Code-named “Tony,” Kawasaki’s Ki-61 Hien (Swallow) was the only Japanese World War II production fighter with an in-line, liquid-cooled engine. This resulted in a graceful aircraft, and I just had to have a model of it in my collection.

Hasegawa’s 1/48 scale kit was easy to build. The pieces fit together well, and it’s not an expensive kit. With such a good start, I decided to add a detailed cockpit and machine guns, and improve the engine exhausts with aftermarket parts. I chose 149th Sentai (group) markings from AeroMaster’s decal sheet.

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