Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa by ccoyle - FINISHED - Orlik - 1/33 - CARD - Japanese Army fighter Allied code name "Oscar"

[ccoyle]

This next bit is the engine firewall, engine block, and annular oil cooler. I haven't entirely glued them all together yet, as I still need to build and attach the cylinders to the block first. Each cylinder consist of 15 parts ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

 

Pardon me -- for a second there I was losing my grip on my sanity, but I think I'm okay now. Yes, 14 cylinders at 15 parts each makes 210 parts in total.

 

Fun. 🥴

 

[Canute]

Well, you could always build a jet, with the engine somewhere up in the body. 😁 Seriously, that will be some doozy of an engine, Chris.

[ccoyle]

2 hours ago, Canute said:

that will be some doozy of an engine

 

Yes, one way or another. 😆

 

By this time I have built plenty of card radial engines, and I have learned several lessons:

• Error creep is a real possibility when so many parts are involved. One needs to make sure that the finished cylinders are not too tall and will fit inside the cowling when that time comes.
• It is not always necessary to use all of the included parts.

Thanks to the strange oil cooler on this aircraft, this engine will be even less than the usual visible, so I doubt that perfection will be needed. BTW, I have cut out 98 parts so far. 😁

[VTHokiEE]

I think I might try to convince you to film your process; you’re doing such a good job - it looks great. 

[EricWilliamMarshall]

Despite the hurdles, you make it look easy! Very impressive!

[ccoyle]

Just for fun . . .

 

Whilst browsing around on the ol' internet, I found this new release by a new company called Card Army. The kit is designed by Marcin Dworzecki, whose other models have been published by Halinski, a.k.a. Kartonowy Arsenal. Halinski models are recognized as the most detailed and difficult card models out there, but this new kit is like a Halinski kit on steroids. You can see for yourself by flipping through the sample diagram pages at the link I provided above. Yikes! Unhappily, the level of detail in this kit is matched by its price -- $42.67 is the MSRP for the kit alone, though it is currently on sale for "only" $33.00. Equally unhappily, the kit appears to be available only from Answer, and they don't ship to the U.S, so my bank account is safe -- for now. 😮

 

 

BTW, I have the old Halinski Wildcat kit, published back in 1998. It's not a bad kit, but it pales in comparison, especially since Halinski kits didn't achieve their current levels of sophistication until about 2003.

[CDW]

Just now, ccoyle said:

Just for fun . . .

 

Whilst browsing around on the ol' internet, I found this new release by a new company called Card Army. The kit is designed by Marcin Dworzecki, whose other models have been published by Halinski, a.k.a. Kartonowy Arsenal. Halinski models are recognized as the most detailed and difficult card models out there, but this new kit is like a Halinski kit on steroids. You can see for yourself by flipping through the sample diagram pages at the link I provided above. Yikes! Unhappily, the level of detail in this kit is matched by its price -- $42.67 is the MSRP for the kit alone, though it is currently on sale for "only" $33.00. Equally unhappily, the kit appears to be available only from Answer, and they don't ship to the U.S, so my bank account is safe -- for now. 😮

 

 

BTW, I have the old Halinski Wildcat kit, published back in 1998. It's not a bad kit, but it pales in comparison, especially since Halinski kits didn't achieve their current levels of sophistication until about 2003.

I'm not a card modeler (yet) and even I want that kit!

The artwork and colors are amazing.

 

How long do you estimate it would take for you to build a complex model like this one? Cutting all those parts seems a daunting task all on it's own, much less building it. Do they offer a canopy for it, any laser cut parts?

[ccoyle]

1 minute ago, CDW said:

How long do you estimate it would take for you to build a complex model like this one? Cutting all those parts seems a daunting task all on it's own, much less building it. Do they offer a canopy for it, any laser cut parts?

 

Well, for me, it would certainly take a long time. Answer is also offering the kit as a package deal along with a canopy, laser-cut parts, and resin wheels, all for $66.00. It's nice of them to quote us a price in $US -- now all they need to do is actually ship stuff here.

[ccoyle]

So, I have discovered that GPM, from whom I've never ordered, carries the Card Army line, but so far they only have the first issue, a Yak-7B, in stock. That model can be purchased, along with the frames, canopy, and wheels, for $46.53. For comparison, a similar package for the Yak-1 can be had from Halinski for $31.89 -- and remember, Halinski are some of the most expensive kits out there.

[Egilman]

That's inflation for ya....

[lmagna]

It's strange that you can switch the site to English and get the price in dollars, they even drop the taxes keeping the price at $66.00 but the shipping gets lost in the translation. (Actually it's me that gets lost as I do not read the language and they do not translate)  😞  

[ccoyle]

59 engine parts glued together -- only 151 more to go. 😭😭😭

 

[CDW]

Just now, ccoyle said:

59 engine parts glued together -- only 151 more to go. 😭😭😭

 

A labor of love. 

Do the cylinders consist of multiple separate disks to simulate the cylinders and cooling fins?  

[ccoyle]

9 hours ago, CDW said:

Do the cylinders consist of multiple separate disks to simulate the cylinders and cooling fins?

 

No, but I have seen them built that way.

[CDW]

51 minutes ago, ccoyle said:

 

No, but I have seen them built that way.

I have scratch built radial engines from basswood and balsa that way for R/C planes

[popeye the sailor]

very nice progress Chris....the cockpit came out super!    look'in forward in seeing how you'll master the engine....with that many parts,  it will come out nice!  perhaps you could do a pre order?....I can tell you want it?!?!

[ccoyle]

1 hour ago, popeye the sailor said:

I can tell you want it?!?!

 

I assume you mean the Card Army Wildcat kit? It is indeed an awesome kit, but the high price sorta defeats the purpose of doing card models, which are normally substantially less pricey than their wood or plastic cousins. And the Wildcat, while an awesome airplane, is not on my short list of must-have models. Now, if Marcin publishes a Corsair, either through Card Army or Halinski, I will be all over that kit like a tornado on a trailer park.

[ccoyle]

So, I have been busy edge coloring and gluing cylinder parts. I can only do about 30-50 steps at a time before acute boredom sets in, so the process is done in bits and pieces. As I mentioned earlier, one of the ever-present risks associated with card radial engines is that the finished cylinders will be too tall, resulting in an engine whose diameter is too large and will thus not fit within the cowling. In this first shot, you can see that I have glued the lower cylinders to the block and have tacked one of the incomplete cylinder heads in place. As you can see, there is still plenty of room. That's good, because the diagrams are somewhat vague about how the valve covers are supposed to be built. Now I needn't worry about the process, because a 1 or 2mm difference in height isn't going to make the cylinders too tall.

 

 

And now, with the oil cooler temporarily in place, you can see just how much of the finished cylinders will be visible, that is, next to nothing, as the cooler pretty much hides the entire head. 🙄 Only the lower cylinder and push rods will be visible -- maybe, since the propeller and hub haven't been accounted for yet.

 

 

Cheers!

[Canute]

Never thought bored. I've given myself headaches and gone cross-eyed working on N and Z scale structures. I'd work about a half hour to 45 minutes, then take a break. The tiny parts take so much concentration that you can't keep at it very long. The engine opening is minuscule. Who'll know if you left stuff off? 😁

[ccoyle]

Boredom, tedium, strabismus -- yes, whatever the cause, breaks are necessary!

[ccoyle]

Ta-daa!! Finished and installed. I left out a few parts, none of which will be obvious. I omitted the push rods on the rear bank of cylinders, because they are on the back side of the engine, which won't be visible at all once the cowling is on. Altogether, the engine has 154 parts.

 

[Old Collingwood]

Seriously amazing work Chris.

 

OC.

[mtaylor]

If you hadn't told what was missing, we wouldn't have known, Chris.   An impressive build.

[ccoyle]

Cowling and machine gun channels done. Just a few bits and pieces left to do.

 

[Landlubber Mike]

Chris, it's really amazing what you can do with card.  Really impressive!

[ccoyle]

The Big Reveal

 

Chin air intake, propeller, spinner, aerial, pitot tube, aaaaand -- done! A few final thoughts are in order. First of all, I forgot to share that yesterday I knocked over a bottle of thin CA on my cutting mat, enough to ruin the mat and glue two of my fingers together. Like, really together! Fortunately, I had some debonder handy. Even more fortunately, I somehow managed not to spill glue on any parts. 😮  Overall,I am very pleased with how this project turned out. I think it's one of the nicest planes I've built so far, despite the usual kit shortcomings. My main gripe with the kit was once again the diagrams, which I would say are about 90% complete. It's the missing 10% that can be aggravating. Happily, there were no deal-breakers in the mix.

 

Okay, enough gabbing. Enjoy the pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mtaylor]

Just wow!!!  The worn paint printing is a big plus in this, IMO.

[ccoyle]

And here's a bonus pic, just 'cause I like you guys. Actually, I thought this would be a fun pic to include because this is the first time I've had two finished card models representing real-life opponents, the Oscar and the Brewster B-339E Buffalo.

 

[Edwardkenway]

Amazing! Hard to believe that it's a card kit

[CDW]

Looks just excellent Chris. Love the Buffalo, too!