There were
many Japanese prototypes and ficticious aircraft given code names by the allies
in WW2 but the Ki-100, despite seeing considerable combat in the closing
weeks of the war, never did. Because it was derived from Kawasaki's Ki-61 Tony,
an inline engined fighter, it apparently was not distinguished as a different
type by allied air crews who met it in combat. The Ki-100 was a superb aircraft
that simply arrived too late to make a difference in the war. Powered by a
Mitsubishi 1,500HP Ha-112-II and armed with two fuselage mounted 20mm cannon and
two wing mounted 12.7mm machine guns the new Kawasaki fighter was fast, well
armed and very agile. It was easy to fly which was important as the Japanese
were very short on experienced pilots at this stage of the war. It was employed
with considerable success against the American B-29s that were pounding Japan's
cities. When jumped by fighters the Ki-100 was more than a match for Corsairs or
Hellcats in the hands of a skilled pilot. Fortunately for our airmen, those were
few by the summer of 1945.
The kit is
one of two offered by Fine Molds in 1/72 scale of the Ki-100, one a
"razorback" and the later production bubbletop, which I chose to
build. My kit is a newer tooling I believe as its fit was very good and the
wheel well detail seems to have been enhanced a bit based on pictures I've seen
of other builds of this kit. There was a sink hole on either side of the
fuselage that needed attention but that was it. The cockpit is very well
detailed for the scale but I added the O2 regulator, map pouch, and fuel
selector valve using Mikesh's Japanese Interiors book as a guide. Externally the
kit is OOB and the kit decals were used to depict Major Yasuhida Baba's a/c
operating with the 5th Sentai in Kiyoso, Japan during the summer of 1945.
Click on
images below to see larger images
|
|
|
I covered the bottom of the model
with Pollyscale flat black as a prep and then shot Alclad II aluminium with some
panels of dark aluminium for contrast, though it does not show up well in
the photo. Many color profiles of these aircraft show them as painted brown.
Based on my research I don't believe this to be correct. They appear to have
been painted with a medium almost kahki green color which may have looked
brownish over time as it faded. The one color photo I have seen taken after the
war seems to support that idea. After much head scratching I settled
on Aeromaster Medium Army Green as it was the closest match to the references I
have. Though a decal is included for it, I chose to paint the fuselage band on
Baba's aircraft. In addition, the spinner is a two color affair of red and white
which adds a bit of interest to an otherwise mundane paint scheme. The prop
blades were painted Aeromaster Brown Primer and the tips painted yellow...a
departure from the more common tip stripe found on many Japanese propellors.
I painted the bottom of the
control surfaces with Aeromaster Japanese Grey Green and the wheel wells with
White Ensign Models Ame-Iro as it seems like a good match for Kawasaki's
interior primer. The model was pre-shaded, post shaded and panel lines were
accentuated with an artist's pencil and washes of MM Burnt Umber. The decals
went on very well and mine were thin but another kit I have (of the razorback)
has much thicker decals so who knows what you'll get! Finally I added the
radio wire from stretched sprue and called it done. I have always liked the
lines of these fine machines and the kit looks the part. I would highly
recommend one if you fancy late war Japanese fighter aircraft!
Joe
Click on
images below to see larger images
|
|
|
|
|