Paint and Weather Scale Aircraft
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PRFSMODUCTS DIRECT –DOWNLOADABLE ARTICLES Paint and Weather Scale Aircraft FSPDF007 Xxxx Xxxxx Nakajima’s Kikka was Japan’s answer to Germany’s Messerschmitt Me 262. Add a delicately applied finish to Fine Molds’ 1/48 scale kit and you’ll have a show-stopper straight from the box. Coloring a A realistic finish makes this pioneering Japanese jet a Kikka showpiece By Francisco Soldán Alfaro ay the words “first jet fighter” to Say “Japan’s first jet fighter,” though, siastic reports home, the Japanese Naval aircraft modelers and they’ll and some modelers may scratch their staff directed the Nakajima Aircraft com- immediately think of Germany’s heads. Although it looks much like its pany to develop a single-seat, twin-engine Messerschmitt Me 262. The German cousin, Nakajima’s Kikka isn’t as attack aircraft based on the Messerschmitt sleek twin-engine fighter is a well known. The Japanese jet’s develop- design. Swell-known, much-modeled subject. The ment was inspired by the Me 262. During Dubbed the Kikka, the Japanese air- shark-like plane rightfully struck fear in World War II, the Japanese air attaché to craft was slightly smaller than the Me 262. the hearts of Allied airmen and marked a Germany witnessed some of the Me 262’s It had a metal airframe with fabric-cov- giant leap forward in air combat history. first flights. After the attaché sent enthu- ered control surfaces, and its underwing 1/ 48 Scale • Aircraft • How-to 1 2 Construction started with the cockpit. Although I planned to model my Kikka My kit included a white-metal Ne-20 jet engine and a cast-resin mount for with its canopy closed, I still made an effort to realistically detail the cock- the left wing. I removed the kit’s engine mount and installed the resin pit. I used a mixture of Tamiya acrylics to simulate Nakajima’s interior replacement with gap-filling super glue. Sheet styrene helped blend things green. Fine details were picked out with Vallejo acrylics and a detail brush. together. I added ripples to the rear fuselage by carefully scraping the pan- els with a curved blade, then smoothing them with fine-grit sandpaper. 3 4 Thankfully, many photos of the full-size Kikkas survived the war and are By working slowly and checking my references regularly, I was able to rec- available for reference. Like a lot of late-war Japanese aircraft, it had a reate the Kikka’s splotchy paint job using my airbrush. I used a combination roughly applied, less-than-showroom finish. To simulate it, I first applied an of Tamiya’s acrylic paints for the green finish, and lightened and darkened overall coat of Tamiya flat aluminum (XF-16) with an airbrush. After it dried the mixture for different areas to further break up the finish. thoroughly, I again used the airbrush to apply the uneven green top coat to the aircraft’s upper surfaces. 5 6 I dry-brushed several areas of the fuselage with bright-silver paint to simu- With the bulk of the finish completed, the white-metal engine could be late wear and tear along panel lines and high-traffic areas of the assembled and installed. Like the rest of the aircraft, it needed some realis- airframe. tic detail painting to set it off – it’s a real focal point of the model. 7 8 I added the model’s decals, then turned my attention to the engine. First, I Light washes of artist’s oils and carefully applied pastel powders helped painted the engine flat aluminum. Then I used darker metallic colors and dark weather the airframe and highlight its panel lines. When I was satisfied earth tones to simulate discoloration caused by the intense heat of the with the model’s overall appearance, I added the landing gear and the bal- Ne-20 engine. ance of its smaller detail parts. engine nacelles enabled its designers to ambitious program had approximately 25 (with a cast-resin mount), and custom- install and test different engines without aircraft under construction when Japan made canopy masks. While the kit offered reworking the fuselage and wing struc- surrendered in September. A single surviv- plenty of detail, I wanted to enhance it tures. Several engines were tested before ing Kikka is in the collection of the with the carefully applied, realistically engineers settled on the Ne-20, which was National Air and Space Museum. weathered finish detailed in the step-by- similar to the axial-flow BMW 003 turbo- Kits of the Kikka are few and far step photos. FSM jet used in the Heinkel He 162. between, so I was happy to discover Fine Although it was a bold step forward, Molds’ 1/48 scale kit (No. 10SP). Rivaling Although it’s not as immediately recognizable as the Kikka was truly too little, too late; the the detail of a Hasegawa or Tamiya kit, Germany’s Me 262, Nakajima’s Kikka marked an aircraft didn’t make its first flights until the box contains finely molded light-gray important step in the development of the jet- August 1945. Despite several setbacks, the styrene parts, a white-metal Ne-20 engine powered fighter. TIGER-STRIPING A ROYAL NAVY EH-101 Merlin The author built Revell Germany’s EH-101 pretty much out of the box but preferred to paint the unique camouflage rather than use the kit decals. 1/72 Scale • Aircraft • How-to Revell Germany’s naval helicopter takes TIGER-STRIPING A ROYAL NAVY a walk on the wildside with feline scheme By Juan Jose Dominguez Calvo he EH-101 Merlin history begins in the EH-101 Merlin 1970s, when the T Royal Navy decided to look for a replacement for the Sea King helicopter. In 1979, Italy’s Agusta and Westland Helicopters of the 1 United Kingdom joined efforts, forming EH Industries to design and build the EH-101. Key performance markers included speed, endurance and quick reaction on sub- marine targets; independent capability to search for, 2 1-2. Juan detailed the kit’s seats locate, and attack targets; with harnesses made from Tamiya versatility; maneuverability; masking tape and Reheat pho- toetched buckles. and all-weather operation. The resulting helicopter is a powerful warfare system as well as a versatile civil trans- port. Several countries use the Merlin, including Canada, Japan, Portugal, Denmark, and the United States. A Lockheed Martin 3 Test-fitting the interior components built verison has been gave Juan an idea for adding detail selected as the next “Marine using little more than the kit parts, clear styrene, and decals. One,” the president’s heli- copter transport. What’s in the box? It was time to start working on the The first time I saw the Merlin, I fell in fuselage. There are no real fit problems if love with its beastily beauty. Revell you dry-fit the parts carefully before you Germany released a 1/72 scale kit of the move on to glue. The main fuselage is in Merlin with “tiger scheme” markings (No. halves, and each of them has a separate RV4410), and I knew it’d be the perfect side panel with windows and doors. I tried choice for my first helicopter kit. to get the best fit I could using thin sty- The kit comes in a typical Revell end- rene tabs to get the side panels flush with opening box. It has more than 100 parts the fuselage surface, 6. and is rated at the top of Revell’s complex- The only fit problem comes when you ity scale. The kit includes four Sting Ray dry-fit the main fuselage with the first tail 4 homing torpedoes that give the model the section. If you follow the sequence indi- look of a warrior. cated by Revell, you will get big gaps at The kit has a combination of raised both sides of the fuselage/tail joints. There and recessed surface detail. The fit is good are lots of molded-on rivets in these areas, overall, but tricky in some areas. The decal and I wanted to avoid damaging the detail sheet is superb, with lots of stencils in per- with excessive sanding. I glued the main fect register. A separate decal sheet fuselage halves to their corresponding tail includes the stripes for the tiger camo, but halves. This will result in two fuselage/tail I preferred to paint the scheme. The paint halves, requiring careful aligning to mini- references in the instructions are, as you mize the seams between the parts. With might expect, oriented to Revell’s paint this method, you get gaps along the spine range, without cross reference for Federal and at the underside of the tail joint, Standard colors. The tiger markings repre- where there are no rivets and only a few sent a bird from 814 Naval Air Squadron, panel lines to re-scribe. I closed all the air 5 Fleet Air Arm, aboard the HMS Ark intakes around the engine area with sty- Royal in February 2003. rene sheet, 7. 4-5. The finished cockpit and interior were painted with Vallejo acrylics. Building the Tiger Painting those stripes Coming off a pair of projects where a lot With the fuselage closed and all the seams of aftermarket goodies were involved, I filled, I painted the model using Gunze needed a break. When my friends on an Sangyo medium sea gray (H335), 8. Internet forum decided to hold a helicop- To paint the tiger marking, I added ter contest with out-of-the-box rules, I some black to the base color using the decided to build this model to participate.