I’ll try to make Sweet Type 2 floatplane fighters. The packaging is a tasteful airplane painting, not the usual comical character box. The box drawing of the girl NASA and the black cat Lucky is cute and good. If anything, I prefer these box paintings.
On the other side was a picture of a southern seaplane base. This looks more like a beach than a base. You can see bungalows and tents on the upper left. If it’s not a war, it’s a peaceful place.
I forgot when I bought it, and there was one more Type 2 plane in the vinyl package, so I’ll make this, too. I have many plastic models piled up, so I thought it would be better to make it by force at a time like this.
For now, I put the body and the main wing together.
This kit has cart and wave scene parts, so I assembled it in the middle because it would be troublesome later.
It said to put some weight in, so I cut the weight for fishing and put it in front of the float. I can fix it well by dripping an instant adhesive or light-curing resin.
Ummm. The national marking of the Japan decal is not in the vinyl package. I should have noticed it when I bought it. I have to buy them separately sold one.
It is bothersome to order now, so if I look at the leftover decals from the past, there are various rising sun marks. Red circle only, white frame or black frame on the outside. When I made it before, it was a dark green aircraft, so this time, it might be good to line up all the planes in light gray.
(2021/03/10)
The assembly is almost finished. Since the number of parts is tiny, assembling three aircraft is not so hard.
Canopy masking is more complex than assembly. It is difficult to cut it out and paste it beautifully. I have made several 1/144 scale Zero and Type Two floatplanes, so I got used to it a little.
The wave base is painted Vallejo blue. I bought it but didn’t have a chance to use this color in my modeling.
I glued the canopy.
For the wave-based paint, after the primary color, I painted clear blue and then dry brushed lightly with white. The wavy part is lightly painted white.
This time, I chose a light gray-white body.
I put the decal on, so it’s almost completed. The decal is very thin. I was careful about using too many marks softer.
The engine is dry-brushed in light silver. This is the work before being pinched by the engine cowl.
There are kits with and without a Pitot tube. This kit didn’t have Pitot tube parts, so I lightly scraped a thin brass wire and glued it together. I think it was attached to Zero.
(2021/03/11)
There was a lot of detailed work, but I completed all three. I can’t have the same three planes at a 1/48 scale. It is interesting to arrange them.
The Imperial Japanese Navy is known for using high-performance floating fighters. This type 2 seaplane seemed to have an excellent performance because it was initially a Zero fighter.
Kamikawamaru fighter squadron Solomon Is. Shortland Poporang base, 1942 Sep-Nov. The first aircraft has two white stripe markings on the fuselage.
The Sweet kit has delicate panel lines, so it hardly remains even if I insert inking. However, a slightly fine line may be suitable for a 1/144 scale.
The base of the wave scene is painted royal blue with clear blue on top. Finally, I gave it a light drybrushing with white. I don’t know which sea color it is, but I think this is better than the sweet type 2 fighter base I made long ago. The base painted with emerald green which I made before, has a good atmosphere, but this one looks like the sea surface.
The second one has two light blue band markings on the fuselage. 802nd Flying Group Fighter Squadron Solomon Is. Shortland Poporang base, 1943 Jan.
The front part of the large float in the center has as much weight as possible to maintain a stable posture. The balance is entirely shifted to the back.
All three airplanes were equipped with two air-to-air bombs on the underside of the aircraft. This is a kind of cluster bomb. This bomb seems useful to attack large aircraft such as B-29 from above. It was initially a bomb to destroy an airport. I used to think air-to-air would be effective when they were engaged in fierce air battles such as somersaults with enemy fighters.
The marking of the 3rd aircraft is the 14th Flying Group Fighter Squadron Solomon Is. Shortland Poporang base, 1943 Jan.
Ultrafine fishing line is used for the antenna line.
I used it from my leftover decals, so I think the Hinomaru is a little big but good.
Sweet was originally established independently by Tamiya’s designers, so all the released kits are masterpieces. Of course, this kit is also definitive for the Type II floatplane fighter 1/144 scale. A seaplane has a large float, a cart, and a wave base, so that the price may go up. I think you can enjoy it more than the price.
(2021/03/12)
