Small Scale Military Headquarters

Well, after sitting in the basement all these years, I am finally about to begin with my SkyWorks Ki-61. Thought I would start with a shot of the shipping box. Although it looks pretty good detail and proportion wise-the fit, softness/warpage of resin, and general "wacked out engineering" will make this an "exciting" build to say the least. Hang on it's gonna be one hell of a ride.

Good luck with it

About 7-8 years ago, I got a Skyworks ME163 kit. I'm not sure if it was just a bad example or more indicative of his kits in general; however, it was one of the strangest model kits I ever had.

The fuselage halves came already attached to one another, but with the cockpit tub not inserted and no real way to get it in without breaking it. There was a lot more "customization" required for everything from the canopy to the fuselage to the decals to even attaching the wings. It was very much NOT like one of Pickelhaube's or Aracula's kits that come with everything you need to complete it... The parts of the Skyworks kit were also covered in this silverish dust that got everywhere.

I started the kit, but issues with the cockpit and other parts caused me to get frustrated and put it aside. It sat around for a couple years until I sold it to another board member. I know my building skills have improved in the intervening years and I could probably tackle the model much more easily now, but still, Jack Plonka's work left a bit to be desired in my opinion...

I had no problem with the accuracy, fit and finish of his Fw190A conversion but it's a big difference between that and a full build. I believe these started out being hand built by an enthusiast but once things got going and he got outside help he was over his head. Not trying to defend him here, if you are not a good person you are not a good person in my book!

Not sure what I paid, but it was nowhere near the $725 for a completed Ki61. I really wanna say $350? Anyways, here are some shots of the kit. Others have said this is 3D printed but I don't see any "grain" or layers of material built up. I am no expert on 3D printing by the way. Came in 4 colors of resin with a vacuformed canopy which goes under the resin canopy cage.



Under the wing says James D Williams edition--whoever that is.



Finally a shot of the top wing.

Looking forward to see this build. The kit looks good to me in the pictures.