La Sonia Française by William Alcott

William Alcott has kindly given permission to share these images of his  1/72 Hasegawa Ki-51 Sonia in the guise of a machine operated by the French in Indo-China. A surprising number of ex-Japanese aircraft were operated by French forces in their challenge to secure and maintain airpower in the immediate post-war aftermath in Indochina before ex-RAF Spitfires and various aircraft types developed for the US Navy replaced them in the delay of the inevitable.

William has a website dedicated to models of aircraft from the Air War Over French Indochina which is well worth visiting. There is a section on Japanese aircraft used by the French, the models are excellent (check out his convincingly realised Ki-43 Hayabusa) and accompanied by informative and useful build reviews in a style that used to feature in the best modelling magazines but which are now quite rare. 

William's Sonia model represents an aircraft of SAL 99 - Section Aérienne de Liaison n°99 (Air liaisons Section) which he notes became ELA 52 - Escadrille de Liaisons Aériennes n°52 (Air Liaison Flight). In the absence of other available types Sonia would have been a practical choice for such service, with its robust fixed undercarriage, ability to operate from rough landing grounds and to carry a passenger and a modest amount of freight. The Tachikawa Ki-36 Ida was also put to use by the French liaison unit.

Two additional model images were kindly shared by William and are shown below. The Ki-79 in overall white surrender finish with green cross markings and the Ki-54, also in French service with SAL 99,  which he has not yet added to his site. Looking forward to reading the build reviews for those!

With special thanks to William for sharing the images of these models from a most interesting collection.

Image credit: All © 2025 William Alcott and Air War Over Indochina

Clear Prop 1/144 Sonia

Continuing the Sonia theme Aviation of Japan's Texas correspondent Mark Smith penned this in box review of the Clear Prop 1/144 scale Mitsubishi Sonia in CP144001 Starter Kit release from 2019 which included two kits in the box. The kit was subsequently released in 2021 as CP144003 Ki-51 Sonia in Foreign Service again with two kits in the box and in 2022 in single form as Ki-51 Sonia Reconnaissance CP144002. All three kits appear to be still available direct from Clear Prop and retail at €16 each. Over to Mark then:-

On the Sprues Review 

'This model was released a short time before the pandemic hit its stride, and it might have slipped under the radar for some as understandably it didn’t garner as much attention as the company’s 1/72 Sonia which was released alongside.  If you favor 1/144 scale, however, it’s not to be missed.  

A relative newcomer from Ukraine, Clear Prop! has wasted little time, and already released various kits in 1/144 1/72 and 1/48 scales which set a very high bar.  This release has two complete kits in the box, with nice decals for eight choices of markings, superb cockpit and engine detail, petitely scribed panel lines, and an excellent canopy.  Also on the clear sprue are the leading-edge landing lights and – strangely – the majority of the wing’s bottom surface.  This allows one to mask off the camera bay window for an integral appearance. However this seems more trouble than it’s worth as the join is not along panel lines, cutting across them instead.  All control surfaces are molded integrally rather than separately, which seems best suited to this scale.  The cowl is molded as part of the fuselage halves as well; the one-piece engine is trapped between the halves.  It’s the best radial engine I’ve seen in this tiny scale.  The three distinct types of propeller hub used by the Ki-51 are all represented here as well.   

For modelers who enjoy the relaxation of brush painting, this would be an enjoyable project, with some of the color schemes employing a very tight mottle, where hard edges would not look out of place.  The cockpit allows much scope for as careful treatment as desired, yet shouldn’t be too fiddly, with all the sidewall detail molded integrally with the fuselage halves, a well detailed one-piece cockpit floor, and ten remaining pieces to finish it off.  Since the big greenhouse is the central focus and the cabin was quite spacious for a Japanese design, it will look great straight from the box; and while it’s all under a one-piece canopy, that piece is quite clear and delicately framed.  Those with the venerable Maru Mechanic # 35 (from 1982) on Sonia will notice how accurately it’s all rendered, and that book’s color cockpit paintings will serve nicely.  It’s all topped off with decals for the instrument panel and radio gear.  The only thing missing here are the masks that ease the pain of the canopy frames   

The only previous kit in 1/144 of this lovely airplane came from F-Toys in several pre-painted boxings.  It was one of their best efforts and quite accurate, but being already painted and made to snap together, it had the drawback of visible seams and the heavily ‘tabbed’ canopy that mars most F-Toys kits.  Clear Prop! offers a conventional build without those hurdles  Aside from the bizarre molding of the lower wing in clear plastic, it looks like a trouble-free build.  And if you’ve never tried the scale, this one might have allure.  Beautiful airplane, beautiful kit.  Recommended.'    

Mark Smith

Subject Options        

The CP144001 kit includes four main decal options as follows:-

• Hiko Dai 27 Sentai, Burma 1942
• Hiko Dai 6 Sentai, South China 1942
• Hiko Dai 28 Sentai, Manchuria 1940-1941
• Hokota Flying School, Ibaraki, Japan 1942 (captioned as 'Ibaraki Flying School)

The first subject sports the unusual 'fried egg' mottle over grey green, the second a conventional blotched mottle in dark green over grey green and the latter two in overall grey green. In addition the decal sheet includes four 'bonus' insignia for other Sonia units - 206DH/52 DHC, 48 DHC, 45 DHC and Central District Army (Chubu Gun)/43 DHC. All the subjects are colourful and well chosen to represent Sonia's service so the choosing might be the more difficult part! 

The Foreign Service kit CP144003 includes six decal options as follows:-

• (Nationalist) Republic of China Air Force, Shandong 1946 in dark green mottle over grey green
• (Nationalist) Republic of China Air Force, China 1946 in solid dark green over grey green
• (Communist) Red Army of China Air Force (incorrectly captioned as PLAAF which came later), 1946 in solid dark green or green blotch mottle over grey green
• Manchukuo Air Force, Manchuria 1945
• French Armée de l'air SAL-99 (Section Aérienne de Liaison), Indo-China early 1946 in green blotch mottle over grey green
• French Armée de l'air  SAL-99 Indo-China 1946-1949 in overall aluminium or bare metal

Again well chosen subjects covering a diversity of foreign use. The Foreign Service kit contains provision for the aircraft to be modelled with the wheel spats removed, a nice touch.

The Reconnaissance kit CP144002 offers only four decal options as follows:-

• Hiko Dai 44 Sentai, China 1942 in overall grey green
• 64th Shinbutai, Kyushu 1945 in dark green blotch mottle over grey green
• 6th Sekichotai, Philippines, 1945 in solid olive green over grey green
• 83 DHC, Borneo, 1945 in solid olive green over grey green

The second and third subject are both aircraft from special attack units. 64th Shinbu-tai was commonly named as Kokka (国華) tai whilst 6th Hakkou-tai was commonly named as 6th Sekichou (石腸) tai. With special thanks to Keishiro Nagao of Lifelike Decals for confirming and clarifying this.  64th Shinbu-tai was organised at the Hokota Training Air Division in March 1945, trained at Haranomachi air base and afterwards moved to Taisho and Metabaru air bases. On 11 June nine Sonias sortied under Capt Shibuya to attack USN vessels west of Okinawa. 6th Hakkou-tai was organised on 6 November 1944 at the Shimoshizu Training Air Division for operations in the Philippines under the command of Capt Takaishi, a flying instructor, with 18 members of the 3rd Training Flying Unit. They moved to the Philippines on 16 November 1944 where they were officially designated Sekichou-tai. On 5 December seven Sonias led by Capt Takaishi sortied to attack USN vessels in the Surigao Straits. By 8 January 1945 17 Sonias and their crews had been killed in the attacks.

According to former IJA Captain Makoto Ikuta the first six Hakkou-tai consisted of four units equipped with the Ki-43 Hayabusa and two with the Ki-51 Sonia. The standard number of aircraft for each unit was 12 but some had 18 aircraft to accommodate additional volunteers. The Sonia special attackers did not carry observer/gunners and were flown alone by the pilots. The subsequent 7th to 12th Hakkou-tai consisted of three Hayabusa units, two with modified Ki-45 Nick fighters and one Sonia unit.

With special thanks to Mark for his review. Check the links above to view kit contents and to order direct. Yet more 'on Sonia' to follow.

Image credit:  © 2019  Clear Prop Models

The Last Post . . .

. . . of 2024 features a retrospective and discussion about the 1/72 scale ex-Mania/Hasegawa Ki-51 kit. The Mania kit of the Ki-51 was released in the mid 1970s - Scalemates suggest 1975 whilst Burns* records 1974. Unfortunately the box, only ever released as a 'Two Types in One' combo containing two kits, has no copyright date. The box art shown above featured one of the kit subjects from Dokuritsu Hiko Dai 73 Chutai in the foreground, with an earlier aircraft from Dokuritsu Hiko Dai 91 Chutai in the background.  Both independent Chutai originated from Hiko Dai 83 Sentai which was subsequently re-organised as Hiko Dai 83 Hikotai. 91 Chutai retained the original insignia of 83 Sentai but applied in 'cobalt' blue. The kit instructions included only selected colour profiles for the markings included (shown below). 

Mania Decal Sheet 1

Mania Decal Sheet 2

However each kit in the box was provided with a dedicated decal sheet for five different units as shown above, the 'cobalt' blue being particularly well printed (and hopefully still useable!). The two kits were usually moulded in grey and silver respectively, each decal sheet supposedly representing the 'assault'  and 'reconnaissance' variants of the aircraft. But one of the Mania combo kits in my stash (bought second hand in 2000 for £14.99) is moulded in a very beautiful and deep turquoise blue (Methuen 24 B 8 aka 'Indian Blue'!) and the other kit in a good representation of grey green! Another Mania combo boxing has one of the kits moulded in white. 

Mania kit instructions

It was a class presentation with a level of interior detail typical for Mania kits but considered quite advanced for the time. This retrospective is considerably enhanced by the inclusion of images of the Mania model expertly completed, superbly photographed and kindly shared by Rob Ronconi.

Rob's model represents an aircraft of Hiko Dai 10 Sentai. This unit was established at Qiqihar, beside the Nen River (嫩江- sometimes anglicised as 'Non Kou') in Heilongjiang Province, Manchuria with its 'S' insignia representing that meandering and longest tributary of the Songhua River. In June 1941 it was a Headquarters Reconnaissance unit within the 10th Air Brigade, alongside 77 Air Regt (fighters) and 31 Air Regt (light bombers), under 5th Air Group. Kwantung Army. The following month it was split into separate Dokuritsu Hiko Chutai (70, 74 and 76) and dispersed but was subsequently reformed to Sentai status in June 1943, reportedly from 16, 76 and the 1st Chutai of Hiko Dai 81 Sentai. This unit is not usually associated with the Ki-51 but there is a well known colour photograph of a wrecked or abandoned Sonia bearing the distinctive 'S' insignia in white.

I was unaware of the former Mania kit when circa 1977-78 I first encountered the Hasegawa re-release in the red stripe box as A33 Kit No. JS-132 (shown above). Scalemates reports this release as 1977 and Burns as 1978. The box does not show a copyright date but the kit was included in the 1978 Hasegawa catalogue together with the four other ex-Mania kits. Burns states that Hasegawa took over Mania in 1977. The Ki-51 kit impressed and inspired an interest in and liking for the type ever since. The Hasegawa box featured new art by Shigeo Koike depicting a pair of Hiko Dai 44 Sentai 'Sonia' apparently bombing a bridge. 44 Sentai originally consisted of a reconnaissance Chutai with Ki-15 and a Ki-51 Chutai. It was later expanded to four Chutai strength with the addition of two 'Chokkyo' Chutai with Ki-36. 'Chokkyo' was an abbreviation for Chokusetsu Kyôdô Hikotai - 直接協同 飛行隊- (literally 'direct contact co-operation' - the kyôdô is not the same as for training but means co-operation or an equal effort), Chokkyo-tai for short. 

In 1944 most of the Chokkyo units were re-organised as Dokuritsu Hiko Chutai for anti-submarine patrol and convoy escort work with the principal equipment then becoming the Ki-51.  The Ki-51 was officially the Type 99 Assault Plane/Type 99 Army Reconnaissance Plane - Kyu Kyu Shiki Shuugeki-ki - 九九式襲撃機 or Kyu Kyu Shiki Gun Teisatsu-ki - 九九式軍偵察機), both variants popularly abbreviated to Kyu Kyu Gun-tei - 九九軍偵 ('Nine Nine Army Scout'). 

Getting back to the Ki-51 kit the other markings options in the box were for that notorious blue Sonia '07' from Dokuritsu Hiko Dai 49 Chutai and an aircraft from Dokuritsu Hiko Dai 48 Chutai with plain dark green upper surfaces. The blue was given as a mix of Mr Color 5 Blue plus Mr Color 14 Navy Blue but the ratio was not suggested, perhaps 50/50? The dark green was given as Mr Color 16 IJA Green and the darker green on the 44 Sentai subject as Mr Color 17 RLM 71 Dark Green. This China-based aircraft possibly had a kumogata scheme of dark olive green and brown rather than two greens. In all cases under surfaces were given as Mr Color 56 IJN Grey Green (Nakajima)

Painting guide for Hasegawa A33 and B5 kits

From 1981 to 1987 the kit was re-issued as blue stripe B5 Kit No.B005:350, shown above, but was otherwise identical to the A33 red stripe release. 

In 1995 the kit was released in a new box as NP5 # 51828 with new box art by Shigeo Koike, shown above, and the inclusion of an Aeromaster Decals sheet. The new decals provided for two subjects, the aircraft depicted on the box art from Hiko Dai 44 Sentai in overall light gray with those white outer wing panels, and the Hiko Dai 10 Sentai example from New Guinea, 1944 in overall light gray with  dark green 'snake weave' camouflage pattern on the upper surfaces. No paints were suggested for the colour descriptions.

In 2001 came the most recent single boxing of Sonia as # 00183 with new box art for an aircraft of '206th Flight Training Regiment', shown above. This kit included markings for a second aircraft from 104th Flight Training Regiment, both subjects being in overall grey, suggested as Mr Color 35 IJN Gray (Mitsubishi)!

Since then the Ki-51 has been released in combo boxes consisting of two kits. In 2010 Hasegawa released kit # 00993 (shown above) to include three markings options for an assault plane of 1st Chutai, Hiko Dai 27 Sentai, Kuala Lumpur (Malaya) 1942, a tactical recon plane of an unknown unit in New Guinea, 1944, and a tactical recon plane identified as from 2nd Chutai, Hiko Dai 38 Sentai and formerly Dokuritsu Hiko Dai 89 Chutai, in Borneo, 1945, with the first two illustrated in profile on the box, the latter's insignia in yellow. In July 1941 the 89 DHC was formed from the 3rd Chutai of Hiko Dai 83 Sentai but became the 2nd Chutai of 83 Air Regt at the end of March 1944, apparently retaining its yellow Chutai colour.   

In 2012 a second Ki-51 combo kit was released in limited edition as # 01972, shown above, this one also including three markings options for an assault plane of Hiko Dai 67 Sentai at Hachinohe air base in 1943, a tactical recon plane '27' of Dokuritsu Hiko Dai 52 Chutai in the Philippines in November 1944 and an assault plane of the Hokota Flying School in 1942. Again the first two were illustrated in profile on the box. The kit was labelled as Combo 'Part 2'.  

In 2016 Hasegawa released the kit again, this time in limited adition combo with a Ki-48 kit featuring aircraft of the Hokota Flying School, shown above. Two Ki-51 markings options were included for an overall grey green assault plane as shown in profile on the box and a 'snake weave' camouflaged tactical recon plane, both from 1942.

The most recent release of the Hasegawa Sonia in October 2023 is the limited edition kit # 02452 shown above and featured here which was combined with the starter truck kit.

 

Those Side Windows!

These are one of the more ambiguous details of the aircraft and warrant some discussion. They consisted of a narrow oblong glazed window sited above a rectangular window. The lower window was surrounded by a narrow external frame twice as wide and with the extension of the frame to the rear on both sides.  The illustration on page 25 of the 1982 Maru Mechanic book on the type showing the windows from inside suggests that only the upper, smaller window was glazed. The lower window appears to be an open aperture protected by a thin metal cover closed by means of a semi-elliptical tab on the inside. There is also a pintle for mounting and holding steady the oblique camera when in use. The thin cover would therefore slide open externally within the frame. The Mania kit has this aperture flashed over and correctly within the surrounding frame, with instructions to open it up for the recce variant but to insert a transparent moulding. My belief is that the transparency is not required and the lower window could be completed either open ((without any glazing) with the external cover slid back in the frame or closed with the external cover in place over it. If the lower aperture was glazed I can see no reason for the cover, unless it was a glazed window which slid back inside the 'cover' which remained immoveable in the rear part of the external frame at all times. The rationale for the window and cover being external might have been to avoid the complexity of the window or cover sliding back internally and having to negotiate the ribs. However as many contemporaneous aircraft had glazed rectangular windows without sliding covers the rationale for such an arrangement seems unconvincing.  Unfortunately there seems to be nothing definitive about this arrangement.  

Now the question is whether this arrangement was standard or whether the assault variants had no windows at all? Unfortunately photos are not always clear about this. 

The more recent Clear Prop kit has been released in distinct Assault and Recce variants, the former without any fuselage windows and the latter with both windows to be glazed. More on these details to follow with some further discussion of Ki-51 aircraft and operations.

Internal Colour

Despite the popularity of various permutations of 'Mitsubishi Interior Green' for Sonia colour photographs suggest the dark blueish grey # 3 colour throughout, including as external primer coat beneath a # 17 pale blue and/or # 1 grey green finish. The # 17 colour was supposed to be a mid-coat between the dark blue grey and finish coat of # 1 grey green but there is evidence of its application as the top coat on some types including the Ki-46. A relationship with distinctly blueish variations of the grey green colour, such as applied to the Ki-43 and Ki-45, cannot be confirmed. The Maru Mechanic publication has a colour cutaway on the cover also showing the interior as dark blue grey with the internal colour of the flap presumably meant to show aotake. Inside the book the cockpit interior is depicted as green, of a type often described at that time as 'malachite' green (Methuen 26 B 6) and similar to the IJN colour M0/M1. 

Accuracy?

I had long suspected that Mania's Ki-51 might be slightly under scale but on offering it up to the more recent Clear Prop kit was surprised to find the dimensions almost exactly similar, except for the fact that the latter's rear fuselage is actually shallower in profile and narrower than the Mania/Hasegawa kit. There were no 1/72 scale plans to check against so this dimensional difference was unverifiable. but please see the update below. Another suspicion I could not verify is the Mania/Hasegawa fuselage length being a little short between the windscreen and spinner.  

Update

Danilo Renzulli has very kindly shared these dimensional comparisons between the Mania/Hasegawa (M/H) and Clear Prop kits. The Clear Prop kit has the more correct dimensions but surprisingly the fuselage and its main sections have exactly the same dimensions in both kits with the exception of the spinner which is 1 mm shorter in the M/H. There is a slight difference exists in wing dimensions - in 1/72 scale the wingspan should be 16.85 cm while the M/H model is 2.5 mm. shorter than the Clear Prop wing which is correct. The M/H is also 1 mm. shorter in the wing chord measure at the wing root. Danilo's opinion in the absence of a front view plan is that the opening is slightly small in diameter  in both kits. Danilo owns both the Mania and Hasegawa kits and had not opened them for a long while being surprised to find very well detailed interiors in the nearly 50 years old kit. His Mania box contains kits in silver grey and in grey/green.

With special thanks to Rob for contributing his Ki-51 model pics. And thanks to Danilo for sharing the dimensional information.

* John W Burns 'In Plastic WW2 Aircraft Kits', Kit Collector's Clearinghouse Publications, 1993

Image credit: All box art and images © Mania and Hasegawa per dates indicated; model photos © 2024 Rob Ronconi.

With Very Best Wishes to All Aviation of Japan Readers for the Christmas Season and the New Year

And with very special thanks to all those who have very kindly shared images and details of their models (and for their patience!), to those who have generously shared the fruits of their research and to those who have taken the time to leave comments.

Image credit: Evening Snow at Edo River, 1932,  by Kawase Hasui (1893-1957)

A Long Standing Idea Turned Into Reality by John Haas

John Haas weaves his special magic again, but this time not with a scratch build in wood but by converting a 1/48 scale DC-3 kit into a Shōwa L2D3-L (Type 0 Freighter Model 22 - 零式荷物輸送機22型 - Reishiki Nimotsu-Yusōki 22-gata) 'Tabby' in plastic!  Over to John then:

'In the past I built four Monogram 1/48 models. I like the looks of the plane and the kit was easy to convert into different versions. I even converted one into a DC-2. I had an old idea to build a Japanese 'Tabby' variant, but I could not find another Monogram kit, so I turned to the only available other one - a Trumpeter kit. First I gathered all the info I could find on the Internet and my books.

'I chose the L2D3-L version, it seems to me the easiest way to convert the C-47 into a nice 'Tabby'. Well I should have known better! A 'Tabby' was way more different then a simple modified Douglas DC-3 as I found out along the way.

'The first step was building a new loading door. Next came the cockpit with the distinct additional windows.  Here I had to improvise because there is not much information about what the cockpit interior was like. I kept the interior simple, only retaining the floor, because you can hardly see anything inside with those tiny widows. By the way, I had to make 14 new windows because the 'Tabby' had no holes in them.

'When the fuselage  was ready, I had to make two new engines. Luckily in the spare parts box I found some old engines and cowlings from an old Revell B-25B Mitchell. It was possible with some modification to transform them into Mitsubishi Kinsei engines.  The most difficult challenge were the inlet scoops as I had to fabricate a wooden master and vacuform them. 

'The undercarriage also needed some modification, though it was more or less based on the DC-2, which was different from a  DC-3 (C-47).  The upper part of the legs had more struts.

'The last step was the replacement of the underwing stiffeners. They were simple straight ones instead of the sawtooth American versions. 

'After all the construction work, it was time for some painting. Because I like to use the Revell Aqua Paints I had to mix the JNAF green.  I tried to match Nick's recipe as closely as possible.:-)

'When I arrived at the decals, I had to print the large Hinomaru on white decal paper; they are quite large, I also liked to have some markings on the rudder.  Unfortunately I could not find the right size number decals in the spares box, so I had to draw and print them with the Paint program on my PC. The last step was the yellow wing identification markings and I made those by painting white decal paper in yellow and clipping them in the right size. 

'After fixing the antenna masts and stretched sprue wiring, the 'Tabby' was ready for roll-out for its maiden flight!'

With very special thanks to John for sharing these images and notes of his excellent conversion to create a 'Tabby' in quarter scale..

Image credit: All photos © 2024 John Haas

Clear Prop Ki-51 in 1/72 Scale by Danilo Renzulli

Following on from the New Kits Plus blog post and the comments regarding the ex-Mania Hasegawa kit of the Ki-51 here are images and notes of the Clear Prop kit as built by Danilo Renzulli. I must admit that on opening the Clear Prop box my heart sank a little when I saw the three part fuselage with separate top decking. However, Danilo's notes and images of the dry fit reassured me, although he does report an issue getting the cockpit assembly to fit. 

The Clear Prop kit has so far been released in three versions. In 2019, the first, CP72011, as the assault plane variant. That was followed in 2021 by CP72013 featuring aircraft operated post war by the Chinese Nationalist and Communist air forces, by Manchukuo and by the French in Indo-China. The first was an 'advanced' kit with photo-etch, etc., and the second a 'starter' kit. The third 'advanced' kit CP72012 was released in 2022 as the reconnaissance variant. the kit numbers being out of sequence. More on these kits and Ki-51 detail differences in due course, to include a retrospective on the ex-Mania Hasegawa kit.

At first glance the kit had a great number of small parts sufficient to achieve a very detailed model so that aftermarket sets should be unnecessary. Danilo noted that the kit includes a small fret of photo-etched parts and the interior is packed with details almost never seen before in a plastic kit. This proved a little misleading as all the small details and the bigger parts were so well moulded Danilo thought the model had to be no less than perfect - this first impression being confirmed by a dry fit-test of all main components (fuselage/wings/canopy). 

So Danilo proceeded to assemble the interior with confidence - the assembly is composed of three parts, two sides and a floor, to which one adds the various details before cementing them together. Once this operation is carried out it is (or should be!) possible to insert the assembly into the two fuselage halves. And here the problems arose - the assembly, painted and finished, didn't want to fit into the fuselage. It was too wide! A session of hard and rough filing and sanding ambushed Danilo but after much work and several attempts the problem was overcome and it was possible to cement together the two fuselage halves.

Once past this stage Danilo found assembly progressed very smoothly with no fuss and very little putty required. The general fit of wings to fuselage, undercarriage, etc., proved perfect with very little adjustment needed to fix the very clear and fine canopy to the fuselage. The kit includes masks which were useful for the  Ki-51 type of canopy framing.

The model was finished in a typical tropical camouflage of a well known example (although the unit seems unidentified) with Danilo's own mix of colours using Mr. Color paints. He only added a new pitot tube made with a 0.3mm and 0.10 mm brass tube plus the antenna wire from fishing line. The kit also offers a choice of well reproduced ordnance which he chose not to fix under the wings. In Danilo's opinion the final result is very good and offers a convincing representation of a nice, little known aircraft.  Danilo's 'snake weave' camouflage is especially well done.

Danilo commented that he couldn't end his review of the kit and build without a few words of comparison with the old, venerable ex-Mania Hasegawa kit. In his opinion both kits capture well the general lines of this aeroplane, the Japanese kit also having very fine surface details. Although almost 50 years old he believes that it still holds up well compared to modern standards and just the addition of a few photo-etched details will make an excellent model. And at the end a bibliography - a bit scarce but good: the Maru Mechanic 'Mitsubishi Army Type 99 Assaulter/Tactical Reconaissancer (Ki-51)' (# 35 of July 1982 but re-published in subsequent editions) and the Arawasi Eagle Eye Series # 1 (if still available). Rather surprisingly there is no Bunrin-do FAOW title on the type. There is also some ambiguity about certain details, to be explored further.

With very special thanks to Danilo for sharing these images and notes on the Clear Prop kit and his excellent model.

Image credit:- All photos © 2024 Danilo Renzulli; Box art © 2019 Clear Prop Models