Banzai!…1/48 Mitsubishi Ki-51 Type 99 “Sonia” Imperial Japanese Army , Empire of Japan Group Build
12/2020
After a bunch of German stuff this year it´s time to move to another Axis Power. And it did fit perfectly for the Empire of Japan group build.
Nichimo kit, first released in 1975, detail is nice and fit is good, only the canopy didn´t fit so well.
Thinned down the thick pilot seat, drilled some holes in it and added Eduard seatbelts. Painted with an old selfmixed blue and Tamiya XF-14 JA Grey. EZ Line use for the antenna wires.
Build thread here
https://imodeler.com/groups/the-empire-of-japan-1919-1946/forum/topic/nichimo-1-48-mitsubishi-ki-51-sonia-imperial-japanese-army/
Model shows an aircraft of the 49th Independant Flying Group.
Great job on this. Weathering looks good. This old Nichimo kit, like the Mania/ Hasegawa Ki-27, holds up well for its age.
Thanks! Maybe you´ll see that Ki-27 too this year...
Now that is an attention getter in a scheme that is very uncommon to see. The weathering and chipping effect is spot on. About the size of a Kate or Dauntlass in comparison. Just a beautiful model that will really stand out among your other Green and Grey Japanese planes you may already have on the shelf. Good ole kit with excellent results. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Chuck! Yes, not much diversion with IJA/IJN camos 😀 therefore I chose this model and scheme for my dad to have something a bit different in the vitrine.
Having followed your build from the is start I say it is a splendid build! Congratulations!
Thanks Spiros! You did a nice job too with your Val 😉
That is beautiful! Love the scheme - I'm going to have to replicate that to have something different on my Japanese shelf!
Thanks Greg!
Well, a fellow modeler and IJA-IJN buff from Britmodeller said to me that the blue camo scheme is controversial.
But it looks good and is a nice diversion from blue and grey.
This is the painting guide from the kit...a bit confusing, three paints to mix 50:50...but I guess blue and duck egg green mix for upper camo and light grey for undersurface...
DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr
When you search the web for this scheme you find a bunch of models all oainted in different variations of blue. Found Blue Angels Blue and other tones...
As mentioned my dad used an old paint mix that was standing around for some time, he doesn´t know anymore which paints he used.
All of the above! Beautifully done, Those Nichimo kits are pretty cool.
Thanks a lot Robert!
That weathered blue scheme is excellent. I picked one of these up a while ago and was quite impressed with the contents for the age of the kit. Now I have another contender for the group build. So many kits so little time...
Yes, still can compete with more modern kits. You´re right, so many kits so little time 😀
Beautiful build! I have always wanted to build this kit after reading about it a long time ago in an issue of now defunct Scale Modeler magazine. A few months back I was able to secure a kit from my supplier and it now rests in the stash. Hope I can get a result as good as yours!
Thanks Thiago!
As mentioned, quality and fit is mostly good, so it should be no problem 😉
Beautiful weathering and chipping. Just like the Japanese planes looked like in real.
Thanks John!
Kudos on the build; I like the extra work that you put into it!
Thanks Rick!
Marvelous looking model @grimreaper
Thank you for documenting your Dad's work, and for participating in our Empire of Japan group build. I have been watching this one come to life from the very beginning. Well done !
Thanks Louis! Some more Hinomarus will follow. The Kate should be finished in 1-2 weeks..