Ki-98

[Frank3k]

This is the Meng 1/72 Ki-98:



Typical Meng kit - excellent fit and a very easy and fun build. Highly recommended. This is after about a leisurely hour of building:



The only addition so far has been a PE seat, harness & seat belt, rudder pedals (which will be invisible) and some plastic rod behind the seat to represent an early ejection system:



I should add a headrest.

This is the kit supplied instrument panel. Just paint - no decals) and some extra dust, which I'll remove):



The kit offers Japanese, Thai and Manchukuo markings. I'll probably go with French, though, since they were known to have flown the Ki-98 in Indochina (no, really! Would I lie?)

Oh yeah, the cool orange and black skull and cross-bones are from some flannel pajamas that Lisa is making me. I needed some clean flannel to use with my micromesh plastic polishing kit, so she cut some squares from left over material.

[GTX_Admin]

Love the post war French idea. :)

Jealous that this isn't available in 1/48

[Dr. YoKai]

 The French markings sound pretty cool - that's a dark blue finish over all, right?

[Cliffy B]

Love twin boom pushers!!!  Popcorn is ready, you may proceed!  She going to have any ordnance or fly clean?

[Frank3k]

I was going to go with a natural metal finish or light gray overall, but  the dark blue may be an option. I'll look up French aircraft from the period.

It'll definitely get guns in the wing booms and either drop tanks or gravity bombs.

[Buzzbomb]

Should be interesting how this finishes up.. whatever the final scheme.

[Brian da Basher]

Nice looking details, Frank!

Brian da Basher

[Frank3k]

Major construction is finished. It needed very, very little gap filling and most of that was done with Mr. Surfacer.
I was going to go with a prop, but after goofing around with some parts, I'm torn:

with intakes:


using the existing intakes:


Original 4 blade prop:

[Cliffy B]

She's looking great man!

Are you debating "jet vs prop" or "in flight vs on the ground"?

I personally like the prop as it gives more of a throwback quality but if you want to go with cutting edge then the jet certainly works.  Either way you go though those intakes you fabricated (at least from that angle) look way too big in both length and thickness IF you stay with the prop.  They still might be a bit thick (as in away from the body) for a jet and might disturb the airflow too much.  Either way I like the addition of the scoops as those tiny intakes while probably better aerodynamically, just plain look inadequate so some sort of scoop would be a nice touch but think smaller than the current one you have.

Just my 2 cents  :)

[raafif]

ze jet version looks better to me ! :)

[Dr. YoKai]

 All aircraft look better in flight.

That said, I like the "radial's-intakes-are the jet's intakes" scheme best. The bigger scoops just mess with the lines of the fuselage
to my eye. One other evil thought occurs to me - you could (1) split the staibilizer, then (2) reverse the rudder halfs, left outer becoming right inner, and vice versa, allowing you to mount the tailplanes outboard of the booms, completely clear of
the jet efflux. or not. it looks pretty cool the way it is.

[finsrin]

I'm split between middle-bottom pictures.
For jet can you enlarge intakes a bit w/o those larger scoops ?

[father ennis]

I think.it looks better with the prop. It just "looks right" !!!

[apophenia]

If it comes to a vote, I'm with Cliffy and father ennis on the prop 

[arkon]

props to the prop

[Old Wombat]

Yeah, the "jet" intake isn't right but not having one wouldn't allow sufficient inflow for the turbine.

You could go a 4th option, which would be to keep the original intakes & add flatter intakes below & forward of them, say in line with the cockpit tub.

That said; I do like the streamlined shape of the prop-job.

:)

Guy

[Frank3k]

Thanks for the suggestions. The prop is really fragile (I bent a blade just playing with it) so I went with the jet option. I like the idea of a clean, streamlined fuselage, so I closed off the vents (or exhausts) at the rear of the plane.

 I think there are enough intake vents in the front; there are four extra vents along the bottom, in line with the other vents. Compared to the DH Vampire's intakes,  these vents seem to provide a similar or even larger intake area.

I'm working on a back story and I'm trying to think up a good color scheme:
1 - All metal
2 - gray overall
3 - light blue overall (RLM 76ish, basically bluer than the all gray option)
4 - dark blue
5 - sand and green

I'm  having a hard time finding era appropriate (late 40s - early 50s) French color schemes that are not just French Navy blue or all metal.

[dogsbody]

You could add a larger intake on the belly, in place of the existing ventral oil cooler.



My 2 cents.

Chris

[Frank3k]

You could add a larger intake on the belly, in place of the existing ventral oil cooler.

I may do that, since there is a precedent - the Nene powered Vampires had a supplemental intake.

[Brian da Basher]

I vote for keeping it sleek. OK so there's not the big intake we're all used to, it'll look wicked fast!

Brian da Basher

[Frank3k]

Here's what it looks like with the rear vents blanked off:



Top view:


With drop tanks (just test fit) and the auxiliary intake (the kit oil cooler intake, moved forward):



You can also see the holes for the extra guns at the front of the wing pods. I'll add some barrels at the end.

I just found a side view of a RR Nene engine. I scaled it to 1/72 and printed it out. It would have fit perfectly in the Ki-98!

[finsrin]

Looking good jet powered.   :)
Like that you sized engine fit.  Thatz what I do too.
Revell 1/100 F-16 scoop or similar on bottom is possibility.

[dogsbody]

That looks good.


Chris

[Brian da Basher]

Wow is that every looking good, Frank!

I'd say you've totally managed to capture the essence of this GB and the paint's not even on yet!

Brian da Basher

[ysi_maniac]

WOW