One of just a few Japanese aircraft to see service throughout World War II, Mitsubishi’s Ki-51 looks vaguely like a frail, skinnier Val dive bomber. Don’t let appearances fool you, the “Sonia” as it was known to the Allies, was well protected with armor, a comparative rarity for Japanese planes.
Wingsy’s Sonia features exquisite surface detail along with numerous optional parts to re-create one of four included schemes. The decals provide instruments for the cockpit as well as simple exterior markings. There is also photo-etched metal (PE) details for the cockpit and weapons as well as pre-cut vinyl masks for the clear parts. These worked well on flat surfaces but were problematic over significant bends, such as landing lights.
The instructions point out some of the required options but leave others unmentioned, such as omitting the rear gun and mount for the trainer (marking option 4). Three underwing store options are provided but you’re on your own determining which holes to open in the wings for each. A fuel or oil tank (parts E18 and E20) mounts behind the nose assembly but it can be left off as it is completely hidden on the finished model.
Test-fits of interior parts showed that all of the tab-and-slot joins needed to be opened for fit. Be careful as there is no positive alignment for the cockpit inside the fuselage. After gluing everything together, I realized that the diameter of the interior exceeds the diameter of the nose assembly, forcing me to carve an additional rounded step to fake the join. The fit of the wings was also affected by the too-wide cockpit forcing the wing roots too far apart. Were I to build another, I would significantly reduce the thickness of the cockpit side walls and forward bulkhead.
The rest of the model fits quite well, with just a touch of filler needed at the rear fuselage-wing seam.
Painting instructions refer to Mr. Color and Aqueous Hobby Color options and the diagrams are clear, good especially for the two complicated splotchy camouflage options. Two overall greenish-gray options are also given. I chose the aircraft featured in the box art using the suggested Mr. Color acrylic lacquers. (See Airbrushing & Finishing in April to see how Chuck painted the Sonia.)
The decals went on OK, but the film didn’t want to settle into surface detail. On the plus side, the white is opaque.
I attached the canopy and fine details, such as the pitot tube, antenna mast, and rear gun spraying a final flat coat. The center section of the canopy would probably fit better if the forward frame was thinned over the roll-over structure in the cockpit. The bombsight (part F16) will not fit through the hole provided in the windshield, so I left it off to avoid cracking the glass.
Once the wheels and bombs were attached, I had logged 28 hours on the Sonia. There were some challenges, but most can be avoided or fixed with foreknowledge. The beautiful scribing and sharp details make for a nice model.
Note: A version of this review appeared in the March 2020 issue.