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
11 comments:
What a beautiful model! It looks a larger scale than it actually is owing to Danilo's fine detailing and finishing. This is a good sample for the Nichimo Ki-51 in my stash which will also need some 'improvement' when I build it, I guess. Many thanks Nick and Danilo!
What a beautiful build, and that snake-weave camo, oh my. I hope to pull that off one day.
I am curious, as to the cockpit assembly not fitting: did he have to sand off the inside of the fuselage halves, or did he take it off of the cockpit assembly parts?
Bellissimo Danilo !...."Sonia" has never looked better !
Thanks to you and Nick for this wonderful positng !
I neglected to add that I am very much looking forward to the retrospective of the Mania KI51....on a personal note, the Mania/Hasegawa kit is a much easier build, although the Clear Prop version is excellent and superlative in every imaginable aspect!
Very nice Sonia, and great job with the camo, my compliments
As you can see from the pictures I incorrectly added all the details, painted and assembled the cockpit stub BEFORE fitting the stub inside the fuselage halves, with no dry fitting tests! I strongly suggest to thin down the three stub parts and frequently test the fitting as first step. Removing material from inside the fuselage halves can help but it's not the more effective action.
Thank you!
Great job, Danilo! I'm in love with the final result! I have two CP kits in my stash, but I'm sure there will be more as the type is among my favourites IJA types. I already knew about the fitting problems of the cockpit assembly having read somewhere about that. I have both books and they're superb.
Danilo, this is a real beauty! Fine build and a very convincing paint job. Thanks for sharing the build and the photos. Thank you Nick, for hosting another inspiring build here.
Thank you all for your comments and appreciation. Glad you enjoyed my model!
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