Kugisho D4Y3 Suisei "Judy"

by Randy Lutz

Here is my Fine Molds 1/48 Kugisho D4Y3 Suisei "Judy".

It represents a Judy of the 601st Kokutai, while at the Hyakurihara Naval Air Base, in Ibaragi Japan during 1945.

I found the name "Fine Molds" to a bit of a misnomer, as the kit is an eccentric mix of recessed panel lines on the majority of the airframe, with some raised lines on the fuselage.

The model suffers from mismoulding, poor fit, inconsistent scribing and simplified, minimal detail.

The clear parts are really not that clear and no amount of polishing would improve their clarity. It would appear that the slight haziness was something in the plastic and not superficial. In addition, the clear parts are quite thick and had considerable flash.

The following minimal modifications were performed to the kit.

Fuselage

• photo-etched seatbelts added

• thottle/mixture controls added

• rear gunner's mount drilled out where appropriate

• antenna wire made from stretched sprue

• pilot's sliding canopy replaced with vacuform piece

• exhaust pipes drilled out

• ignition wires added to engine

• upper cowl intake openedrear navigation light replaced with clear sprue

Wings

The pitot tube was replaced with hypodermic needles.

Landing Gear

• oleo torque links drilled out
• tail wheel hub drilled out
  
   

The airframe was painted with Xtracolor X109 Marine Corp Green FS14052 and X354 IJN Grey.

All national insignia and wing walk markings are painted on and the model is weathered with chalk pastels.

• Asahi Journal, Volume 4, Number 3

• Famous Airplanes of the World No. 145 Carrier Bomber Suisei

• Famous Airplanes of the World No. 69 Navy Carrier Dive-Bomber Suisei "Judy"

• Model Art No. 406 Camouflage & Markings of Japanese Navy Bombers in WWII

• Japanese Aircraft Interiors 1940-1945 by Monogram Technical Publications

• Profile Publications No. 241 Aichi D3A (Val) & Yokosuka D4Y (Judy) Carrier Bombers
   

Click on the thumbnails below to view larger images:

The Concorde Story Sixth Edition General Aviation Author: Christopher Orlebar US Price: $29.95 UK Price: £19.99 Publisher: Osprey Publishing Publish Date:  May 20, 2004 Details: Hardback; 232 pages; ISBN: 1855326671 Shop Buy it from Osprey Publishing

Model, Images and Text Copyright © 2004 by Randy Lutz
Page Created 17 April, 2004
Last Updated 16 April, 2004

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