1/48 Tamiya Hyakushiki Shitei III 

Command Reconnaissance Aircraft

by Rai

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Greetings from Singapore!!
The Hyakushiki Shitei III (Army Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Model III) was an improved version of the unarmed, long-range, high-speed, high-altitude Mitsubishi Ki-46 reconnaissance plane of the Japanese Army Air Forces. Able to reach 630km/hr (390mph) and fly at 10,000m (32,000ft), few Allied fighters could catch it. Given the codename ‘Dinah’, it was one of the most aesthetically pleasing aircraft ever produced with an efficient aerodynamic design.
 
This kit was built OOB. No need for any aftermarket stuff for this one as Tamiya’s detailing both on the aircraft body and the cockpit was already good enough. The parts fit together excellently except for the wheel-well where there is this annoying joint right in the middle. The location made it difficult to putty and so you either have to live with it or leave it alone.

Click on images below to see larger images

  

  

  

The aircraft being finished in the typical boring Imperial Japanese military aircraft colors of WWII, painting was generally easy with Tamiya’s acrylics, XF-13 J.A. Green upper surface and XF-14 J.A. Grey undersides onto X-11 Chrome Silver base. There being a single coat of Future applied onto the silver base before putting on the upper surface and the underside colours. The challenging part of building Japanese WWII aircraft is without a doubt the weathering process. By having the Chrome Silver base, I was able to use the blade-peel technique to scrape-off the green or grey to reveal the ‘bare metal finish’ underneath. A diluted mix of JA Green with XF-1 Flat Black was then applied along the panel lines by using a fine-spray airbrush to simulate the panel joint dirty washes. The panels were then toned-down by using the Tamiya Weathering Master Set B - ‘Snow’. I was hoping to accentuate the effect of paint quality deterioration in smaller parts of the individual panels.

The kit was depicted as ‘White 88’ from Hiko 10th Sentai, 1st Chutai (10th Air Combat Group, 1st Squadron), the decals being supplied together with the kit. Decals for Dokuritsu Hikotai (Independent Air Unit) 18th and 55th Chutais (squadrons) were also provided as alternative choices. The 18th Chutai emblem of a pouncing tiger was  exceptionally pretty (see Federico’s contribution under the Hyakushiki Shitei archive). This was an enjoyable built with excellent quality all around.

Rai

Photos and text © by Rai