1:32 Ki-43 II Oscar

Hayabusa, the falcon of the Japanese army

The Ki-43 was known to the Allies under the code name Oscar and became the most numerously built fighter of the Japanese Army Air Force. The second production series was given a stronger engine, a shorter wing with a stiffer skin and so-called combat flaps, which the pilot extended in a turn and so gained an agility that heavier opponents could not match. The excellent handling was paid for with weak armament and almost no protection for the pilot.

Glazing and markings

The sheet holds a pair of masks for the canopy, cut separately for the outer surface and separately for the back, and three stencils for the national insignia. The round marking of the Japanese Army Air Force is easier to mask than a star with bars, but it calls for accurate placement, because any deviation from square is immediately noticeable on a rounded fuselage.

Building advice

The cockpit of the Hayabusa is slim and strongly rounded, so the film has to be pressed down in small sections. Japanese army machines most often carried dark green blotches over bare metal or a gray-green base, which means painting from light to dark. The cockpit frame comes last.

The engine and the range tanks

The second series used the Ha-115 engine with a two-speed supercharger and carried a pair of drop tanks under the wings, which gave the aircraft the reach it needed over Burma and New Guinea. The tanks tended to be of pressed paper and their surface differs noticeably from the metal skin. They are therefore painted separately and attached only after the masks have been taken off the cockpit.

Classification

The item is a masking aid for aircraft models in a large scale.