In this "alternate" version of WWII, the development of the atomic bomb had not been successful. Japan had managed to stay in the fight, as aviation technology marched on. The Kyushu company had entered their advanced interceptor, the Shinden J7W1, into production in the autumn of 1945. By mid-'46, that aircraft had evolved into the long-planned turbojet-powered J7W2. That fighter had, in turn, been superseded by the J7W3. This model had a bubble canopy, shortened landing gear, and newly-designed vertical stabilizers and rudders. By mid-'47, these very capable airplanes were doing battle with both American and Soviet aircraft in the Pacific theatre.
This model represents a J7W3 based on the Korean peninsula in 1947. They were delivered to units in unpainted form and then had field expedient camouflage applied. This plane bears five kill markings, three American and two Soviet, making her pilot a Japanese "Jet Ace".
The kit is the venerable Hasegawa model in 1/48. I started the build as the prototype which made several short test flights at the very end of the actual war. Things were progressing along just fine when disaster struck. I had suspended an articulated desk lamp over the model to help dry the primer coat. I returned a few hours later to find that the lamp had dropped several inches and had melted the upper rear fuselage. Yikes! Man, did that lamp get hot!
Well, I then decided to salvage the build by doing my first "conversion". I would build my take on the jet-powered version eventually planned by Kyushu. I rebuilt the melted part with auto spot filler and removed some air scoops while adding a couple others. The canopy was the rear part of a P-47 bubbletop that I cut into two pieces. The drop tank is from some long-forgotten model, adapted for use here. I shortened those tall vertical stabilizers and made new broader rudders. Since the airplane no longer needed that extreme ground clearance necessitated by the 6-bladed pusher prop, I decided to shorten all the landing gear legs. Well, that also meant that I had to relocate the mounting holes in order for the wheels to still fit into the gear bays. The aotake in these gear wells is Model Master acrylic teal lightly sprayed over aluminum. The base finish is Floquil Old Silver with a custom-mixed green acrylic crudely applied over that and around the factory painted hinomarus. Thanks for looking and I hope you like her!
Gary
