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Joe Caputo
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1/72 LS Mitsubishi Ki-46 “Dinah”

February 6, 2015 · in Aviation · · 23 · 4.2K

Mitsubishi "" Japanese Army Type 100-2 is the full name given on the old box. The "Dinah" was a recon/trainer aircraft, and one of WWII Japan's nicest looking aircraft.

I continued my venture into WWII Japanese aircraft with this old LS kit. For it's time, it was a very nice kit, with fine engraving, and fairly nice detail, inside and out. The fit was surprisingly good, with very little filling to do. The box art attracted me because the colors were so different. The decals, as is the norm for these ancient kits, were shot. Luckily there weren't very many that had to be substituted for. The clear parts seemed fairly thick in scale. It was an enjoyable build overall, and should look good next to my green/bare metal Ki-61.

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23 responses

  1. The first time i see a LS Dinah build so far, great camo scheme Joe 🙂

  2. I agree with Bernd. Nice camo. Wonder how practical this camo was during the war. It seems more in line with armor camo. Great build! Well done!

  3. Cool camo- very unusual.

  4. Not a scheme I've seen before, but always like the Empire of Japan models for variety of types and finishes.

  5. Looks good. I bought (and built) two of these from a collector a while back. I was impressed with the quality of them.

  6. We usually see the rusty-brown color on Jap props - are my eyes playing tricks on me or it is maybe the camera/lighting...? Did you have a color photo reference or did you go by the instruction color suggestion(s),,? Never done a IJA or IJN bomber before, but if I ever did, I think I'd try to something I rarely (if ever) do, and that's build the Betty that was used at the surrendering. IIRC, it was overall white with green crosses on it .

  7. Definitely the camera, Craig. It doesn't look that "bright" in person, nor are the props that color. I used my IPMS color gude for reference, as well as my FS book, and got fairley close. I don't know what's up with the camera, but my recent Brit P-40 looks even worse. Batteries? Lighting? Perhaps I'll try again.

  8. Definitely a bright one Joe. I wonder what terrain it's supposed to blend in with.
    Nice job.

  9. It blends in with a bad dream, Al. A lot of their stuff was used in China, early on...but your guess is as good as mine..

  10. Definitely loud Joe. As for the props ?
    Nice one mate.

    • Sorry for the camera work. It really doesn't do it justice, and is much less colorful in person. I'm sort of enjoying the vibrant look of it here, though.

  11. That is one of the prettier Japanese WWI aircraft Joe. I was waiting for you to convert it to a racer...

    That scheme is pretty bright,...

  12. Very nice build, since I'm into Jap planes, I'm happy to see your Ki-46. And yes, they said it before but the camo is quite intriguing. By the way, are the insignia painted or decals? I'm building Zeke now and I'm looking for a good way to make masks for circles. Anyway, good job.

    • I developed a good method for making the Japanese insignia when I did my Mavis. I made a cutter from a 2 mm drill bit, grinding it at 70 deg,, then honing it to a razor edge. I put this in a high quality compass and used it to cut out disks of masking tape that had been laid out flat on my cutting board. It worked readily well, and I've since used it on several other projects.

      • Thank you Phil, that's interesting, not sure if I'll manage to make it your way - no experience, but I'll give it a try. Well, there are still decals if I fail 😉

  13. insignia are aftermarket decals, sorry. I tried to follow the box art on the camo. No idea where they came up with it. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

  14. Another excellent job from you, Joe, that camoflage scheme is brilliant, though I haven't seen any Chinese landscape (yet) that it would blend in with!

  15. Interesting subject, always thought this was a very good looking aircraft, the "Japanese Mosquito" in my view.

  16. Joe,
    Looks good, love the scheme. My compliments for completing n LS kit.

  17. Hi Joe, great model...What colors numbers do you used in this scheme? Greetings from sunny Costa Rica

    • Save me a place in Costa Rica ! It's on my bucket list ! First off let me explain that the camera played games with the colors, and that they look nothing like that in person. The "brown" is not so red, and the "yellow" is more of a dull mustard color. I had no color call outs and tried to duplicate the box art as well as I could. "Box art sells", and that's what caught my eye. Thanks for your comments, Alejandro.

  18. I'll get down there one of these days... The paint I used was were simple acrylics, which can be purchased at any craft store, mixed to match the box art (as close as I could), then brushed on. I had just gotten into Japanese WWII aircraft, attracted by their colors, but had little info on them except for the computer and box art. Sorry to say, I didn't spent a lot of time or effort on them.

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