Clear Prop 1/72 Ki-51 Sonia

The Mitsubishi Ki-51 (Army designation "Type 99 Assault Plane". Allied nickname "Sonia") was a light bomber/dive bomber in service with the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. It first flew in mid-1939. Initially deployed against Chinese forces, it proved to be too slow to hold up against the fighter aircraft of the other Allied powers. However, it performed a useful ground-attack role in the China-Burma-India theatre, notably from airfields too rough for many other aircraft. As the war drew to a close, they began to be used in kamikaze attacks. Total production was around 2,385 units.

Charles Lindbergh, flying a P-38 Lightning shot down a Ki-51 after a vigorous dogfight in which the much slower Ki-51 utilized its low speed maneuverability and made a fight of it. The Ki-51 served on all fronts in which the Japanese served. They were used right up to the end of the war. Those left in the Dutch East Indies were used by the nascent Indonesian Air Force and the Communist Chinese used them until about 1953. 

By today's standards, Clear Prop kits are considered to be high end short run. The detailing is excellent and there are a lot of fairly small bits, most of which are used in the interior. This boxing includes several parts that are not used. The most obvious are a pair of fuselage halves. That is because this boxing has windows in the side of the fuselage, something typical of recce birds so that the observer can see the ground to some extent.

The first eleven construction steps concentrate on building up the interior parts. There are side panels onto which a lot of pieces are attached. Decals are used for the instruments, which in this scale is pretty standard fare. Next the engine is constructed and you get two rows of cylinders along with the pushrods for the front bank. This is trapped in the cowling which is two side pieces and a front section. In the back are cowl flaps and the exhaust collector.

Landing gear  are two pieces for the strut and two for the wheels themselves. The tailplanes have separate elevators. There is an upper fuselage section that needs some items attached to it. Then the interior is trapped between the fuselage halves and the upper fuselage section attached. Don't forget to install the fuselage side windows, which fit from the inside. At this time, the motor mount is also glued in place.

Wings are a single lower and two upper sections. There is a clear section to install in the lower wing. This is followed by separate ailerons along with the gun barrel, formation lights and the landing lights. I'd leave off any wing clear bits until after painting. The rudder, tailplanes and the rear gun are installed along with the roll over bar behind the pilot. Wheels are glued in place along with the prop and the clear bits. You have an option of open or closed canopies on this one. I would recommend a set of canopy masks as there are a fair number of panes.

Clear Prop's instruction booklet is excellent. Generic color information along with MiG and Mr.Color is provided for pretty much each part. There are six markings options that are both mottled camo and solid color. Two of them are Nationalist China, one is Red China, two are French, and one in Manchukuo.

CONCLUSIONS

Prior to the release of this kit, all that was readily available was the Hasegawa/Mania kit from the early 1970s. This one is a lot more detailed and I am hoping that it fits a lot better than the older kit. It offers a nice selection of markings options and for those who have aftermarket or even the older Hasegawa kits, those decals should fit without any issues.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ki-51

April 2026

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