategic, high-flying recce twin a blue-grey paint scheme would seem appropriate.

Another issue is that JAAF # 7 paint colour Ohryoku Nana Go Shoku (Yellow Green No.7 Colour), an olive brown shade like British khaki drab, begins to approach the "olive gray" colour in appearance when severely faded and bleached by exposure. Also the JAAF # 30 paint colour Karekusa Iro (Parched or Dried Grass Colour), often applied in a camouflage pattern to the upper surfaces, is somewhat similar to the "olive gray". Therefore it is not absolutely conclusive that the "olive gray" represents an overall factory finish on these aircraft or that it is an identical "olive gray" as found on Zero relics. The effect of the tropical sun and climate on the cellulose based paints of the 1940's should not be underestimated.

For those who wish to retro-build the Airfix kit and follow the original painting instructions the Airfix paints may be matched to the Humbrol range as follows:-

M1 Brick Red to Matt 70 Brick Red

M8 Duck Egg Blue to Matt 90 Beige Green

M13 Light Grey to Matt 64 Light Grey

M15 Deep Cream to Matt 99 Lemon

Not having examined the original Airfix paints the closeness or otherwise of the matches cannot be verified. I will be posting additional information about mixes to represent the pale blue-green Army Hairyokushoku in due course.

Addendum: Since this blog post was written, further information about the Ki-46 "olive grey" factory colour scheme has been posted here.

Images credit: © Airfix (Hornby Hobbies Ltd)

Aichi D3A 'Val' Interior in Detail & Colour ~ Part 1

Aviation of Japan correspondent Mark Smith of Dallas, Texas has very kindly shared a superb collection of colour photographs revealing the interior of the 'Fredericksburg Val' s/n 3357 for our study and enjoyment. Although the aircraft was in a sadly derelict state the exceptionally clear photographs reveal many interesting details and provide a useful insight to the probable colour scheme (which will be discussed in more detail in subsequent posts).

Photo 1 is a general view of the aircraft in situ showing the remnants of the red primer coat.

Photo 2 is of the undersurface centre section with what appears to be the remains of the original grey paint. 

The sketch provides a general view of the interior to assist in identifying the views in the photographs.

Photo 3 shows the pilot's cockpit looking forward with the remains of the instrument panel and the ammunition magazine for the cowling guns visible to the left of the image.

Photo 4 shows the port side of the pilot's cockpit with the control stick visible in the right foreground and the seat attachment frame to the left of the image (the seat is missing).

With special thanks to Mark for making these images available.

To be continued . . .

Image credits: All photographs © 2009 Mark Smith

The Nichimo E13A 'Jake' revisited by Michael Thurow ‒ Part 3

The history of the Nichimo 1/48 scale (ex-Marusan 1/50 scale) 'Jake' kit was the subject of Part 2 of 'Jake a Tale of Two Scales' way back in November 2016 here. Now Michael Thurow presents the third and final part of his impressive resurrection and improvement of his own, older build of that kit, as so splendidly realised in the heading image above. The previous parts 1 and 2 of his article are here and here. Over to Michael then:

The Nichimo E13A 'Jake' revisited ‒ Part 3 

Michael Thurow

The third part of my 'Jake' renovation story describes the final assembly and finishing of the model's main components.

Before painting the fuselage I asked advice from Nick regarding an amber grey variation for the E13A which I then tried to approximate with a home-made mixture that appears more amber than in Fig.12ff. Basic decals came from the spares box and the tail code was printed on clear decal film (red outline filled with white colour). A few extras are highlighted below -

The floats received prop warning stripes and indicators for the beaching trolley. I painted the underside dark grey, probably an anti-corrosive, that was not generally applied to 'Jake' floats but can be observed on a few examples (MM p.5, FAOW 207 p.12) and presumably on ZI-23 (ibid p.22). It lends a more elegant shape to the float which is a bit too deep for 1/50. Other details as described in Fig.13 -

The folded wings help to disguise the deficient chord at the wing root but caused an extra problem of spotting details on the few blurry pictures existent. My best effort is presented below. Even so, having a model with folded wings adds a special touch to my collection.

(4) Maru Mechanic (p.58) describes the stripes as drift marks. I'm not convinced because on photos (MA p.38) they appear straight and parallel and not angled like typical drift lines. They might as well be indicators for the leading edge tank or for the pilot to judge the float dimensions. Apparently not all early 'Jakes' were decorated in this way. (Dive angle indicators. Ed)

And here, finally, is the finished model -

ZI-22 was one of four Type 0 Reconnaissance Seaplanes aboard the tender Kamikawa Maru. The ship and her compliment of 'Jakes' seem to have participated in several offensive operations during the first six months of the Pacific War. FOAW 207 shows them floating at Saint-Jacques near Saigon in late December 1941 during the landing operation in Malaya (p.23). Carrier Operations Vol.II has them heading for Batavia on February 24, 1942 as part of the Java Invasion Force (p.29), and SPAW Vol.3 locates them at Deboyne Is. in the Coral Sea in May 1942 supporting the planned seizure of Port Moresby. The Kamikawa Maru soldiered on until May 29, 1943 when she was sunk by the submarine USS Scamp.

The beaching trolley is enclosed in the Nichimo kit as a bonus part. Some photos enticed me to upgrade it to a trolley-cum-work-platform shown here in more detail. With this picture I'd like to round off my seven months of involvement with this venerable kit. Thank you for your interest and for your kind comments.

References

CARRIER OPERATIONS IN WORLD WAR II, VOLUME II, DAVID BROWN, SHEPPERTON, 1974

TYPE 0 RECONNAISSANCE SEAPLANE, MARU MECHANIC NO.12, TOKYO 1978

IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY RECONNAISSANCE SEAPLANES, FAMOUS AIRPLANES OF THE WORLD NO.47, TOKYO, 1994 IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY SEAPLANES, MODEL ART NO.565, TOKYO, 2000

IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY SEAPLANES, NOHARA SHIGERU, JAPAN, 2007

SOUTH PACIFIC AIR WAR, VOLUME 3, MICHAEL CLARINGBOULD / PETER INGMAN, KENT TOWN, 2019

TYPE 0 RECONNAISSANCE FLOATPLANE, FAMOUS AIRPLANES OF THE WORLD NO.207, TOKYO, 2022 WWW.AVIATIONOFJAPAN.COM/2010/04/AICHI-E13-JAKE-INTERIOR-COLOUR.HTML

CORRESPONDENCE WITH NICK MILLMAN, 2019/2021/2023

With special thanks to Michael for this thoroughly exacted account of the resurrection and improvement of this older model - and how! A masterclass in how not just an older kit but an older model can be brought up to something beautiful to behold. 

Image credit; All photos © 2024 Michael Thurow 

Aichi D3A 'Val' Interior in Detail & Colour ~ Extra

A flurry of emails has prompted this extra post in the Aichi D3A2 'Val'; Interior in Detail & Colour series to clarify the origin of the photographs. Whilst the source of the formatted images (for the Aviation of Japan blog) was Mark Smith, it was Greg Springer who actually took the majority of the photographs in 1976. Greg has very kindly given permission for the photographs to continue to be shown here.

I was puzzled when Jim Lansdale mentioned the s/n as being 3150, because the data block shown in one of the photographs is 3357. This minor mystery was also cleared up by Greg who explained that there are two D3A2 airframes at the Nimitz. The main one, shown in most of the photographs, was 3150, recovered from Gasmata together with an A6M2 of the Tainan Ku by Australian military forces. In gratitude the Nimitz allowed the Australians to keep the A6M2 which was later restored and is now in an Australian museum. An enquiry from Jim Long led Greg to discover and photograph the constructor's number in the 1980's.

The tail section and propeller are from 3357. They were recovered from Cape Mensing on the northwest coast of New Britain near Cape Gloucester. This aircraft was coded 82-248 from the 582nd Ku and was probably part of the ill-fated attack on the Cape Gloucester landings in late December, 1943.

The image of the data block shown above is from Greg's photo-shoot in 1976. The block appears to have been applied over the dark green and primer, preserving the dark green beneath it. The circular aperture is the transverse tube for hoisting the rear fuselage for maintenance.

With Special Thanks to Greg for the clarification and the additional details about these aircraft.

Image credit: © 1976 & 2009 Greg Springer   

Aichi D4Y "Judy" Tailfin

From Ken Glass come two splendid photographs of a surviving Aichi D4Y tailfin photographed on a sunny day in August 1997.

The large photograph may be particularly useful to modellers contemplating weathering techniques on IJN warplane replicas as it reveals the way the red-brown primer is visible and the fairly minimal scratching to the bare metal. Shown next to the fin is a sheet of Munsell colour samples, painted not printed, for comparison. These samples are as listed in Robert C Mikesh's book 'Moonlight Interceptor' about the J1N1. Ken estimated 10 GY 2/2 as being the chip closest to the appearance of the paint surface which equates to Thorpe's N1, the closest FS 595b value being 14056 @ 1.10 (a value of 2.0 or less = a close match).

The tailfin was retrieved by the present owner from a scrap heap in Connecticut in the late 1940's. Much of the fin's present damage is visible in two photographs of the complete aircraft as captured in New Guinea in 1944. These images were published in a 1970's issue of the Japanese Koku Fan magazine. The unit code is '01-070' only partially applied on both sides of the fin, handbrushed in a single layer of white paint. Its appearance is streaky and lacking complete coverage.

This artifact is known to Mr Mikesh who has examined a small inspection port cover from the port side. The assessment of a match to N1 is confirmed in a letter from Mr Mikesh to the owner. A previous posting about D4Y interior colours may be found here.

The photographs were taken using Fuji 100 ASA colour film at f16 and 1/30 sec exposure.

Images credit: © 2009 Ken Glass

Nichimo Co.Ltd. 1951 to 2013 ~ A Retrospective

The news that Nichimo - or Nichimoco as they branded themselves recently - is leaving the plastic model kit business after 62 years is rather sad. There must be the possibility that some of their moulds, unique despite their age, will be bought and released by another manufacturer. Let's  hope so. Nichimo's  classic 1/48th scale Ki-43-I Hayabusa 'Oscar' is arguably a better model if not a better kit than the more recent Hasegawa version and has graced many a competition table since it first appeared in the 1970s with that strange brown Shoki-like scheme on the box art.

Their Mitsubishi Ki-51 'Sonia' remains unique in 1/48th scale and is another ever popular kit in its much debated blue colour scheme. The box art (as with most other Nichimo aircraft kits) was by Mr. R Nakanishi (b.1934). There is a fine advanced build article of the Ki-51 by Tetsuya Inoue here, honouring his grandfather who was a test pilot on the type for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. 

The floatplane Aichi E13A1-B 'Jake' is another unique 1/48th kit and it was recently the subject of an improved aftermarket resin interior set from Lone Star Models (sadly no longer available). 

Then there is the Tachikawa Ki-9 'Spruce' (Army Type 95-1 Medium Grade Trainer), another so far unduplicated model of the Army training biplane in 1/48th scale not to be confused with Otaki's 'Willow'. The Ki-9 is a lovely, delicately moulded kit, definitely worth re-issue, which includes an impressive interior, brass wire for rigging, nicely moulded standing and seated crewmen and decals for four flying schools - Kumagaya, Army Air Academy, Tachiarai and the seldom represented Mito. Let's hope we can see this one available again.

The Nichimo Nakajima B5N2 'Kate' and Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu 'Nick' although also long standing as unique and popular show table entries have now both been eclipsed by more modern Hasegawa reproductions.

Seldom seen these days is Nichimo's 1/48th Mitsubishi A6M5, long rendered obsolete by better and more modern versions.

Nichimo's 1/70th scale Ki-61-II Hien from the 1960s has been covered previously here and here and deservedly praised in the context of its time and technology. Their A6M2 Zero and A6M5 to the same scale were available until quite recently in attractive boxes to lure the unwary. The A6M2 is probably better in many respects than some other Zero kits of the same era, certainly besting the very strange looking Aoshima and rather poor Fujimi examples. Although the  evocative A6M2 box art depicts a Hiryu carrier fighter cruising with the canopy open and the pilot watching contrails the decal sheet curiously offers markings only for the well-known Saburo Sakai  machine V-103 of the Tainan Ku. 

The 1/70th scale Mitsubishi JM2 Raiden with classic K Hashimoto box art was a similarly workmanlike but unappreciated kit, perhaps overshadowed by the 1964 Tamiya example and later by the greatly improved Hasegawa issue. The two unusual markings options in this kit (the other being Yo-J2-34) remain, as far as I know, unique.

For many years until Fujimi embarked on a new family series of 'Claude' the Nichimo A5M4 was the only game in town for this nimble IJN fighter and has appeared over the years in various boxes, deservedly earning the title of 'classic'. It is last but not least here. 

Farewell Nichimo and thank you for your valuable contributions to the genre of Japanese aviation models, maybe gone now but certainly not to be forgotten. 

Image credits: All box art from author's collection © Nichimo Co. Ltd., various dates.