Kawasaki Ki-100 Part 1

Lifelike Decals, 1/72 scale

S u m m a r y :
Catalogue Number:	LifeLike Decals Item No. 72026 - Kawasaki Ki-100 Part 1
Scale:	1/72
Contents & Media:	Waterslide decals; colour instructions.
Price:	Available on-line from these stockists:
	Stockist	Price
	Lifelike Decals	¥1300
	Hannants	£10.83
Review Type:	First Look.
Advantages:	Informative instruction sheet with copious research notes; interesting subjects; decals that are sharply printed with perfect registration and thin, minimal carrier film..
Disadvantages:
Conclusions:	Decals for the Ki-100 are few and far between and this issue from Lifelike Decals will be welcomed by fans of the Imperial Japanese Air Force of WWII.

Reviewed by Rodger Kelly

HyperScale is proudly sponsored by Squadron.com

The Japan based company Lifelike Decals has just released a flurry of new sheets and this one, 72-026, is amongst them.

Briefly, the Ki-100 was a single seat fighter aircraft produced by Kawasaki for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force.  It came into being as a result of the need to find an alternative power plant for the licence built and troubled Daimler-Benz DB 601 that powered the Kawasaki Ki-61 Hein.  From all accounts the marriage of the Ki-61 airframe to the Mitsubishi Ha-112-II radial engine resulted in what was purported to be the best of all the Imperial Japanese Army Air Forces fighters in WWII.

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The sheet provides markings for five aircraft in all, finished in what the placement guide terms “yellow green #7” upper surfaces over natural metal undersides.  The individual options are:

• Ki-100 Otsu of the 5th Sentai, 1st Chutai based at the Kiosu Air Base in the early summer of 1945 and flown by a Captain Totaro Ito. 

• Ki-100 Otsu of the 2nd Daitai, 111th Sentai, and flown by Major Yohei Hinoki from the Akeno Air Base in July of 1945.

• Ki-100 Kou, of the 3rd Chutai, 59th Sentai, flown from the Ashiya Air Base in the October of 1945.  The placement guide does not offer a pilot’s name for this option but does point out that is suspected that the single “kill” marking borne by the aircraft was painted on the fuselage by American forces post its capture.

• Ki-100 Kou, which was possibly flown by the Commander of the 1st Daitai, 111th Sentai, from the Akeno Air Base in the July of 1945.

• Ki-100 Otsu, flown by Major Teruhiko Kobayahi, the Commander of the 244th Sentai from the Chofu Air Base in the May of 1945.  A well known machine this one and it bears 14 “kill” markings in the form of B-29 silhouettes.

As with all of the Lifelike Decal sheets I have seen, this one comes with very comprehensive descriptions of each option on the placement guide and document Lifelike’s decision to depict the aircraft the way they have.  The two A-4 sized sheets are in full colour with port side illustrations of each option as well as three upper surface plan views and a single lower surface plan view.  A comprehensive list of references is also included -12 in all.

The decals themselves have been printed by Cartograf and are comprehensive indeed to the point of all of the markings worn by each option being provided as decals – including the distinctive painted tips to the vertical stabilisers and the distinctive banding around the fuselages as well as the yellow/orange leading edges to the wings and the forward edges of the undercarriage doors.   Stencil data abounds to say the least and is most welcome as it tends to make your efforts more of a replica than merely a model.  The deals are thin, in perfect register and appear to be opaque enough to survive application of the dark green of the upper surfaces of each option – time will tell on the last statement!

The placement guide advises that the decals have been sized for the RS kit and that “some modifications /addition will be required” when applying them to the Fine Moulds kit.

The decal sheets and the placement guide come packed in a clear plastic zip-loc bag.

Decals for the Ki-100 are few and far between and this issue from Lifelike Decals will be welcomed by fans of the Imperial Japanese Air Force of WWII.

Highly recommended.

Thanks to Lifelike Decals for these samples.

Text and Images Copyright © 2013 by Rodger Kelly
Page Created 25 June, 2013
Last updated 25 June, 2013

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