Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien / Tony, Otaki
My second post features and old Otaki Ki-61 (from the mid-70s). It’s a very basic kit, but it goes together well, and seems accurate in scale and shape. I think there is a lot of life in the 1970s Japanese kits, even though the lack of detail is noted.
Kit is straight out of box and represents a 68th Sentai aircraft captured in New Guinea in mid-1944. It is cool airplane and well deserving of its faux Italian code name “Tony”.
5 additional images. Click to enlarge.
Christopher C Tew said on January 11, 2021
Very well done, Bob. Your build is neat and clean, and the camouflage looks to match the photos quite well. I really like the old Otaki kits, too, especially those like this one where the indented rivets correspond well to how the manufacturer’s technique caused the skin to look..
The best thing about this kit is that it’s a short-nosed Ki-61. Hasegawa has this version in their line-up, but most of the re-releases have been the long-nosed version, and none have the rivet detail. Congratulations on this splendid build, and thanks for sharing!
George Henderson said on January 11, 2021
Very nice looking machine
Jay Mitchell said on January 11, 2021
Those older Otaki/ Arii kits are pretty nice. You did great work on this one !
Haslam Yeoman said on January 12, 2021
Great result from this old kit. I really like these Arii/Otaki models. They are a bit light on in the detail department but build well.
John vd Biggelaar said on January 12, 2021
Very nicely done, Bob.
After being away from the modelling scene for a while, I also started with an Otaki kit which was an unknown brand to me.
I experienced that these Otaki kits, although pretty old, fit very well.
The camo of your Tony looks great.
Erik Gjørup said on January 12, 2021
Whats not to like – a DB-powered Japanese fighter 🙂
Nice!
Spiros Pendedekas said on January 12, 2021
Another great model, Bob. I love old kits!
Greg Kittinger said on January 12, 2021
Looks good! I remember building this same kit before I converted solely to 1/72 scale.
DE4EVER said on January 12, 2021
🙂 … Greetings … 🙂 :
Sharp looking build Bob.
The camouflage work is well done.