Hasegawa 1/48 Ki-100 otu '59th Flight Regiment'
| KIT #: | 09176 (Jt 76) |
| PRICE: | raffle win |
| DECALS: | Two options |
| REVIEWER: | Scott Van Aken |
| NOTES: | 1995 release |
| HISTORY |
The kit instructions start off my saying something about the 'highly successful Ki-61'. Well not as highly successful as it could have been. Aside for a nearly non-existant parts supply chain that often grounded perfectly good planes for want of a gasket or spark plugs, the Ki-61's reverse engineered DB.601 was not the most reliable engine around.
When the plane was fully functional, it was very good, but so bad was the engine situation, that by mid 1944 there were scores of completed airframes awaiting power plants. Then, someone got the idea of using a bomber engine. These were 14 cylinder twin row radials that required a major redesign of the nose to properly fit. However, necessity is the mother of invention and in a remarkably short time, the Ki-100 came into being.
Imagine the surprise when it was discovered that this 1500 hp radial completely transformed the plane into an agile and fast aircraft. They couldn't be converted or built fast enough. Unfortunately for the Japanese, the plane only first flew in Feb of 1945, not enough time to get all that many of them into unit service before the war ended 6 months later.
| THE KIT |
It
will come as a surprise to no one that half of this kit's sprues are for the
Ki-61. Just like the real plane, Hasegawa has added those pieces that will
make it into a Ki-100. This is basically new fuselage halves and the engine
section. the wings, landing gear, interior, canopy, and tailplanes are all
standard Ki-61. And this is good as the Hasegawa 1/48 Ki-61 is a beauty of
an aircraft. Were I not such a lethargic builder, I'd have done a ton of
these.
So, let me take another look a things. Seven sprues of which one is clear and offers both canopy types. The detailing is finely engraved and crisply executed. There are the usual ejector pin marks on the gear legs, wheels, inside of gear doors and so on. None impossible to fix, but we wish they weren't there to start. Nicely done cockpit with raised detailing on the instrument panel and a decal if you wish to go that route. Nicely done is the sidewall and the rest of the cockpit parts, needing only a shoulder harness to make for a perfectly acceptable cockpit. One of these days, kit makers will start including this item in all their kits.
Probably the area that will cause any difficulty will be the lower fuselage section that fits over the lower wing. I have heard that care needs to be taken to get a good fit. Nothing fancy under the wings, just a pair of pylons and drop tanks. These could easily be left off and would make for a much cleaner looking aircraft.
Instructions
are par for Hasegawa and have the usual Gunze paint references. Decals are
well printed and the colors look right. The sheet includes the yellow wing
ID bands, but I'd recommend painting this area instead. Wing walk markings
are also included along with the usual insignia and unique markings. The box
art plane is in Nakajima dark green which is a more brownish shade. The
other differs only by the number carried and it is in Kawasaki dark green.
Note that on both planes the underside is unpainted metal and the main gear
doors are in the upper surface color.
| CONCLUSIONS |
These kits are as nice as other Hasegawa offerings and fit fairly well. However, I've built a few of these and have found that the wing/fuselage join always requires some of those modeling skills to get a decent fit. Nonetheless, it is pretty much the only game in town for the 1/48 Ki-100, and it does make into a nice model when done.
May 2022
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