1/48 FineMolds Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka

[polar57]

Hello all!

I should probably start by saying, that this is my first buildlog-thingy on ISM.
Also the Ohka isn't really "jet aircraft" since it is rocket powered, but i think it is close enough

On with the show then. This is my first FineMolds' kit and i am truly impressed. Detail is really nice and so every part has been fitting really well, but we'll see if my opinion changes when it comes to marrying the two fuselage halves together

Obligatory box shot and sprueshots.



As you can see, the parts count is rather small, but this is exactly what i need in the middle of multiple super detailing projects of mine that have the tendency of dragging on a bit...






Now looking back at the photos it is quite clear that the white balance is quite a bit off. Also yay for artificial lighting.

The plan
The plan is to build an Ohka that is housed in an museum. This idea got its start by the fact that the payload of the Ohka would be completely invicible once assembled inside the fuselage. And i wanted to display the bomb as the detail is too nice to be hidden And the fact that this will be museumized (it is now a word) gives me a chance to play around with the seat of this airplane.

The seat

The kits original seat was really bland, and was too thick to pass for the real seat, even after drilling the required holes to make it accurate. So i found this photo on LSP and instantly i fell in love with the out of place feeling of such seat in that plane. http://www.largescaleplanes.com/walkaro ... ockpit.jpg




This is the original seat and i don't quite like it.



My first try at making the stuffing for the seat out of Tamiya 2 part putty. Did not go as well as i thought it would go. It got the sandy stick short after me taking that picture.

My next strategy was laying bluetack on the seat and then setting paper towel dipped in PVA glue/water solution. You know, the same method as making tarps. And it worked surprisingly well I was able to still tweak the stuffing about as the blue tack under the already hardened paper towel was still moldable. Yay for odd techniques
This is the result of that trial.



Then i went on doing the framing for the seat. This is just polystyrene rod that was eyeballed as close enough to the framing on the real seat.
The framing had to be sanded from the sides quite a bit, because the fit in the fuselage is rather tight.
I also seem to have a thing for taking out of focus pictures. I'll hopefully get better on that as i shoot more

This is before sanding


And after sanding


This is the seat after painting. I tried to go with the same-ish kind of color scheme as the "real fake seat" The green for the seat part is still off, but i'll see if i can't change that with a subtle filter.



Here i fitted the modified seat in to the fuselage. It did fit with far less violence this time. I'll cover more on the interior of the aircraft in an future update, but be warned, i am not going to super detail this plane, as i want to build a few planes OOB for a change.



The payload

Okay, now this is the bomb (no, i am not sorry.) I actually managed to fling the top bit of the bomb with my sausage fingers somewhere in the close vicinity of my workbench. After an hour of searching every room within the house i decided to give this round to the carpet monster and scratchbuild the top of the bomb. i used 2 different thicknesses of sprue and sanded it to the shape of the original igniter and whatnot was in that top bit. it worked out okay, but as i am not able to compare it to anything, i'd say this will do.



Also you can see that i have filled the grooves on the sides of the bomb that would help it allign in the fuselage.

Okay! I think that does it for the first update. I would appreciate any comments and general tips on the ins and outs of this plane.
Thank you for checking this buildlog and i'll see you on the next update!

[polar57]

I think that it's time for another update on the Cherry Blossom. I haven't got too much modelling time lately, as there are a couple of non modelling related projects going on right now for me. But yet i have managed to get a little bit of work in

Stand for Ohka

The kit came with nice stand thing for the plane. And it was a real pleasure to build, pieces fit really well.


Fuselage halves

I had allready assembled the rockets earlier and they went together okay. A bit of sanding was involved as each rocket came in two pieces. But the seam wasn't too bad really. Now it was the time to slap those fuselage halves together.
The instrument panel was okay for this kit, nicely moulded raised details and an option for earlier and later Ohka. You could also go for decal option on the IP if you don't want to paint the details. But then of course you would want to flatten the raised details on the IP first, so that the decal can sit a bit better on the IP.

Looking like a plane already


The halves did fit really well together. only minimal sanding had to be done. The fitment of wings was exceptional. No filling required. The rear stabilizer assembly didn't fall in quite as well though. i still have a bit of filling and sanding before me, but nothing too bad.


Cherry blossom resting on stand.

Clear parts

Now for the part that i am not usually waiting for. Masking of the canopy I tackled this with thin strips of Tamiya masking tape. Following the raised lines on the canopy.

The clear parts seem to be quite nice and clear. And after a quick dry fit i didn't find any problem on the fitting.

Now then, next step will be painting. I still have a bit of electrical work ahead of me on my upgraded spray booth, but it should be done in a few days... Or that is what i am telling to myself atleast

Right! I'll see you on the next update (hopefully soon) and i wish you all merry Chistmastime!
Take it easy now.

[polar57]

Oh boy.

There seems to be an layer of dust covering this build. I haven't got any modelling time during the last month as i have been in the army. Before i begun in the service, i managed to snap a few photos of the build at that stage.

The base and the plans

As i have said earlier, i will be doing an museum-ish base for this build. I am planning on doing something like this But plans have a habit of changing.

This is the current stage of the base. It consists of styrene sheet on top of piece of plywood. I have painted it in an eyeballed mixture of xf-20 and xf-2. I also scribed some panel lines to the floor.

Ohka has a coat of paint

Ohka got a coat of xf-12 on it and i am really pleased, that the masking on the canopy did its job really well.




Next up

Next on the schedule will be clearcoating and decaling the Ohka. Also i'll paint the payload, the stand for the plane and i will have to make some items for the base.

Right then. This was an rather quick update, but as i haven't got the time for anything longer, this will have to do
Have a nice day and be safe.

[Smiffy]

Great looking build so far of a very interesting subject

It always made me chuckle to myself seeing the "gun sight" when really all was needed was to point the nose at target.

[Avgas]

[polar57]

Oh man... It has been a while since i have updated this thread hasn't it
But i've managed to finish the cherry blossom! Unfortunately i haven't documented my building for a while in this build. But anyhow, here is the finished plane! I'll upload rest of the photos in the gallery.






Hereis the link to rest of the photos in air gallery.

Thank you all for sticking with me 'till the end!

[Willem]

I must have missed this first time round. What a wee beauty of a kit! I now want one.

Great job. The end result is fantastic.

[Zen]

Very nice work!