Tamiya´s Seiran

Started by Pedro L. Rocha · 86 ≡ · ↻ 4 years ago · 1/48, Aichi Seiran, Empire of Japan GB, Tamiya
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    Pedro L. Rocha said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    The least fun part of the cockpit is underway... cabling!

    The first work is around the gunner position

    Note that the MG (apparently a very late war weapon, copy of the German MG 81, and used only onboard the Seiran) will be for the most part hidden away. I reshaped the end of the plastic

    since it came square when the real thing was round, and added the loading lever (is that the proper name?) I am also considering adding an ammo belt, thou I cannot find where (or what exactly) was the ammo bin located. Next will be the pilots office and hopefully by then the proper IP dials should have arrived, enabling me to complete the tube and close the fuselage

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    Pedro L. Rocha said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    Aaannd the dolley is done

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    Glenn Virgo said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    Looks great Pedro, look at the patina on that wood. This is going to be good.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    Hi Pedro!
    Cockpit looks a work of art.
    About the ammo belts, don't be surprised if you find out that there might be no standard place, but a couple or two "alternative" positions to store them. I think it was such case with my Val.
    Oh! And THAT dolly!
    Looking forward to your progress, my friend!

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    Louis Gardner said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    Hello Pedro !
    I think the word you were looking for to name the part of the MG is called a "charging handle". This is what is pulled to place a round from the belt or magazine into the chamber where it is fired. It also moves the bolt to a rear position depending on the type of weapon. I'll see if I have any pictures of the gunners station for you...I also believe the Smithsonian has a virtual tour of their Seiran on display. It might show some details for you too.

    Didn't the Germans send the Japanese some Mauser weapons via U-Boot to the Pacific ? I think they met each other in the Indian Ocean and the transfer took place... This might explain what you have here.

    The dolly looks amazing by the way... and now I'm getting the itch to build a sea plane. Too many planes and so little time.

    This is another excellent posting my friend. I like how you are super detailing the "offices". The seat harnesses and wiring looks phenomenal ! Well done indeed. I can't wait to see the instrument decals once you get them done. This entire build is a work of art.

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    Pedro L. Rocha said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    @lgardner - Thank you Louis, charging handle is the name I was looking for around my tired brain.

    And yes this MG was one of several weaponry the Germans sent via U-Boot to their axis allied Japan. The similarities of the MG81

    and it’s Japanese twin, the Type 2 are plenty on a quick look, but definitely not a plain copy.

    I wrote earlier that this weapon was only used on the Seiran, but It seems not. A Japanese website points to another hand held MG used on the Seiran. Looking at both I would say Tamyia used the wrong weapon, or at least made an hybrid of both in one plastic part.

    Anyway enough of geek talk 🙂 thanks for the feedback my friend

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    Louis Gardner said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    They do indeed look to be very similar in appearance. It also has the look of a MG-15 that you often see in the nose of a Heinkel, Junkers or a Dornier. The Japanese also used this and called it a Type 98.

    Here is one in a He-111


    and another in a Ju-52

    It's not Geek talk... LOL Great minds often think alike.

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    Colin Gomez said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    This is a fascinating build, Pedro. I really like your painting techniques for a "marbled" look to exterior and interior. I am going to try something similar on my Tamiya G4M but done as post-shading instead. You are most ambitious to also do this on top of an aluminum undercoat for chipping. I will only get to that with my N1K2 (which has a lot of chipping called for, obviously). I will try to do something much more subdued after painting with the Betty - probably with brush applied flecks of dilute Rub n Buff.

    I couldn't agree more about the beauty of Seiran. Really streamlined - incredibly so for a floatplane. The one other Japanese plane with similarly graceful lines IMHO is the Yokosuka P1Y Frances. Too bad no one makes one of these in 1/48.
    Really enjoying your posts. Keep them coming.

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    Pedro L. Rocha said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    Colin, sorry but your reply was unnoticed till now, must have slipped under the radar.
    Thanks for the feedback over the marbling and chipping. Indeed I feel that if there is a subject where chipping the paint over a previous metal coat that subject is Japanese planes. They range from impeccable to deliriously paint flacking effects. The Betty is one wheee creativity will pay, unlike the “museum” look of the Seiran, something I will try avoiding, but still keeping the weathering very restricted.


    A quick update- the cockpit is 80% done and is, by far, the area that demands more bench hours. Despite the canopy being only available in the closed position I did my best as if it would be open. A few more details to glue and dry brush and it will be wrapped up

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    George Henderson said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    Fantastic work Pedro...well done

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    Louis Gardner said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    I agree with George... This is fantastic work. The modulation painting and subtle weathering is spot on. You nailed it buddy.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    Agree with the gents above, Pedro.
    Excellent work!

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    Erik Gjørup said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    @holzhamer is at it again. Well done - looks fantastic!

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    Pedro L. Rocha said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    Thank you very much for your compliments my friends, glad you all like this build so far.

    Just want to post my solution regarding the ammunition for the MG.

    Long ago, somewhere in the late nineties I purchased a German aircaraft weapons detail set from an Australian company, Cavalier, which I believe no longer exists.

    Well one of the cool things inside the box are some ammunition belts made in flexible resin. Back then this was the first time I saw such product, so today I decided to use it. It’s easy to cut to size, apply and paint

    Here you can see it already painted and glued on the weapon. Still needs some weathering

    Also visible is another scratch addition, the tubular bomb aiming device, fairly typical in most Japanese navy bombers, and absent from the kit.

    Very close to finally complete the crews office and glue the fuselage halves.

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    Erik Gjørup said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    That is a very small but also very good addition that will make this stand out!

    I just got some 3D printed belts from GasPatch that are printed as a long "snailshell" (?) of belted cartridges - looks equally fine, now I just need an excuse to use them!

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