Kawasaki Ki-10 “Perry” Two-Seater

[strobez]

Ran across this little baby during my recent trip to Singapore.  Looked pretty straightforward. This build, though not strictly Tintin, is based on an early cover of Le Petit Vingtième that Hergé did featuring some somewhat Hawker Hart-esque Japanese two-seater bi-planes.

I figured, it's WHIF, so let's make it into the happy medium of the plane Hergé was most-likely INTENDING to draw... a two-seat version of an IJA plane in operation in Shanghai circa 1935...  sounds like a two-seat Perry to me.

As always, I love starting with the box... so untouched... so pure... so unaware of all that's about to befall it.


Just look at those sprues. A bit of flash, but nothing I can't handle.


Ok... first thing... let's make room for a second seat.


That cockpit "detailing" leaves a bit to be desired...


So, boom! All gone!


Also, I think we can do better with the front vents... let's open that up.

[Leading Observer]

Looking good - just add floats, and put it in the new Group build!

[Dizzyfugu]

Nice! And I agree upon the floats idea - would be a nice conversion and GB addition.

I think the floats from a Hasegawa He 51 would match - and you'd still have a complete Heinkel with wheels for another build... 

[strobez]

I understand the suggestion... and as tempting as it is, I already have about 6 flying boats/float planes scheduled for the GB.

I'm actually trying to replicate this:



Anyway, I got a bit of work done on it.  After removing the inside details, I set about reconstructing the sidewalls and the flooring in order to adapt it to a 2-seat variation. I'm still working on the bucket seats and will also add some throtles/radios/do-dads/wires to the finished look.



I made double sure to check that it would still line up when closed up.

[strobez]

Finished up most of the interior (just some sidewall bits to pain and install).  The paint looks good live, but I noticed in the pics it looks a bit more "caked on".  Might be the sandy part of the sandy brown... right?

[strobez]

Just got some more bits added...

Now, where did I put that control stick... uh oh...

[strobez]

Now that the cockpit is done (although I still haven't found that control stick!), I turned my attention to boxing in the front vent.  I think I'll paint first and then try to squeeze the grating in there afterwards...  famous last words...



Fuselage all buttoned up and seams filled. I didn't do such a hot job in rescribing those panel lines, but hopefully the upper wing will cast some shadows in just the right places.  I think I might need to drill out those gun ports... just noticed that now.

[strobez]

I dunno why, but I really love Tamiya XF-14...

[strobez]

This build doesn't really seem to have captured anyone's attention, which is probably a good thing considering how badly I mucked up the assembly of the upper wing.



I thought I was smart by drilling out the guide holes for the struts, but even with as careful glueing as I could manage, I ended up turning the assembly into an exercise in frustration as everything started sliding around on its own.  Alignment, fit, glue squishing out... all problems... and it really didn't help that I ended up snapping both the front support struts.

I was really just this close to chucking the whole thing and about the only thing that saved it from my bad temper and the bin was the fact that I actually liked how the front vent turned out.  It's a bit more clumsy-looking in the picture, but in real life, it's actually a subtle detail.  I carved out the closed vents, boxed in the area, added a bit of a grate behind and then drilled a hole for the peg and glued tiny strips in place afterwards as the vent flaps.

Anyway, it's now glued into place and once the dust settles, I'll reassess what needs to and can be done to fix it and we'll continue on from there.

[Old Wombat]

I'm quietly watching how she goes.

[strobez]

I'm kinda glad I didn't smash this project in a fit of despair.  I was able to sand back the offending glue errors from the upper wing assembly, and salvage the paint job with a do-over.  Somehow getting red dots and a rising sun tail on it has improved my morale greatly.

[NARSES2]

I quite like the simplicity of some of these pre-war Japanese aircraft's colour schemes.

[TheChronicOne]

Looking good!!  That fin flash is killer. 

[DogfighterZen]

Looking good indeed.

[zenrat]

Looking good.