Hasegawa 1/48 J2M3 Raiden
This was probably my longest build so far. I started in April with the crazy idea of building all 3 of Hasegawa's 1/48 Raiden (J2M3, J2M5, J2M6) at the same time, but that got whittled down to just the J2M3 (the other 2 are waiting on final body work). The cockpit, while much better than the older Tamiya kit, needed some improvement. This was mainly done by adding wires, moving some levers and scratch-building the radio. Fortunately, the Raiden's cockpit and canopy is quite large so all these details are visible when the model was finished/ I decided to rivet the plane, a task I never have done, to add more detail. It was a long task, and perhaps one I wont do for every build, but it does add a bit more depth to the surface of the kit.
The kit went together fairly well, with most of the filling/sanding required was to fit the upper decking to the fuselage (there is a seam most people leave but it has to be filled) and the front cowl. The plane was primered in MS1500 black, selected areas were sprayed with Mr Color C8 silver, and then hairspray (chipping), blackbase and top coat. The masks for the markings was designed and cut on my Cameo 4, leaving only 3 decals to apply.
The plane is one from the 332 Kokutai from sometime in 1945. I don't know much about the history of the plane or who flew it, but I do have one photo of it, with two pilots (clearly friends) in front of it. Actually, their comraderie and anonymity is what drew me to this particular plane.
The full build can be viewed in the Empire of Japan Group build.
That is an excellent result Woody! ? Great looking model plane you've built here! ?
Nice job, Woody. I like the subtle weathering.
Beautiful finish work on this kit, and the extra work in the cockpit was well worth it, it looks great!
Truely amazing result, Woody @wkubacki
Every detail on this build is a pleasureto the eye.
Also the paint work and weathering is superb.
Thanks for sharing your building progress.
This is an absolute gem of a Raiden, Woody!
Excellent in every aspect, starting from your (usual) meticulous research and ending with your (again usual) totally realistic weathering.
Your build thread was an equal joy to follow, very informative and helpful, not only for potential Raiden builders, but also for modelers in general who wish to try some of your tips and techniques.
Thank you so much for being such an active participant (11 gorgeous entries so far, with the "Gaggle of Raidens" being a triple one!) and a warm supporter of the magnificent Empire of Japan GB. This GB would be lesser without your presence.
Congratulations!
Very nice work here and a great result.
Beauty Woody. One of the few Japanese fighters I haven't done or have in the stash
Great Raiden my friend!