Nichimo “Jake” with Lone Star Models Conversion
I have had the Nichimo Aichi E13A1 “Jake” in the stash for a long time, and finally got around to building it when I found a Lone Star Models conversion. The Nichimo kit is one of those old kits that was designed to have a battery and motor inside, so that the propellor could spin. The battery and electric motor fit inside where the cockpit would normally be, so Nichimo just put in a piece of plastic, along with aircrew figures as the interior. Lone Star Models designed a resin conversion to replace the kit parts with a complete cockpit. This conversion is LSM #0324, and I believe it is now out-of-production (OOP). To fit the LSM resin cockpit requires that the upper part of the fuselage be cut away, and replaced by a resin part. The conversion is very comprehensive and includes floor, sidewalls, seats, along with miscellaneous bits and pieces. It also includes a vac-u-formed canopy, that is pretty bad. I must mention that it is probably best that this LSM resin conversion is OOP, because the resin has a lot of pinholes that require filling.
The Nichimo “Jake” required a lot of TLC to get it presentable, even with the LSM resin cockpit. as a product of a bygone era, this kit was designed kind of like a toy. Besides the spinning prop, the kit also has a working folding wings feature, that allows the wings to be positioned up or down. I cose to eliminate this feature, and glued the wings in the down position. The kit also has positionable flaps, ailerons, elevators, and rudder, all of which I glued to prevent movement. As mentioned, the LSM conversion comes with a vac-u-formed canopy, but this clear part had so many bumps and lumps, that it was pretty useless. I used my old Mattel Vac-u-form machine to make a new canopy, using the Nichimo canopy as a mold. I made a couple canopies, which I was able to cut apart, so that some of the pieces could be posed open.
The paint is Tamiya IJN green and IJN grey, both lightened a bit for scale. Kit decals were still usable, so the markings are those supplied with the kit. I weathered the finish with Tamiya panel liner enamels, and also some oil paint.
5 additional images. Click to enlarge.
bob mack said on October 16, 2019
excellent work
Marvin Reyes said on October 18, 2019
Bob: Thank you for the kind words.
Pedro L. Rocha said on October 16, 2019
Looks very good considering the very basic plastic of this kit. What is a pity is that no cockpit photo is posted, can you manage one or two? Thanks
Michael Woodgate said on October 16, 2019
Fantastic job Marvin! I can’t understand why Hasegawa has not done a new tool 1/48 Jake. They have done kits of also all other Japanese WW2 aircraft.
Craig Abrahamson said on October 17, 2019
Nice lookin’ build, sir…..I like it a lot.
Haslam Yeoman said on October 17, 2019
All that effort certainly paid off.
John Healy said on October 17, 2019
Thanks for sharing this Marvin. I’ve never seen one built and have always been curious.
Louis Gardner said on October 17, 2019
If you don’t mind, could you post a few photos of the cockpit and engine ?? This plane looks very good, and I think you did a wonderful job with it. You don’t see too many of these built up. It would be nice if Hasegawa decided to do a new tool of this type………….
Well done my friend , and “liked”
Tom Cleaver said on October 17, 2019
A product of perseverance and talent over plastic. Looks great!
Reinhard Spreitzhofer said on October 17, 2019
Proper job there!
Robert Royes said on October 17, 2019
Nicely done!!
Greg Kittinger said on October 21, 2019
Nicely done! Great job taking an old kit and bringing it up to a nice level of finish.