29/07/2023
Hasegawa 1/32 Ki84 Frank - one more finished for the year.
I love the late war Japanese natural metal finish. It just looks so pretty on planes with the red and yellow standing out.
The build was very straight forward and enjoyable - fit was as you’d expect from Hasegawa. Only aftermarket used was an Eduard seatbelt. I used circlular vinyl masks for the Hinomaru. Weathered to try and replicate an “in service” look - so lots of chipping on black but little staining on the airframe.
The drop tanks were designed to look battered though! These used hairspray on top of an aluminium coat, followed by a chipped Grey-amber colour. Then I used a heavy salt wash and a very thin coat of black/brown paint to simulate wear. I also used oil based wash for the kerosine spills.
The aircraft itself was painted using AK real colour aluminium over various base shades to differentiate the panels. The top of the nose is simply a coat of Gunze - Propeller colour, chipped using cocktail sticks and various sharp objects. The Hinomaru were painted on as the Hasegawa decals proved to be wonderfully brittle and shattered as soon as they touched anything. I did do a Flory promodeller wash on top of a gloss coat as I didn’t want much grime to remain on the airframe.
