Redoing An HM Pearl Harbor Kate
Redoing An HM Pearl Harbor Kate
There are almost no worthwhile pictures of the Kates that took part in Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. A few very poor black and white shots seem to show that some Kates from the carrier Soryu sported a blotched camouflage on their upper surfaces, which some have interpreted as brown blotches applied over a green base. This belief has led kit-makers like Hasegawa to include such schemes in their painting instructions, an example of which is seen in the following picture. Note how neat the brown blotches are in this rendition. The carrier boys must have had lots of time of their hands to put out such beautiful work:
Last edited by Epap on Sun Mar 10, 2013 11:50 am, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Redoing An HM Pearl Harbor Kate
Some modelers have even reversed the pattern, coming up with an Italian-style sand and spinach scheme, as shown below:
Last edited by Epap on Sun Mar 10, 2013 11:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Redoing An HM Pearl Harbor Kate
Despite the contention of many U.S. researchers that the green and brown schemes are a misinterpretation of the pictures and, in addition, make little sense for over-the-water camouflage, many Japanese collectors and HM's Japanese distributor prefer this motif. This has led HM to put out two green and brown Kates. Here's a picture of one of them:
Re: Redoing An HM Pearl Harbor Kate
There is reason to believe that Kates from the carrier Soryu were painted in an over-all mustard-like yellow, prior to departure for Pearl, and that the carrier hands applied a dark green coat---without the proper priming----on the plane's upper surfaces. This, of course, would have led to a lot of green flaking off when the planes took off and flew towards Hawaii---which is probably the explanation for the "blotches" that appear in the old photos. Accepting this as a plausible explanation, I took a green and brown HM Kate and gave its upper surface a green coat. Then, I applied chipping, revealing the mustard-like yellow---a fairly dark color---below. Staining and other weathering refinements are reflected oin the repaint, below:
Re: Redoing An HM Pearl Harbor Kate
Here's another shot, from the front:
Re: Redoing An HM Pearl Harbor Kate
Finally, one showing the underside:
Re: Redoing An HM Pearl Harbor Kate
VERY VERY VERY NICE. I love japanese aircraft. My favorite still remains as their 2 engined bombers such as the Nell or the 4 engined Betty.
"...the first 24 hours of the invasion will be decisive...the fate of Germany depends on the outcome...for the Allies, as well as Germany, it will be the longest day." -Erwin Rommel