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Tom Bebout
142 articles

Tamiya 1/48 Mitsubishi J2M3 Raiden Empire of Japan GB

August 4, 2020 · in Aviation · · 15 · 2K

My second entry into Louis Gardner's Empire of Japan Group Build,. Thanks for the invitation Louis as I needed an excuse to build this kit and you provided it. This kit has been around for some time and has both raised as well as some recessed panel lines. I thought it would be a quick build but it wasn't. I did purchase a AM cockpit but only used the IP, belts, and some interior pieces. The canopy fit was a little iffy but I was impressed with how thin it was, almost vacuum form like. Construction was straight forward and mostly OOB but I did cut out the Nav lights and replaced them with some clear sprue.

My main concern were the decals, because of the age of the kit, but they preformed quite well. Should have realized when you place a yellow decal over dark green the yellow takes on a totally different hue. Lesson learned. Paints were XF-17 Cockpit Green, XF-11 J.N. Green and AS-2 Light Grey. Everything else was Model Master acrylics, and nylon thread was used for the antenna wire. Not much weathering was used as I tried to depict her as a new A/C from the 352 Flying Group in April 1945, Kanoya Air Base.

Reader reactions:
6  Awesome

15 additional images. Click to enlarge.


15 responses

  1. Very nice Tom. I need one of these

  2. Excellent build Tom, thumbs up!

  3. Very well done Lightning bolt.

  4. Looks great, nicely presented too.

  5. Great Raiden, Tom!
    You did a very good job on it.

  6. Boy, that kit goes back a ways... like mid-70s, IIRC. You definitely did a lot more than "make the most of it." "Liked"

  7. This is indeed a very nice build, Tom.
    Well done.

  8. Looks good, Tom. Love the lightning bolts.

  9. Great looking Raiden Tom.

  10. Tom, @tom-bebout
    Your Raiden turned out VERY good...and I sincerely thank you for joining us again in our Empire of Japan group build for a second dose of fun. I especially like the IP and how nice it looks installed. The exhaust staining and paint chips also look very lifelike and realistic. I wouldn't lose any sleep over the yellow decal colors not looking the same as what you had hoped for. They look great to me... It is hard to believe this kit dates back to the 1970's. It still holds up rather well.

    I have been following your build journal from the very beginning. It was filled with all sorts of good stuff and I will be using it when I finally get around to building the one I have in the stash. I also have the larger 1/32 scale Hasegawa version, and it has these exact same markings available as an option in the kit. Who knows ? I just might have to build both now...

    Well done buddy, and I pressed the "Liked" button too.

  11. Looks great! The Raiden is one of my fav Japanese aircraft. Well done.

  12. Great job, Tom!

  13. Nailed it, Tom! Really impressive build. Big fan of the lights. Top class as ever!

  14. Nicely done. I especially like the exhaust stains, nice and subtle.

  15. Tom @tom-bebout, Great job! I've been away for sometime now and trying to catch back up. Well done.

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