Big Kanbaku--- Infinity Model's 1/32 scale Type 99 D3A1 "Val"

Got something finished! The weather finally moderated enough to get some painting done. I have 6 armor models fully built and ready for paint, but this one jumped the line. Not too much 'splaining why I built this one, always liked this machine and had to have it in 1/32. Took a while and high dollars to get, but WTH it's only Social Security bucks.

Aichi's monoplane Type 99 kanjo bakugeki-ki (Carrier-based dive bomber) was designed to replace the IJN's biplanes, first flying in January 1938. "The wing looks familiar", you might think, and you would be right. Aichi had associations with Ernst Heinkel GmbH., whose design group favored elliptical wings, seen on among others the He70. So the D3A1 flew on borrowed wings. The prototype started out with troubles, like spinning problems and poor lateral stability, solved by some wing design tweaking and a fuselage/fin strake. These foibles fixed, the D3A turned into an excellent dive bomber, and started operations in China. Of course it was one of the big three aircraft that ravaged Pearl Harbor, Darwin, Rabaul, Java, Ceylon, and Our Carriers at Coral Sea, Midway and Santa Cruz. The list of ships they sunk or helped to sink is very long, until the inevitable tide of the Allied War machine overwhelmed the fragile Japanese weaponry. The Type 99 was like all other Japanese warplanes in that it was unprotected by any sort of armor plate and it's fuel tanks caught fire very easily. By 1944 it was being replaced by the new Yokosuka D4Y "Judy".

The Infinity kit sure looks good in the box. The skin detail on wings and fuselage is a thing of beauty, replicating nicely the "stressed skin" of an all metal WW2 aircraft. Once assembly starts you realize you've pretty much got a limited run style kit on your hands. It is very doable, but does need more work than a mainstream model. The interior has lots of parts with iffy locating surfaces, but the parts are molded OK. PE seat harnesses are given but I made mine from tape, using their buckles. There will be argument here but I used Tamiya's IJN cockpit green for the main interior color. The mating surfaces on fuselage and wings need some flattening to come together properly, as do the wheel "Pants". I used the "slotted wheel' trick to avoid splitting my nicely filled pants, and to make wheel painting more precise. The flaps and ailerons were very badly fitting items that required much trimming and cursing, they never did get done to my satisfaction. Finally all was together and waiting for a day above freezing with NO WIND. We didn't have much snow but the damn wind was blowing hard all winter. Enough bitching time to paint.

The plan was to exploit the lovely stressed skin effect molding. I started with an overcoat of the base color. Again I might get flak, but I settled on a mix of Mr. Color RLM 02 grey much lightened with flat white Tamiya lacquer, to try and yield the grey green that is now accepted for Japanese Navy early A/C. Now the fun part. I finally got to put to good use my Badger Sotar 2.0 airbrush, which has been collecting dust for a couple of years. I undertook to put a fine outline of dark grey/green on every rivetted area, making a large ridiculously tedious kind of pre-shading. The Sotar worked great for this, being able to make crazy fine lines. Took a couple of hours of damn near frostbite, but got 'er done. Next I decided to hit every raised panel with a light color, using Ammo/Mig "IJN Ash Grey". Lately I hear you can thin Acrylics with lacquer thinner, in this case Mr. Color self levelling again. This worked fine thru the Sotar, with no tip drying for the hours it took to accomplish. Finally all was covered with a thin version of the basecoat, not going too far and cover up all that work. This process took 4 sessions over 2 days of frozen fingers, and my Wife thinks I'm loopy. Here's hoping it all shows in the photography.

Well, that was the hard part. All I had to do now was mask and spray the hinomarus and fuselage and wheel spat

stripes. I used the kit decals for the presentation markings and fin numbers. Here, a word about this airplane and it's pilot. One of the decal schemes the kit provides is for an aircraft carrier "Kaga" machine, AII-256. This is a presentation aircraft with markings on the fuselage denoting purchase by donations from Girl's schools all over Japan. Kind of like "Girls and dive bombers", eh? According to Osprey Publications Combat Aircraft No. 63, this machine was flown by one F 1/c Shinsaku Yamakawa during the Pearl harbor raid, part of the second wave. Having gotten lost after his attack, Yamakawa flew various courses for a long stretch until he finally found his base, becoming the very last airplane to land at 1246 hrs. Pilot Yamakawa always seemed to find action, putting a bomb on Oiler U.S.S. Pecos off Java, and nearly getting shot down over the Aleutians in June '42. This kind of stuff makes a model more interesting IMHO.

Now for the finish up portion. I sent for a set of ASK (brand) canopy masks, quick review they fit perfectly and stuck well. Infinity provides a fully closed one piece canopy and a set in sections for open use. The open parts actually stacked perfectly on each other except for the gunners "clamshell' cover, which I could not see how to get in there.

Study of available fuzzy period photos showed me that these might have been left off when combat and thence machine gun use was expected. Sounds good to me. Machine gun, pitot tube, little wing lights and antenna, and by the gods another one is done.

Recommended for well heeled modelers who like a challenge. (No, I am not well heeled, I just think I am). Unfortunately, Infinity I hear has already packed it up, but I hope more model makers put out some product that uses the "stressed skin" look this one has.

12 additional images. Click to enlarge.