Revell/Takara 1/32 Kawanishi N1K1-J
By Steve Oakson
This a buildup of the old “lost” mould Kawanishi N1K1-J. This kit is generally pretty good in outline and has the correct “gull” planform of the trailing edge of the wings- this is not incorrectly warped. It had raised rivets and panel lines. The well wells and cockpit structures are decidedly old school with regard to the included detail- incomplete and not accurate. The wheel struts are basic. Therefore there were a number of things that needed to done to make this kit more to my liking.
- scratch built interior
- engine details added
- cooler exhaust door under the fuselage added
- wheel well details added and wells enclosed. The wells were not enclosed and open to the fuselage and wing compartments
- wheel struts and linkages were detailed and corrected. The complex hydraulic hoses and brake lines were added.
- all external surfaces were sanded and re-scribed
- used Archer rivets in selected areas that seemed to have raised rivets
- new radio mast made from flattened aluminum tubing that was contoured to a correct outline
- added Master Japanese 20mm barrels to the wings and gun pods
- canopy internal details were added
- My last hoarded bottle of Aeromaster Kawanishi green was used on the upper surfaces with Floquil Old Silver and Alclad on the under surfaces
- Tamiya and Mister Color used in other sites
- pitot made with stainless steel tubing
- opened shell ejection chutes and added bomb rack details
- markings are a combination of decals- some dated back to the original release-and painted hinomaru and wing ID strips
- new tailwheel from the Ki-44 gear set from SAC
When the Hasegawa N1K2 kit came out several years ago, I assumed the N1K1 would be next. I had saved this kit for at least 20 years and decided to break it out since the value of this kit would ultimately fall.
© Steve Oakson 2015
This article was published on Saturday, June 20 2015; Last modified on Saturday, August 20 2016