Finally we get to the good stuff! I started this kit before my hiatus from modelling, I assembled the cockpit and did some minor painting (with Poly Scale, I think). This plane would be a big step for me as the lower portion of the plane is NMF, and I never painted NMF successfully. Actually I only tried it twice on the Monogram P-51a and Texan in my teens, with both being sprayed with a rattlecan.

As per all late war Japanese planes, if they were painted IJA #7 (Ohryuko Nana Go Shoku, AK RC 330, Japanese olive brown) from the factory then the interior colour would be the same. So thats where i started. I used pictures of the KI-100 in England to aid in painting the cockpit as well as having Ronnie Olsthoorn help me along the way. As you all well know, Ronnie is a terrific illustrator who has collaborated with Nick Millman on several Osprey books. I am indebted to these two gents for their research, blogs, books , insights , and profiles.

Ok, on to the build. Having just recently completed the Tamiya Ki-61, I can say that Hasegawa's cockpit definitely lacks Tamiya's refinement and detail. The cockpit was OOB save for some belts I made out of Tamiya tape. The fuselage went together, but the gun troughs and cowl ring needed a bit of extra work to make fit without gaps.

Priming with Mr Surfacer 1500 revealed some imperfections which had to be rectified, and made the plan look like it had the pox

14 attached images. Click to enlarge.

To add some variety to the NMF, I sprayed the spar and fuel tank covers a different shade of aluminum. Next the IFF bands were painted with C58 orange yellow and the plane and landing gear doors were sprayed with AK RC 330 (IJA #7). I then started to lightly sand the paint with 1000-2000 grit sanding sponges cut into small pieces and held in some tweezers to mimic abrasion and worn and fading paint. This was done in addition to the chipping in the high wear areas.

16 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Finally weathering. Tamiya panel liner and oils were applied as usual. Finito!

I really enjoyed this build and was planning on building the Otsu (bubbletop), but I had to wait months for Hasegawa to send me replacement wings (twice, actually) to replace the kit's warped ones. I have them now and will start work on the Ostu this year.

Thanks for stopping by and having a look.

12 attached images. Click to enlarge.

That's a truly amazing Ki-100, Woody @wkubacki!
Painting and weathering are amongst the best I've ever seen!