Scratchbuilders Ki-44 Tojo
By Ronnie Murray
The Scratchbuilders Ki-44 Tojo is the only all resin kit I've ever built. I've learned plenty and wouldn't mind doing this kit again. The assembly is very simple, nearly fool proof.
It comes with an "Engines-N-Things" radial engine that is the highlight of the kit. Add wiring harness and it's dazzling. The kit cockpit has parts that look more like 1/48 scale. I compared them with the assembled Hasegawa Ki-44 at home. Do some scrounging for parts or make them from scratch but it'll help in the end.
The holes in the white metal seat should be redone, they aren't large enough or in the right places. The white metal exhaust weren't hollow so I used a Hardees drinking straw and was pleased with the results. The landing gear bays need plastic sheet to cover the holes or else you can see inside the cockpit. The white metal prop seemed too thick so I used the prop and hub from the Revell A6M5 Zero, perfect fit. I DID like the white metal gun barrels and used those. The finish is good ol' Testors Aluminum plate sprayed from the can.
The for the markings was borrowed from an Aeromasters 1/48 decal sheet. The kit decals are very nice and offer several choices. I'm pleased with the overall finished product and feel that I could do much better with a second attempt.
This article was published on Wednesday, July 20 2011; Last modified on Saturday, May 14 2016