Revell 1/32 Mitsubishi J2M Raiden

[yak face]

Bit of a late start but heres my contribution to Andys GB . Heres the Revell Raiden ,a kit that dates from 1970. According to Scalemates it was first released by Revell of Japan in 1970 then re released in 1973 by Revell of Great Britain . This probably explains the superb surface detail - beautifully fine recessed panel lines and rivets and the most realistic fabric effect on the ailerons - it must have been tooled in Japan because all the Revell USA kits of this era feature raised panel lines and rivets.
Anyways its a lovely looking kit , nicely detailed cockpit and engine plus an open gun bay. The kit was an ebay buy and came unbuilt except thst the instrument panel and teo bits of the engine had been crudely painted . Not a problem I thought I’ll just clean off the old paint. The instrument panel was soaked overnight in spirit based brush cleaner but this somehow softened the plastic and knackered it so ive ordered a PE one , shame as it WAS very nicely tooled .

 

[scottie3158]

That is a nicely detailed kit considering it's age.

 

[Andy T]

Agreed, that does look like a very nice kit.

 

[yak face]

That is a nicely detailed kit considering it's age.

It is indeed paul , must be one of the earliest examples of recessed lines and rivets , in the early seventies this was almost unheard of - raised was the industry standard . Back in the day my cousin had this kit and we were more amazed that it had rubber tyres ! The other Revell kit of this era that had recessed detail was the Kawasaki ki61 Hien in 1/32 . I had that one at the same time so i know for definite ( went and ruined mine though when i knocked over a bottle of liquid cement into the box and melted all the surface detail ! ) . Ive been looking for one ever since but theyre like rocking horse s*#t now and go for silly money .

 

[Mickc1440]

Got to agree with the previous comments it does look very nice

 

[The Smythe Meister]

Wondered where you'd been Tony..
.... After all, it was you who kinda prompted me to offer up this G.B.
It's been said already, but that's looking good for it's age,(bit like me really ),... and the third Raiden to be entered, excellent stuff mate

 

[papa 695]

Nice one Tony, looking forward to seeing what you do with this one.

 

[Ian M]

The detail on that is very good considering its age, then I saw where it was made. Those where the days. (tut. Keep calm and have a cuppa)!
Not sure what has happened to that IP though.

Good to see you at the bench for this one Tony.
'

 

[Ian M]

Not sure what has happened to that IP though.

Went back and read the intro again. Duh. my bad. More tea please.

 

[yak face]

Well , its been a good while since i posted the start of this . Unfortunately life got in the way so its only just got off the starting blocks . I know its already past the end date but I want to finish it anyway as I really wanted to participate in this GB.
Anyhoo , I got a start today looking at the cockpit . As mentioned above the IP was trashed so an aftermarket one was sourced and very nice it is too ( albeit for the Hasegawa kit) along with some seat belts . The pit isnt too bad except for the awful seat , so a replacement was fashioned out of some thin aluminium ( cat food carton) and will be used instead . The fuselage halves and cockpit floor and rear have now had a coat of yellow green to match the pre coloured IP ( well it will do once an oil wash darkens it up a bit)

 

[yak face]

Little bit more progress today . The new seat has had the fixing brackets made and ive started to sort some of the fictitious cockpit details on the console . Slow I know but I want to finish this one even if its months past the finish line .

 

[Mickc1440]

Nice scratching Tony

 

[yak face]

Little bit more added today . The kit cockpit was quite nicely detailed but almost all wrong ! Nevertheless its a decent base to add to and hopefully get something resembling the real thing

 

[yak face]

Slowly this one is moving on . The additions to the cockpit are just about done ( the tiny delicate things like throttle levers will be going on last off )
The pre painted instrument panel has been assembled and looks lovely , along with various cockpit panels which have been mounted onto styrene strip to give a bit of depth. The cockpit has had another coat of primer and green, an oil wash will tone this down a bit and highlight ( or is it lowlight ?) the detail .

 

[The Smythe Meister]

Slowly this one is moving on . The additions to the cockpit are just about done ( the tiny delicate things like throttle levers will be going on last off )
The pre painted instrument panel has been assembled and looks lovely , along with various cockpit panels which have been mounted onto styrene strip to give a bit of depth. The cockpit has had another coat of primer and green, an oil wash will tone this down a bit and highlight ( or is it lowlight ?) the detail . View attachment 494660View attachment 494661View attachment 494662View attachment 494663View attachment 494664View attachment 494665

You're spot on there Tony....
... That dash certainly is a thing of beauty .... Looking forward to seeing those cockpit details painted up

 

[yak face]

Slow but sure progress has been made on the Raiden . The pit has been painted up, weathered and the instrument panel and various switch panels added from the coloured PE fret. There are a few more bits to be fitted yet ( control column, gunsight , throttle levers, bulletproof screen) but i might leave them until after painting as I dont want to risk knocking them off when I mask up the cockpit. The 3D printed decal belts have also been fitted and the fuselage halves are now together .

 

[The Smythe Meister]

Looking superb there Tony,
.... Way more detail that I'd even have contemplated if I'm honest!!
Truly a fantastic build mate,LOVE it

 

[papa 695]

Great work on the cockpit Tony.

 

[Ian M]

Just had a catch up on the build Tony. It's looking good.
Great work on the IP.

 

[yak face]

Bit more done today , i got the bottom wing fitted earlier this week and have now turned my attention to the undercarriage and wells . The kit was designed to have a working undercarriage so its a compromised affair . The good thing is that when the hinge mechanism is in place you cant really see it so I have glued it in position . The legs can go in the socket later . The simplified undercarriage wells have been boxed in with plastic card and now look like theyre supposed to .