Kyushu J7W1 Shinden Interceptor/Fighter by CDW - FINISHED - Zoukei-Mura - 1:32

[popeye the sailor]

very nice cockpit.........well done!   were the belts supplied in the kit?

[CDW]

Thanks Denis.

The seat belts are part of a small photo accessory etch set made by Eduard for Zoukei-Mura.  

[CDW]

Beginning the airframe, cockpit tub, and gun bays.

Paints used: Tamiya aluminum, gloss black, gloss clear, flat clear. Mr Color IJN Green, Metal Iron, black wash

[popeye the sailor]

wow!........looks really good   

[lmagna]

Your work continues to amaze me Craig. Cars, ships or planes, it seems you have mastered them all. All that is left out at this point is Sci Fi. got anything planed in that venue?

[CDW]

Thanks for the kind words guys. As a mater of fact, I do have some sci fi items to do. Been holding onto them for way too long.

[CDW]

After the basic airframe, attention gets focused on the fuselage skins. Unfortunately, I quickly began to realize there were fit problems. At first, I wondered if it was something I had done or failed to do in earlier stages of construction, but couldn't find anything. Then I began to look for obvious issues such as flash or other irregularities with the plastic molding and could find none. Last, I started searching for build reviews of the kit online. There is not much out there, but with the few I found, other modelers ran into the same issues I am facing so it is recognized as an engineering failure with the kit. it's likely the prime reason one does not find many finished kits of the model finished on the net.

The major fit issue I am seeing at this time is the fit of the upper gun cover to the lower fuselage. Other modelers found the exact same issue. A very small amount of plastic needs to be added to the front gun cover to close the gap between upper and lower parts. It's not a deal breaker as far as building the model is concerned, but it is disappointing considering the cost of the kit. It should have been better engineered.

It is often said but bears repeating, if you want the best engineered, best fitting plastic kit, buy Tamiya. Everything else is second place or lower. This model has some nice features, but it is going to be a pin in the rear to get it done right.

[mtaylor]

I'm not liking the post though I am liking your perseverance is seeking an answer to the problem.  When the engine cover goes on, does it fit right or same issue?  

[Old Collingwood]

On 1/20/2019 at 12:11 AM, CDW said:

This just about wraps up engine painting and construction. Maybe a few touch-ups here and there, and I'm rather certain the exhaust system will need a tweak to get them to fit the exits properly once the engine is placed inside the fuselage airframe.

Great detail on that engine  - superb job.

 

OC.

[Old Collingwood]

On 1/24/2019 at 2:49 PM, CDW said:

Beginning the airframe, cockpit tub, and gun bays.

Paints used: Tamiya aluminum, gloss black, gloss clear, flat clear. Mr Color IJN Green, Metal Iron, black wash

That internal detail you have done is amazing.

 

OC.

[CDW]

7 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

I'm not liking the post though I am liking your perseverance is seeking an answer to the problem.  When the engine cover goes on, does it fit right or same issue?  

I don't know yet about the engine cover fit, but in one build review I read, the author only found the fit of the forward gun cover to be a major issue. 

It is my intention to cut/remove certain panels to allow some of the internal detail to be seen. Most of it gets completely covered up unless the builder desires to customize/make some provision to allow it to be seen.

There were only two prototypes of this airplane that were actually built before the war ended. Photos of maintenance panels removed are hard (maybe impossible?) to come by. Of the two prototypes, neither had guns installed, so this part of the kit is speculative and perhaps based upon design drawings. 

[CDW]

Thanks for the comments and likes, guys.

[CDW]

These photos give a better idea of the gap I'm trying to fix. I glued on some .030" x .060" styrene strip stock, and once it's thoroughly dry, will shape it down to fit as close as possible to hide that ugly gap. Will have to re establish some rivet/fastener detail that will need to be replaced after it's all done.

Edited January 27, 2019 by CDW

[lmagna]

This reminds me of the Mpc mcLaren MK 8 kit. Beautiful super detailed kit with EVERYTHING inside the car available for viewing. Only problem was that if you wanted to build it with the body fully installed................ Good luck! It was as if they wanted you do just leave the body panels off to view the full detailed interior!

 

Is it possible that it is just the after bulkhead is too large and needs to be reduced to allow the gun cowling to sit lower? Great work.

[CDW]

4 hours ago, lmagna said:

This reminds me of the Mpc mcLaren MK 8 kit. Beautiful super detailed kit with EVERYTHING inside the car available for viewing. Only problem was that if you wanted to build it with the body fully installed................ Good luck! It was as if they wanted you do just leave the body panels off to view the full detailed interior!

 

Is it possible that it is just the after bulkhead is too large and needs to be reduced to allow the gun cowling to sit lower? Great work.

It reminds me of the old Renwal kits that had all the detail inside but the outer panels never fit. But that was long ago and not quite as unforgivable as today where there are so many more tools for the designer in the way of 3D CAD. 

Yes, that bulkhead was obviously what I first suspected as the problem, but if it were shortened/reshaped, the panels behind it would not fit. As it is, the panels aft of the pieces seen in the pictures fit just fine. Like a good carpenter, I am measuring multiple times and taking a cautious approach to what I cut.

Edited January 27, 2019 by CDW

[CDW]

I believe this little issue is just about resolved now. With the strip stock added and a little shaping/sanding, there is a much better fit between the upper and lower gun cowling.

[Old Collingwood]

Getting there  - slowly slowly   etc.......

 

OC.

[CDW]

Thanks OC. Can't rush these things or it will be worse rather than better.

[popeye the sailor]

what I usually run into are those pesky injection pin marks.  some are raised enough to give a sloppy fit.   look'in good though...your fix is coming along nicely   

[CDW]

3 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

what I usually run into are those pesky injection pin marks.  some are raised enough to give a sloppy fit.   look'in good though...your fix is coming along nicely   

I'm pluggin' away on this thing, little by little. There are so many fuselage and wing skin panels that go on this model and each one has to be test fitted and sometimes filed/sanded a bit for them to fit properly. It's a shame because much of the difficulty comes when the internal structures get covered up by the skins. The fit is so tight and fiddly. No fear, it's getting there.

[mtaylor]

From other comments here and yes, I did the  Mpc mcLaren MK 8 kit like Lou.  Maybe it is unintentionally intentional to encourage certain panels being left off.   Just strikes me as weird that the way everything is fitting like a glove but that one piece.  

[Jörgen]

Hello

 

As for metal finishes I can highly recommend AK Extreme metal colors. Very easy to spray and perfect result every time.

[CDW]

6 hours ago, mtaylor said:

Maybe it is unintentionally intentional to encourage certain panels being left off.   Just strikes me as weird that the way everything is fitting like a glove but that one piece.  

Certain panels left off may have something to do with it.

If you look at the picture at the top of the Zoukei Mura webpage found in the following link, you can see the same gap in the part as I encountered it. They just left their's as-is and to be totally honest, it doesn't look too bad like that once the whole model is painted, detailed, and finished. But the gap is obvious.

http://www.zoukeimura.co.jp/en/products/sws01_shinden_cl.html

[CDW]

6 hours ago, Passer said:

Hello

 

As for metal finishes I can highly recommend AK Extreme metal colors. Very easy to spray and perfect result every time.

I just bought a set of those paints a couple of weeks ago, but have not tried them yet. They have been received with good reviews.

[Jörgen]

This gold is done with AK Extreme metal. The best is that the color is very resistans when dry. No problem with masking etc. You will love them.

[CDW]

11 hours ago, Passer said:

This gold is done with AK Extreme metal. The best is that the color is very resistans when dry. No problem with masking etc. You will love them.

Beautiful gold finish on those parts...I really like it.

Did you use their base black as a primer before applying the gold finish?

[CDW]

All the skins are fitting together nicely now (keeping my fingers crossed.

This session's mock up has the engine test fitted into it's place. 

Edited January 30, 2019 by CDW

[Jörgen]

This gold is done with AK Extreme metal. The best is that the color is very resistans when dry. No problem with masking etc. You will love them.

6 hours ago, CDW said:

Beautiful gold finish on those parts...I really like it.

Did you use their base black as a primer before applying the gold finish?

No, i used thinned tamiya X1 black. Check the link in my signature to DeAgostini Vasa. Its in there (at the bottom since this is when I repainted the parts, I was not happy with my first trial). Also when you are doing the metal finishes, use different shades on a lot of panels. The effect is unbelievable.

Edited January 30, 2019 by Passer

[CDW]

It took today's allotment of time to paint and fit the exhaust collectors to the engine panels, then fit the engine panels and rear engine cowling to the fuselage. Getting all this to fit is tricky to say the least. 

 

To a moderator (if one is reads this)....in the past few days, I am having lots of issues trying to upload photos to MSW threads. Keep getting a "upload failed" 200 error message. Is this a problem on my side or is it a server side issue? Never had it happen before now. 

[popeye the sailor]

look'in really really good!     the engine looks awesome.......must be a real complex bugger