text: Aviaeology have informed me that 1/72nd and 1/32nd scale versions of their IJN Tail Codes sheets (available in yellow, white, red & black) are in the works and should be available from their eBay shop soon.
  The new 1/72nd scale kit of Hayate (Squall) from Czech manufacturer Sword was a surprise, not least because the Hasegawa kit is already such a good one. Or is it? It was released at the same time as their Hayabusa. To "The Old Men of the Plastic" that still seems quite recent but to younger modellers it is already considered ancient, with that modern apotheosis of everything evil about old kits - raised panel lines!
  I do not know whether there is any connection between Sword and AML, but the new kit is molded in the slightly soapy grey plastic favoured by the latter manufacturer. The surface detail seems to be more finely engraved however, except for the fuselage access hatch which is raised and looks rather crude. The kit does include resin parts but not as many as in AML's hybrid Hayabusa kits or as crucial to the overall construction. In resin there are a two part engine which incorporates the mounting firewall, the wing machine gun barrels, a wheel well detail insert (as for the AML Hayabusa kits) and a mesh insert for the large oil cooler under the cowling. The rest of the kit, including the cockpit, is all molded in plastic and there is no photo-etch, thank goodness.
  The cockpit consists of a floor, seat, engraved console, stick, front and aft bulkheads, engraved instrument panel, cowling machine gun breeches and a gun sight in transparent plastic. There is also sidewall detail molded to the fuselage halves. The seat is plain, without ribs or lightening holes, but the latter are easy enough to drill and will improve the appearance sufficiently without having to purchase expensive aftermarket parts. Ribbing and other details may be added with hsp. The seat in the Hasegawa kit is also plain, but there was no sidewall detail and only the seat, floor, stick and a flat instrument panel with decal were included. The interior detail in the Sword kit should be enough for most tastes but a seat belt will need to be added. Sword cite dark green or translucent blue-green ("aotake") for the whole interior including the seat. Hmm.
  The front and top of the cowling are separate parts but the cowling sides are molded as part of the fuselage halves. This is similar to the approach taken by Hasegawa, except that the cowling front and top were molded as one piece rather than two. It remains to be seen whether Sword have captured the shape correctly by this method although built up examples look OK in images. According to reports on the net the kit is a straightforward build without any particular difficulties.
  Two canopy options are provided, a single piece and a three piece to allow the canopy to be posed open. They are injected rather than vacform and appear to be commendably thin and clear. There are also two separate rudders, narrow and broad chord, although the instructions are less than helpful in matching these to the markings options provided in the kit. Cowling flaps are separate parts, although molded integrally with the exhaust outlets. The spinner is one piece and harks back to the Hasegawa design without provision for a back plate to cover the blade indentations which is a feature of most modern kits.
  The tail wheel doors are molded separately, unlike the Hasegawa kit which were molded to the fuselage halves in the open position, and have inner face detail. The underwing fuel cooler is also a separate part and captures the actual shape very well. This was not included in the Hasegawa kit. There are also parts for the two underwing drop tanks with separate mounting brackets. Sword suggest painting these either grey-green or light blue.
  As already hinted colour and markings information is basic and slightly suspect. The box art has a stab at the dreaded "late war brown" whilst the three options in the kit are all given as "Nakajima green" over grey-green. Hmm again. Fortunately the decals provide for two out of three as unique options. The 50th Sentai Hayate of WO Yojiro Ofusa is especially welcome as it includes the two character aircraft name so difficult to otherwise replicate, but the suggestion of alternative white Home Defence wing bandages for this same machine is very odd. An aircraft of the 8th Rensei Hikotai (shown on the box art) with its distinctive yellow tail marking continues the unorthodox trend but the third option is an old favourite from the 57th Shimbutai. Hayate models often come in clichéd markings so Sword's more unusual choices are very welcome.
  The choice of alternative markings for this kit (or the old Hasegawa one) is happily extended by the recent release of the Lifelike Hayate Part 1 set to 1/72nd scale. This includes China ace Moritsu Kanai's black 25th Sentai machine (possibly painted a very dark grey), the well know shooting star adorned 1st OFTU Ki-84 often attributed to "Corporal Naito" but actually flown by Lt Kurai, a 104th Sentai leader aircraft with an unusual fuselage chevron and white wingtips, the unusual blue 102nd Sentai aircraft the colour for which is based on the extant rudder and the rather plain but quite well-known 2nd Hikodan Commander's aircraft. Detailed colour instructions are provided with explained references and it is good to see the use of ohryoku 7 go shoku gaining prominence in Japanese resources on the subject. Lifelike have drawn on Gakken 46 and cite it as the best source on Hayate.
  Whilst on the subject of decals Aviaeology have released some very useful sets of IJN tail codes to 1/48th scale. The sets are available from their eBay shop in yellow, red, black or white and include unit characters, numbers and letters. Hopefully they will also release them to 1/72nd scale.
  Further to my previous comments about RAF Camouflage Beige - 'Hemp', Moscow Modeller Dmitry Korolkov has very kindly sent me this photograph of a Hasegawa Zero that he test painted last year with Vallejo's 71023 'Hemp'. Thank you Dmitry, and warm greetings to the Moscow modellers interested in Japanese aircraft.
  There have not been many 1/72nd scale kits of Aichi's D3A, which is perhaps surprising given its effectiveness as a maritime dive bomber in the early years of the Pacific War and its charismatic appearance.
  The veteran Airfix 'Val' first appeared in 1964 and was typical of the Airfix kits of that era: simple, unpretentious and honest. Markings for a single Akagi dive bomber "A1-201" were included but the tail code was depicted in black, as was the paint-it-yourself trim on the wheel spats. The distinctive sweepback of the blue-black anti-glare was not observed, the artwork and instructions depicting only a black engine cowling. It was re-issued several times with the same markings, but most recently in 1997 with improved markings options. These provided an additional option for Egusa's colourful green camouflaged and red-tailed "B1-231" from the Indian Ocean operation (although captioned as being from the Pearl Harbor attack on the instruction sheet) and now offered the black wheel trim for "A1-201" as decals. There are some concessions to accuracy, most noticeably in the 'sit' of the spatted undercarriage, and simplified details, but it has a lot of charisma, looks the part and can form the basis for an excellent model. Canadian modeller John Wong has shown just what can be achieved with the Airfix kit. It is still a favourite of mine and I like its straightforward build and robust, pugnacious look. A more detailed look at this kit and its box art will follow in due course.
  In 1985 Fujimi issued a new D3A "family" consisting of D3A1 and D3A2 kits sharing common parts. This required some compromise in construction and a five part fuselage including a separate upper fuselage deck. Most criticism of this kit has focused on the construction problems caused by this parts breakdown but it is undoubtedly a finer and more accurate kit than the Airfix one. Molded in Fujimi's hard glossy plastic it provided markings options for two aircraft: "Yo-206" a pre-war red-tailed, silver aircraft and "A1-203" a Pearl Harbor attacker from Akagi. The pre-war silver aircraft are sometimes modelled as being highly polished natural metal, but apart from the prototype, photographs strongly suggest they were in fact painted aluminium.
  Polish manufacturer Plastyk issued a D3A1 kit in 2005. It appears to be a copy of the Fujimi kit but is molded in a rather rubbery dark grey plastic with spark-eroded detail. The fit problems of the Fujimi kit have also been copied and are exacerbated by shrinkage with the upper fuselage decking being particularly problematic. The join and difference in cross section are hard to conceal without building up the lower fuselage sides. A single set of poor quality decals for the Fujimi kit's Akagi stablemate "A1-202" are included.
  Recommendations. For a serious model choose the Fujimi kit, but for an enjoyable weekend build the Airfix kit will not disappoint. The curious might seek out the Plastyk clone to complete a kit collection or, if feeling brave, have a go at building it.
  Japanese aviation researcher Jim Lansdale has published an exacting and revealing examination of Aichi D3A1 dive bomber casualties at Pearl Harbor at j-aircraft.com including measured Munsell colour values from extant aircraft artifacts.
  The Munsell values as listed in the article are rendered above with the closest FS595b comparison value shown beneath each chip together with its DE2000 difference calculation. A calculation of 2.0 or less equals a close match. In two examples where the closest FS equivalents are poor matches I have included a comparison to 16350 but it is not the closest match.
  The first two plates show the variegated Munsell values taken from a single artifact together with the calculated average (9th chip). The third plate shows the two Munsell values cited from a visual assessment of a metal fragment from the same aircraft by Robert C Mikesh - the original colour said to lie between the two. The last value is from another metal artifact.
  As far as modelling paints go, and without going into complex mixes but allowing for scale effects, here are a few starters:
  Polly Scale F414317 or F110082 'Concrete' are also in the ballpark, but a little lighter and greyer.
  For their 1997 1/48th scale D3A1 kit, Hasegawa suggest the following Mr Color mix: 50% #55 'Khaki' + 30% #13 'Neutral Grey' + 10% #4 'Yellow' + 10% #1 'White'
  White Ensign Models Colourcoats ACJ17 'Nakajima Amber Grey (Ame-iro)' is a little too strong and yellow, whilst ACJ16 'Mitsubishi Grey-Green' is closer but a tad too grey. Somewhere in between these two maybe?
  Revell Silk-Matt 362 'Schilfgrün' (Reed Green/RAL 6013) is perhaps a little too green but comes very close to the appearance of the Lovell sample when dry. The green of this Revell colour is subtle and only becomes apparent in juxtaposition to the browner hues.
  Greg Springer has also posted a precise Testors Model Master mix for Munsell 2.5 Y 5/3 at j-aircraft.com
  Many thanks as always to Ken Glass for providing the fractional Munsell notations and to Jim Lansdale for sharing the data with us.
  Continuing the vintage Hien theme, S Calhoun 'Cal' Smith's splendid cover for the August 1959 issue of American Modeler magazine depicts a well-known 68th Sentai Tony in unusual camouflage about to bounce a trio of B-25 medium bombers.
  In the magazine's article on building a powered control-line model of the fighter, advice given regarding the colour scheme was as follows:-
  "The Kawasaki can be colored all light gray with black anti-glare panel forward of the cockpit, or it can be colored all bright green or bright green with splotches of yellow and a hazy blue bottom. The red ball insignia is outlined with a white band only when the plane is camouflaged."
  Cal Smith's painting depicts the curious yellow and bright green scheme and it is interesting to speculate where this idea for the camouflage may have originated, especially given recent revelations of the yellowish or brownish characteristics of some Japanese 'grays'. In the painting the underwing hinomaru (sun's red disc) also have a white border.
  There has been much controversy over the actual colours and markings sported by Lt Yoshimitsu Tarui's Ki-61 I Ko of the 68th Sentai's 2nd Chutai captured intact at Hollandia, New Guinea in April, 1944, especially concerning the victory markings that may or may not have been carried by this particular aircraft. Profile paintings, box art and decals have all depicted variations despite the fact that good quality black and white photographs provide multiple views of the aircraft. This particular aircraft has also been attributed to Captain Shogo Takeuchi.
  Another 68th Sentai aircraft, depicted with blue fuselage and wing command stripes, is attributed to one Captain Akira Onazaki, who is not listed as a Sentai commander or Chutai leader in 'Japanese Army Air Force Fighter Units and Their Aces 1931-1945' by Ikuhiko Hata, Yasuho Izawa and Christopher Shores.
  Like the Frog Zero, the colour scheme and markings chosen for Revell's 1/72nd scale 1963 Kawasaki Hien, and so memorably illustrated on the box art by Brian Knight, appear to have had their origin in a split 4-view painting by Peter Endsleigh-Castle which appeared in the December 1961 issue of RAF Flying Review magazine in conjunction with a brief article on the type entitled "Potent Swallow". The Hien was assessed by RAF Flying Review to be the best JAAF all-round fighter, whose success was marred by poor materials and workmanship.
  Supposed to represent an aircraft of the 244th Sentai, the tail insignia of the Revell kit was only a very approximate imitation of the original, but the colourful scheme and dramatic box art depicting a Ki-61 I Ko climbing over Mount Fuji captured the imagination. Originally issued as Kit # H-621 in the small black-ended box and molded in silver plastic, the earliest examples are much crisper and more detailed than the many later issues and featured an odd side-opening canopy (like the Bf-109), tried only on the prototype Hien with disastrous results. Later issues of the kit had a single-piece canopy.
  If I recall correctly Revell's 'Famous Plane Series' was sold at W H Smith for 2/11d, almost a shilling more expensive than Airfix's 2/- kits but infinitely more enticing were the unusual subjects, evocative box art and working features like sliding canopies. Revell's Potter Bar marketing must have been quite good because I was even able to buy an Albatros DIII in my tiny local village post office. Prior to the arrival of Revell's Hien, Hayabusa and Hayate many an English schoolboy had no idea that the Japanese flew any fighters other than the famous Zero.
  I was so captivated at the time by the sleek looks and "Interesting Facts About" my in-line engined Kawasaki that it appeared not once but twice in Christmas stockings and the name, incorrectly pronounced "Hine", became something of a family joke. When asking me about Christmas presents my mother would smile ruefully and say "Oh no, not another dratted Kawasaki Hine?" My father remained impervious to the appeal of Revell's Japanese quartet, dismissive of any aircraft not wearing RAF roundels. It was therefore a surprise, many years later, when he had more time for reading about the subject, to hear him wax lyrical about the extraordinary range and flying qualities of the Zero.
  In the Asahi Journal, Vol.3 No.1, Robert C Mikesh reported a measured value of the surviving external paint as 2.2 GY 2.9/0.5. This was found on top of the nose "under an outer coating of similar green". Mr Mikesh compared this colour to the closest standard Munsell value of 5 GY 3/1 and Thorpe's Dark Green N2. The closest FS 595b value to the measured colour is 34031 @ 1.79, whilst the closest FS value to the standard Munsell is 34052 @ 1.50. These colours seem darker and greyer than N2, which is 10 G 3/2. Whilst it is possible that the green chroma of the paint has degraded over time I consider that the original paint colour may have been more a very dark black green similar to Thorpe's N1. The very blue appearance of N2 is difficult to reconcile with current green and the 'D' series greens in the Kariki 117 document which appear to be based on pure Chromium Oxide pigments rather than the hydrated Chromium Oxide of Viridian.
  In the same report regarding the interior colours a measured value of 0.1 G 4.5/1.4 was found on the right side cockpit wall and a "patchy" application of a paint measured as 1.3 G 4.4/1.7 found elsewhere. The closest FS 595b values to these colours are 34159 @ 1.30 and 14159 @ 2.29 respectively. They may be described as a grey green similar to the RAF interior green colour. The back of the seat was measured in two readings as 1.1 BG 2.6/0.5 and 1.0 BG 2.6/0.5. The closest FS 595b values to both colours is 16081 @ 2.16.
  Mr Mikesh re-visited these values in his Japanese Aircraft Interiors book of 2000. He noted a thin and deteriorated wash of green paint (not 'aotake') which the underlying aluminium caused to appear more blue than when making comparisons with colour paint samples. Mr Mikesh likened the colour to the N33 identified in the book, which is 2.5 GY 4/2. A colorimeter reading of 9.3 Y 5.9/5.6 was obtained from just below the throttle quadrant area, which was compared to the closest standard Munsell value of 10 Y 6/6. This seems very yellow when compared to his description but he comments that it is too light. What he considered to be a more representative reading of 9.3 GY 3.8/1.4 was taken from the armour plate behind the seat. Mr Mikesh considered this to be the same colour as is on the seat and general interior. He reported the closest Munsell standard value as 10 GY 4/2 which has a difference calculation of 3.65 to the fractional notation, whereas the closest value is in fact 10 GY 4/1 @ 2.71. FS 34082 and N33 were cited as "close". FS 34082 is actually quite a distance from the measured value at 6.63 and is a more yellowish, olive green than the grey green measured. The closest FS value is actually 34092 @ 4.08.
  The closest FS value to 10 GY 4/1 is 26134 @ 4.52 but it is not a good match, moving into the grey colour space. The closest FS value to 10 GY 4/2 is 34128 @ 2.42.
  Mr Mikesh commented that a blend between N33 and Pantone 5615C is perhaps the best representation of the colour of the seat. The closest FS 595b value to Pantone 5615C is 24172 @ 2.51.
  The various colour values cited in this summary are rendered in the chips above. Note in the photograph the multi-coloured panels on Shinden. The nose section appears to be painted in a light colour rather than being natural metal but it does not appear to be the same colour as the wing ID strips. The same light colour appears to be on upper surface/leading edge of the canard aerofoil and note also the light coloured windscreen.