I have selected a vintage 1/72 kit from Hasegawa, their Jake with catapult.
The kit does not include decals for that particular Jake, so an online search found a sheet of PrintScale decals which included that notorious airframe.
Stay tuned.
8/17 updates:
Kit canopy is molded closed, one piece. So many iconic photos of flyers in the PTO show them with canopies back....do I "open" it?
I can find no aftermarket details for this a/c, but I should at least be able to model the gunner's flexible gun, right? So, what kind of gun. Online research indicates a naval Type 92 mg, not to be confused with an Army type 92 ;-)
Anybody make one, or is it scratchbuild time?
I'm lucky in this case-the Type 92 was a copy of the British Lewis aircraft machine gun which it almost completely resembles.
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In the mean time, here's modeling OCD Moment #1.
You never know where it will strike: what grievous inaccuracy will slip by, and what minute, secondary factor will lurch into view, and overthrow your carefully considered plans. In this case, thread.
The kit calls for it, to be used as a proxy for steel cable, on the catapult. In photo enlargements, no matter how I prepare, install, or paint it, it always looks like...thread.
You can't eliminate the Fuzz to my satisfaction. So what to do? Stranded wire? Hard to get a piece of a small-enough gauge, of sufficient length.
I'll make my own. Next time you're about to take a wall charger to the electronics recycler, don't. Crack it open and keep the transformer. It provides a near lifetime supply of fine gauge wire.
Downsides: it's copper, and it stretches. Looks great as a scale radio wire. Somebody bumps it. It stretches, never to be taut again. Or it breaks, in the middle. Start over. Also, it is coated with a lacquer to insulate it, which some paints struggle to cover. PSA Over. Back to work. Take three strands, tie a knot in both ends. Place one knot in a vice. Hold the other in a pliers. If you have aviation safety wire pliers, even better.
It's too fragile to use the normal way. Just cradle it with one hand enough to make taut, and begin turning it until.you get the amount of twist you desire. Give it a few gentle tugs to "set" the wire (so it doesn't curl or uncoil).
Lay out on your bench and hit with some grey primer. Let dry, paint as desired. Real cable for your cable.
Installed, it looks more "cabley" in close-up, no?
Fit is good, but beware, there is little to go by to ensure you're assembling correctly - almost no helpful tab/slot indications. I'll prime in black and overspray in gray, leaving the dirt and shadows....
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Now let's take a look at the aircraft
It's an older kit. Raised panel lines. Something must be done ;-)
In progress....
Thankfully it's 1/72 ;-)
Still, a lot of scribing, sanding, and Oops filling.
But first, let's get some cockpit framing.
In the mean time, beware old decals. Some yellow, some tear, some take forever to come off the paper. And now this.
More uses for stretched sprue:
While the aircraft is drying, I've blackened the catapult, before its final color of IJN Naval Gray.
Note, the retracted portion of the pilot's canopy had to be fabricated because 1. The removed section is too thick to fit down over the remaining canopy, and 2. I broke it in half trying. :-(
Some clear sheet bent and cut will stand in nicely, as it is a simple flat panel piece.
Not so with the gunner's internally retractable section, which I will simply omit :-)
A little love for the Mitsubishi 14 cylinder radial:
Color 4: Vallejo acrylic German Grey, for a blue-black antiglare nose.
Now, some detailing and touch ups before decals.
Ready for decals.
Ready for decals.
Here are a set of test "glamour shots" I'll be using to showcase it on the D&S page. It does tend to amplify flaws, so here goes:
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