Kit: No. FP26SP
Scale: 1/72
Manufacturer: FineMolds, available from Hobbylink Japan, www.hlj.com
Price: o2,000 (about $18.10)
Comments: Injection-molded, 57 parts, decals
Pros: Crisp detail, easy to build, beautiful decals of mottled camouflage
Cons: Decals don’t conform over detail, no harness for seat, missing wing cannon barrels, error for decal placement in instructions
The “Tony” was the only Japanese fighter of World War II powered by an in-line, liquid-cooled engine. The engine was copied from the Daimler Benz unit on a borrowed Messerschmitt Bf 109E.
There are several 1/72 scale Tony kits available, but this one is special. This issue’s decal sheet features large panels of beautifully printed field-applied “squiggle” camouflage. This is a great shortcut because airbrushing this scheme has dogged modelers for years, regardless of the scale of the model.
The kit has fine panel-line scribing, wing fuel tanks, an optional open fuselage gun bay, and, supposedly, brass wing cannon barrels. I couldn’t find the barrels in my sample, so I substituted thin styrene rod. Clear parts include a one-piece canopy, gun sight, and landing light.
Cockpit detail is typical for this scale. The instrument panel has decal gauges, but the seat has no harness.
I kept the wings and fuselage separate to ease adding the large decals. After painting the model with Floquil old silver, I began laying down the camouflage panels. The other markings go over the camouflage decals. Decal No. 33 is pointed out in several places in the instructions, but it’s the one that goes under the right horizontal stabilizer.
Although the decals fit correctly, they were stiff and didn’t like to conform over raised control-surface hinge fairings. I found that MicroSol wrinkled them irreversibly. Gunze Sangyo Mr. Mark Softer may have worked.
My reference for this project was Donald Thorpe’s Japanese Army Air Force Camouflage and Markings – World War II, and Harvey Low’s Color & Camouflage article in the Dec. 1998 FineScale Modeler.
The finished model took 12 hours to complete and makes me look like the world’s best airbrusher. The tight spray pattern looks just right for the scale, and the model ain’t bad either.