Mitsubishi Ki-46 III Dinah

by Ian Robertson

Tamiya's 1/48 scale Dinah is available online at Squadron

This is the reconnaissance version of Tamiya's 1/48 Ki-46 Dinah.

The additions I made to the kit included etched metal seatbelts, brake lines, and a few scratch built cockpit details (e.g., oxygen hose; various levers, switches and wires; loop antenna). I also added my own wing tip lights by cutting out the appropriate sections of the wing tips, gluing melted blobs of clear styrene (cut roughly to the correct shape) into place using CA glue, sanding them flush to the wing and then polishing until clear.

The cockpit was painted with Polly Scale "Weyerhauser Green" (a model railroad color), which is a close match to AeroMaster's Nakajima interior green. After painting and masking the yellow recognition bands on the leading edge of the wings, the exterior of the model was painted with SnJ aluminum. Once the metalizer dried, the underside of the model was painted with Tamiya "IJA Grey" acrylic, while the upper surface was painted Tamiya "IJA Green" acrylic. Abrasions to the paint were simulated using fine sandpaper to expose the natural metal finish, particularly on the engine nacelles. The propellers and spinners were painted red-brown using Polly Scale acrylic. Decals are a combination of Tamiya and Aeromaster.

The Tamiya Ki-46 is a nice kit, although it is a shame that the forward cockpit cannot be easily opened due to the thickness of the clear parts. For those wanting an open canopy, a vacuform replacement can be found in Falcon's IJAAF clear-vax canopy kit.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Text, Images and Model Copyright © 2002 by Ian Robertson
Page Created 05 January, 2002
Last Updated 04 June, 2007

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