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Keith
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Tora Tora Tora!

January 15, 2024 · in Aviation · · 47 · 551

This build took roughly a year to complete and features 3 Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft involved in the assault on Pearl Harbor.

I discovered this kit from Hasegawa around the fall of 2022 and had a pretty rough time tracking it down. It is a limited kit and had a very small run. Fortunately though, my wife was able to score one off Ebay and surprised me with it. I was initially drawn to the kit having all three planes in one. Especially the B5N2 Kate with the torpedo. At the time of discovering this kit, I had also been wanting to build an A6M2. The D3A1 was icing on the cake as I have a bit of nostalgia from using that plane in the video game Battlefield 1942 as a teenager.

Additionally, I purchased Eduard detail sets and mask for all three planes.




Since I just finished the A6M2 Zero this post will also feature glamour shots of it alone. The A6M2 was the final plane I needed to complete to call this build done.

A6M2 Zero:








Interior:


Engine:


Carrier deck photos - These forced perspective photographs were taken on a 1:48 replica of the IJN carrier Hiryu (24”x36”) that I made. Background images were photoshopped in.











Completed build for D3A1:

Completed build for B5N2:

WIP build log for all three:

https://imodeler.com/groups/work-in-progress-aircraft/forum/topic/hasegawa-pearl-harbor-attack-part-2-1-48-a6m2-b5n2-d3a1/

Overall, I am satisfied with this offering from Hasegawa and am happy to have it on my display shelf. My one major gripe would be the decals provided. Majority of them are rather thick and brittle. I used all the decals for the B5N2 Kate, but decided to move away from them on the D3A1 and A6M2 when possible. Specifically I painted on the Hinomarus, and any type of stripe.

Reader reactions:
24  Awesome 4  1  4 

1 additional image. Click to enlarge.


47 responses

  1. ~Excellent builds! You have a very thoughtful wife. Thanks for posting this article, with lots of great pix.

  2. Excellent jobs, Keith! You made the most of the triple Hasegawa offering!

  3. That is an awesome display of great scale modeling! 🤩 And, something to really be proud of! All three are stunning models, Keith @greenterroz. 👍 Your carrier deck also looks great; man, what a fine article all together! 🏆

  4. great work on these 3! Excellent results, thanks for sharing!

  5. Models all super. Carrier deck photos quite convincing. All good.

  6. Beautiful job on All.

  7. A superbly build group of IJN aircraft, Keith @greenterrorz
    Excellent work on the interior details.
    Pictures are amazing as well, especially the ones taken on the Hiryu deck.

  8. Excellent work on that trio. They look good sitting on that carrier deck.

  9. That's a beautiful treio of WW2 Japanese airpower. Really outstanding job in all three. Your carrier deck and photography really add to your build, top notch Keith!

  10. Nice work, Keith. I really miss Hasegawa new aircraft releases. They were always solid kits and represented good value.

  11. Fine result. I love the trio of kits in one box!

  12. Superior work on the IJN aircraft Keith. All three make for a great looking diorama, which would be a hit at any local model show.

  13. Now you just need an F-14 to display with them ! Nice work on the three of these models

    1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

  14. Really a superior effort. I admire all of the work you put into this project. What was your technique on the rivets and panels shading on the Zero? Looks amazing.

    • Thank you @markhedrick. The rivets were applied using a riveting tool. The panel shading was done by painting the whole plane black, and then carefully airbrushing in the IJN Grey-Green where I wanted highlights. This technique leaves behind dark areas when done correctly.

  15. Fantastic project successfully completed, very well done.

  16. G’day Keith (@greenterrorz),
    What a marathon effort for three excellent builds. Well done.
    It was great fun following the build log.
    Liked!

  17. Impressive presentation, Keith.

  18. That is a very impressive display , great job.

  19. Job well done! An awesome effort. @greenterrorz

  20. I'm blown away Keith (@greenterrorz) 🙂

    Very well done sir!

  21. Keith (@greenterrorz)
    All of these turned out very well. I especially like the extra details that you added to the engine like the plug wires. However, the thing that really makes your pictures stand out is the photo base you made. The carrier deck is like icing on the cake.

    Thank you for letting me know how you built yours step by step. I will be making one of these very soon for some Japanese planes I have underway. I have plans to make an American version for the same reason.

    I have another question for you. How did you get the background added to the pictures ? The sea / sky combination with some clouds looks spot on.

    Thanks in advance, and for sharing these beauties with us. You have done an outstanding job with these, and I made sure to click on several of the various "like" buttons.

    Well done. So what is going to be your next project ?

  22. All three are beautiful models! Fantastic project - well done!

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