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1/48 Hasegawa B5N-1 ”Kate”

Started by Louis Gardner · 15 ≡ · ↻ 3 years ago

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Louis Gardner said 4 years ago:

Here's another build that I have been wanting to do for quite some time. As soon as I get several of my current projects completed, I will start this one. It's an early version of the B5N "Kate". The most notable visual difference is the early style cowling and engine. It was also wearing a bare metal finish.

It should look very striking with a red tail and bare metal. Japanese aircraft from this time frame were very well maintained, so it should look new when it's completed. There are two choices for markings. I have not completely decided yet which one I will be building, but as it stands right now, I'm leaning towards the one with the red stripe that runs down the length of the fuselage. Here's the decal placement guide for the model.

I also have a Cutting Edge / Meteor Productions resin wing fold set for these Hasegawa "Kate's". These were discontinued years ago...I might use it on this build, or I could save it for another plane I have in the stash. If I built another Kate, it will be painted as a plane that participated in the Pearl Harbor attack. It depends on how well the resin looks with some bare metal foil on it. If it looks good enough I'll use the wing fold set on this model. If not, I might just have to build another Kate... I don't have a built model of the Kate in my display case, so this is the perfect opportunity to fill the void in the collection. Time will tell.

As always, comments are encouraged.
Bill Koppos said 4 years ago:

Had this one and built it, just as the box art. It is a thing of beauty when done, another '30's Japanese warplane that looks like a racer. A guy at a show saw it and fell in love, and talked me into selling it to him! I do miss Katie so...have fun with her.
Jim Altergott said 4 years ago:

I look forward to seeing it finished Louis. And thanks for the invite to the group build, I have three completed models and a FineMolds 48th scale Judy that I will build with a radial engine next on the deck to assemble.
Erik Gjørup said 4 years ago:

It was also wearing a bare metal finish

Wonder where this will take us with mr BMF at the rudder 🙂

I'm tuned in my friend and looking forward to the ride!
Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years ago:

A bare metal finish "Kate"? Yummy!
All the best, Louis! Your group build idea is simply wonderful!
Louis Gardner said 4 years ago:

Thanks gentlemen for the warm welcome with this build. A few days ago I was painting the "Aotake" Blue Green color on my Hasegawa Ki-44 model. Since I had the color loaded in the air brush I decided to break the plastic parts bag open on the Kate and start spraying some color on it. I started out by spraying aluminum color on the wells.

This was painted using these two colors from Tamiya, clear blue and clear yellow.

Next step was to spray on the clear blue color. I sprayed a very thin coat on. This is where I could have stopped and things would be OK.

But I wanted mine to look a little more green, so I added a light coat of yellow in some places. The key is to be random and not uniform.
Here's how the wheel wells looked after the clear yellow painting was done.

The Kate wing is on the bottom and the Ki-44 wing is on the top in this next photo. Same as before.

I'll go back now and wipe off the excess overspray. I am already liking how it looks and I just started... I have several Kate's in the stash, and no built examples in my collection. We will see how this one turns out, and go from there. It should look very striking with a chrome bare metal foil and some bright red colors...

as always comments are encouraged.
Reinhard Spreitzhofer said 4 years ago:

So we´ll soon have a nice pair of Kates 😉
Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years ago:

Looks great @lgardner! Cannot wait to see your Kate taking shape!
John Healy said 3 years, 12 months ago:

Great choice, Louis. I have that kit in the stash and will be following your experience with it closely.
Louis Gardner said 3 years, 5 months ago:

Gentlemen, I have been too busy with too many other projects, and these various Japanese model builds have been neglected. These "priority" builds had a deadline to meet and have been completed. Now these remaining Japanese models will no longer be left alone, as I plan to finish what I have started. I have also added a few more aircraft builds to the Empire of Japan group. These will include a 1/32 scale Hasegawa Ki-61 and a 1/32 Hasegawa Mitsubishi Raiden. I have also started working on the pair of 1/48 Hasegawa Ki-45 Toryu kits. There will now also be regular updates on this B5N Kate.

Reinhard, @grimreaper
I'm afraid that I left you on your own to build yours first. That wasn't intended, so please accept my apologies for that. Your Dad has finished his well ahead of mine, and it looks magnificent. Thank you very much for the work you guys have put into this group.

Spiros, @fiveten
Your wait is over, as I have started working on this model again.

John, @j-healy
Now you can start following along with me as I finish this one up. I would like to see you build your kit if that is possible. I will extend the time that is available on this Empire of Japan group as necessary. So please don't hesitate to start yours up if you want to. Thanks !

Wow !
It's been way too long (over 4 months now), and I have not posted anything on this particular build. I have a Japanese aircraft propeller "production line" going on right now, and I have included the prop for this Kate in the assembly line.

Tomorrow after the rest of the props have had time to dry overnight, I'll spray the back side of the blades to represent the anti glare measures that were done on the real thing. From what I have read, they could have been a flat shade of brown, or even black. Since I'm painting "propeller brown", you can guess what color this one will be.

Here's the propeller for the B5N. Not much to look at right now, and this is a kind of lame posting.

In the future this one will get regular updates, now that several other projects have cleared the work bench. So please stay tuned.

As usual, comments are encouraged.
Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 5 months ago:

Now you make wanting to start my Nichimo Kate, Louis @lgardner!
What a restart!
Looking forward to your progress!
Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 5 months ago:

Louis, to quote you;

Not much to look at right now, and this is a kind of lame posting

You know, that is the conditions of our hobby, and the risk of making an in-progress build available. I have several unfinished builds from some 30-odd years ago when I had to stop building as life interfered.
As usual it is worth the wait for a re-start on a project from the Iron Works, and I'm back in the seat, popcorn at hand - bring on the show my friend!
Tom Cleaver said 3 years, 5 months ago:

Just a note on the finishes, for those contemplating doing IJNAF aircraft in NMF. It wasn't bare aluminum. You cannot operate an airplane at sea with an unpainted aluminum airframe, as it will disintegrate from saltwater and salt air corrosion. These airplanes, like the USN "silver" carrier aircraft in the late Korean War period, had a clear anti-corrosion coat of paint. This paint yellowed under the sun during extended periods at sea, which resulted in the famous "yellow" or "golden" A5Ms. It's really not a heavy yellowing, very mild. In a B/W photo it wouldn't show up, which is why it took till the guys at the old j-aircraft.com started doing their research 20 years ago that this was discovered.

This is how I did it on an A5M4. You can get away with it being aluminum, but you should put a clear coat over it, because it's not bare NMF.
3 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Louis Gardner said 3 years, 4 months ago:
Last night I was busy with building propellers for various Japanese aircraft. I completed a pair for some 1/48 Hasegawa B5N Kate’s, one for a Fine Molds Ki-10 “Perry” .

After painting the hubs silver, I covered the fronts with bare metal foil.
1. Ki-10 Perry
I have also found a cool black and white picture of a B5N that is marked similar to one of the kit supplied decal choices.

I finished with the filing and sanding work on the pair of props for the 1/32 scale Hasegawa Ki-61’s that are on the work bench. I'll post the pictures there. This is a short "test" post to see if indeed my plan B is working for posting pictures. My cell phone battery no longer holds a charge...

As always, comments are encouraged.
Thanks for stopping by.
Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 4 months ago:

Wow! BMF on the props!
How more spectacular can this be, Louis @lgardner!
Amazing work!

Viewing 1 - 15 of 15 posts

The Empire of Japan 1919-1946

1/48 Hasegawa B5N-1 ”Kate”