1:48 Ki-84 FRANK

A hurricane from Nakajima

The Ki-84 was among the best Japanese fighters of the end of the war. The Homare radial engine of two thousand horsepower gave it a rate of climb and a speed that American types respected, and an armament of two cannons with a pair of heavy machine guns was unusually strong by Japanese standards. The weak point remained the quality of the fuel and of the manufacture in the last months of the conflict. The cockpit has a wide sliding canopy with fairly sparse framing and a good view to the rear.

A sprayed marking against an applied one

A disc made of paint lies directly in the finish, so it has no step around its perimeter and no glossy veil ever appears under it to give away a badly seated decal. On riveted skin the difference is most visible: an applied film cannot sink over a row of rivets, whereas a sprayed area follows the surface without a single bubble. Another advantage is that the shade of red can be chosen according to the manufacturer and the period in which the machine served.

The surface under the mask

For the film to hold and the edge to be sharp, the surface has to be smooth. On rough matte paint the edge cannot be pressed home and the paint bleeds, so it pays to give the spot a gloss coat under the insignia. Once the masks come off, the gloss is evened out by a final matte coat over the whole model.

Inside the package

The delivery offers double-sided masking of the glazing and a set of national symbols. A decal sheet is not enclosed with this item. The outlines are based on Hasegawa plastic in 1:48 scale. Anyone building several Japanese machines at once will get another build out of the remaining circles. The rest of the sheet lasts for years, provided it does not lie in the sun.