Hasegawa's 1/48 scale
C6N1 Saiun "Myrt"

by Roland Sachsenhofer

Hasegawa's 1/48 scale C6N1 Saiun "Myrt" is available online from Squadron.com

The C6N Saiun seems to be one of the lesser known Japanese aircraft of the Pacific war. That is surprising, because this plane features a very sound performance and was widely successful in its original designated role as a reconnaissance plane.

Typical for contemporary Japanese aircraft constructions, it shows sleek lines and aerodynamically optimized details, giving her a maximum speed she could nearly outrun US-Navy Hellcats - a quite vital property for shadowing the enemy fleet.

The maiden flight took place in May 1943. Following problems caused by the unreliable 1600 PS Homare 21 engine, deployment was delayed until mid-summer 1944. Once these problems were solved, the C6N Saiun, code-named "Myrt" by Allied intelligence, soon showed itself as a quite viable reconnaissance aircraft. From the different versions planned, only the night fighter C6N-S with two 20mm Type 99 canons got into production, being the fastest night fighter the Japanese Navy had to its disposal. A C6N1 Saiun became also the last confirmed victory in the World War, being shot down in the morning hours of 15 August 1945.

A total of 463 C6Ns were built by Nakajima between March ´43 and August 1945.

The Hasegawa kit is one of the most elaborate and detailed kits I have ever seen, e.g. the parts provided for the cockpit-area make it nearly to a "kit in the kit"!

Very pleasing is the option to show the large "greenhouse" over the crew compartments fully opened- this way the rich details of this area can fortunately be shown. As seems standard with the newer kits, a separate part for the closed cockpit is also provided. The transparent parts are exceptional delicate and clear.

I finished the C6N without the 750l drop tank and displayed the slats closed; on one hand most reference photos show the Saiun in this configuration- and on the other I personally prefer to show the clean and elegant lines of this plane undisturbed by equipment.

Painting was done with Gunze colours; from the two options offered by the kit, I did chose the more "colourful"; that means the aircraft with black cowling instead of a green one ;-) .

As with most Japanese Army and Navy machines of this period, the colouring is restricted to green on the upper- and gray or natural silver on the lower parts. I used the Gunze colours H 59 IJN Green and H 61 JN Grey. The colours where sprayed with several passes of the airbrush, I gradually mixed in white colour, trying to give the impression of partially bleached weather exposed surface.

Decals were - as often with Hasegawa - thick and nearly unusable.

Preparation for applying and the following sealing of the decals was done with Gunze gloss-clear; with a coating of mixed gloss and flat clear the surface was finished. I worked with aquarel colours to deepen the panel lines and give a sparse effect of dirt and oil streaks - sparse, because the surface of the C6N where kept clean and polished to guarantee speed, being vital for the missions these aircraft had to accomplish.

Remarks will be appreciated: ro.sachsenhofer@asn-linz.ac.at

I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Model, Images and Text Copyright © 2005 by Roland Sachsenhofer
Page Created 20 September, 2005
Last Updated 19 September, 2005

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