The legendary Hayabusa.
The Hayabusa, or Peregrine Falcon, was a new fighter plane that introduced modern trends in Army aviation, such as the retractable landing gear and high maximum speed. Much emphasis was placed on the maneuverability of the aircraft (at the expense of its durability, which was insufficient in sudden maneuvers). Despite the fact that the plane was not liked at first by the pilots, it achieved brilliant successes in the initial phase of the war in the Pacific. In particular, on the Malay Peninsula, where it fought F2A aircraft, which turned out to be much weaker in wheel combat. The machine was very little known in Japan, often confused with the "zero" of the navy. compared to zero, it was a bit slower (Version I V = 495 km / h) and less armed (only two 13mm (0,51 cal) machine guns). I recommend seeing the fantastic interview of the Hayabusa pilot, which reflects what a myth the plane has turned into today, which is completely inadequate in the opinion of a veteran pilot.
I hope you will like the photos. The model was created in two weeks, with the use of a small PE kit by Eduard and a metal pitot tube. I used very good Rising Decals "Donateted Birds IV" (the set of decals also had markings on later versions of the Ki-43). Honestly, it would be the second time I would not go for the Fujimi model, due to some significant shortcomings. Canopy very badly fitted. Extremely delicate chassis (although I used additional PE parts here). Drilling a hole in the fairing to mount the scope is a nerve and a challenge. The model, however, was an excellent learning base. For the first time I ventured to make an all-aluminum plane finish with Vallejo Metal Color Aluminum. This was covered with a clear varnish (two layers of X-35 and Wash Modeler's World, and finally X-22 as a finish). The images of the works are presented in the photos. Enjoy 🙂
You did an excellent job there, @lis!
Your result is simply great, far better than the original expectations of the Fujimi kit!
Love your painting and weathering!
Great selection of pics and truly wonderful interview of Mr Hinoki Yohei!
thank you so much for contributing with your builds to our ever succesful Empire of Japan Grou Build!
Looking forward to your next project!
Very tidy job Lis. Liked!
Very nice result, Lis @lis
You did a great job on the aluminum, it looks very realistic.
Very impressive to see what yo have achieved in just two weeks time.
Nice job, Lis. I like the subtle differences in colorings. From your pics and work I first expected it to be 1/48. Again, well done.
Very nice, Lis, I love the outdoor photographs, it definitely looks bigger than 1/72. It reminds me that I post some pictures of my own 1/12 scale Hayabusa. Definitely liked.
Great build and photography.
Excellent job with the Oscar, Lis! Great looking photos too.
I'm glad you like the model. Thank you all for the nice comments. 🙂
Lis, @lis
Your Hayabusa looks fantastic. I have been following your build log and watching how the model progressed. You should be very proud of it. It is a very nice model.
I definitely pressed the "liked" button for your article too.
Thanks for posting this. Now, with your help, I have figured out one of the paint schemes I will use for one of the two 1/32 scale Hasegawa Hien kits that I have started. It will be finished in an overall natural metal finish with Akeno Flying School markings just as your Hayabusa is.
That looks very nice! The finish came out well. All in all a really good looker!
I am really pleased that you write so warmly about Hayabusa 🙂 Thank You!
Fantastic model of an unusual subject.
Actually, the Ki.43 was better known in Japan than the Zero was. It was only after the war, when Americans who thought every Japanese fighter with a radial engine, a low wing design and a "bubble" canopy was a "Zero," arrived in Japan that the situation changed. (Which was surprising to find out, but the JAAF was better at publicity at home than the IJNAF was)
Nice model and a good result. A nice simple finish that emphasizes all the good work in creating the model.
"Liked"
Thanks for the clarification @tcinla
PS. At the urging @fiveten, I added the missing antenna wire between the cockpit and the main cable. I added photos to the gallery that show the effect (unfortunately in my base in Malaya there is bad weather and the photos did not come out too well because it is raining monsoons 😉 )
@tcinla @gkittinger @ross4 @lgardner @Haslam55 @chinesegeorge @gwskat @johnb @popeofchillitown @fiveten the tropical rain stopped falling so i took some photos with the radio wire added 🙂 I invite you to the gallery 🙂
Much appreciated, thank you.
Er hat auf die aussen MG verzichtet um mit der Focke Wulf wendiger zu sein.
Danke @messerschmitt ! Das heißt, es war eine Feldmodifikation.
Ja genau, hoffe so gedient zu haben. Gruss Hans Peter