1:72 Q1W Tokai

1:72 Q1W Tokai, templates for the glazing of the patrol aircraft

The Kyushu Q1W Tokai was created for a single task: to search for submarines over Japanese coastal waters and attack them. Its glazing matches that. Besides the sliding pilot canopy the machine carries a long glazed nose and a row of side windows for the observer and the operator of the detection equipment. In 1:72 scale there are therefore an unusual number of panes to paint and each of them has a slightly different shape.

What the set solves

Cutting that many small frames from adhesive tape by hand means a long evening at the table, and a single strip laid half a millimeter off is enough for a frame to come out thicker on one side. The whole nose then looks crooked and the only way to fix it is to spray it again. The templates follow the outline of the windows of the Tokai, so the width of the frames stays the same along the whole length of the fuselage and the transitions between the individual panes follow on from one another.

Recommended procedure

• Rid the windows of fingerprints first and let them dry completely.
• Start with the largest panes of the nose, as the smaller pieces are then lined up by them.
• Apply the paint in several thin coats, as a heavy build-up will run under the edge.
• Lift the templates shortly after the paint has set with the tip of tweezers or a toothpick.

Who the set suits

It will be appreciated by anyone who is building the Tokai and does not want to spend half the work cutting tape. This is an accessory to a kit, which you obtain separately; the templates will not assemble anything on their own, but they rid you of the most tiresome part of the build and lift the overall impression of the finished machine.