Aviation of Japan 日本の航空史: Hisao Saitoh's 1/48th A6M2 & D3A1 + Italian Mistel Combo

Monday, 27 June 2011

Hisao Saitoh's 1/48th A6M2 & D3A1 + Italian Mistel Combo

It is a delight to once more have the opportunity to showcase the superb models of master craftsman Hisao Saitoh here.

The A6M2 is Hasegawa's 1/48th scale kit with dry decal markings made by Saitoh-san himself. It represents the 'Houkoku-490' aircraft from the Tainan Ku donated by Awa Paper Manufacturing Co (Awa-Seishi-Go ) in Saitoh-san's home town of Tokushima.

The Aichi D3A1 'Val' is built from another Hasegawa 1/48th scale kit but this time with all markings painted on using stencil masks made by Saitoh-san himself. It represents an aircraft from the carrier Junyu flown by NAP 1/c Yukio Ohishi who was killed in action over the Aleutian Islands in June 1942. This pilot's birthplace is only 30 minutes from Saitoh-san's home by car.

The formal designation for this formidable dive-bombing aircraft was Type 99 Carrier Bomber - Kyu Kyu Shiki Kanjoh Bakugeki-ki (九九式艦上爆撃機) often abbreviated to the short form Kyu Kyu Kanbaku (九九艦爆).

The MC 202 and Rombaldo AR Mistel combines Planet and Hasegawa kits. OT for this blog but admirably demonstrating Saitoh-san's range of skill and interests.

Thank you to Saitoh-san for contributing these images and to Ken Glass for facilitating their display here.

Image Credits: All models © 2011 Hisao Saitoh via Ken Glass.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...: Hi Nick,

The images are not displaying. I am using Firefox 3.6.17. I don't think it's the browser as the rest of your posts have the images with them, as well as the advertisements.

Windswords; 27 June 2011 at 19:23
Anonymous said...: Hello Nick
Thank you for placing my work.
"houkoku-190" calls the present airplane to the navy HOUKOKU not Aikoku.
I call the nickname of this airplane "Awa-Seishi-Go" in Japanese. The second step Japanese is it.
Hisao Saitoh; 29 June 2011 at 06:35
Straggler 脱走兵 said...: Hi Hisao

Thank you! I have corrected it now.

Regards
Nick; 29 June 2011 at 08:08
japones said...: Hi Hisao.

One question about DII-204.... Zenji Abe states in his biography that DII-204 crew were PO1c Yukio Oishi (pilot) and WO Hiroshi Yamamoto (gunner/radioman) and this second crew member was a shotai-cho... of the 22nd unit.

So, this plane need a horizontal yellow stripe!

Can you confirm this info?

Sidne, from Brazil.; 30 June 2011 at 01:57
Ken Glass said...: Hello Hisao,

Great work, as always. Thank you for letting us see your latest work.

Regards,
Ken Glass; 2 July 2011 at 01:36
Anonymous said...: Hello Sidne
Your advice is splendid.
I compared a drawing with a record once again and examined it.
radioman/WO.YAMAMOTO is surely the second shoh-tai leader.
By your advice, I intend to write a yellow line to the tail assembly of the model.
There is the line based on a number.
DII-204 , a photograph does not exist, but a record includes it.
The book of the Captain Abe is famous.
I referred to "ku-bo Kanbaku tai" of Shinsaku Yamakawa.
Thank you Mr.Sidne.

Ｈisao Ｓaitoh from Ｊapan; 8 July 2011 at 15:41
japones said...: Hi Hisao.

I have one photo of Junyo's D3A1, a shotaicho plane. You can use this to do the yeloww stripe.

Look at my album at:

http://japaneseaircraft.multiply.com/photos/album/86/ALEUTIAN_ATTACK

Sidnei, from Brazil.; 8 July 2011 at 19:02
Straggler 脱走兵 said...: Hi Sidnei

Please get in touch. I lost your email address!

Thanks & regards
Nick; 8 July 2011 at 19:53

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