Hasegawa 1/72 Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betty"

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Springy67
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Hasegawa 1/72 Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betty"

Post by Springy67 »

Hey All

This is the ancient Hasegawa Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betty". I picked it up as an unboxed kit at my local IPMS meeting for the princely sum of Au$9 (about GBP6).

The interior was quite basic and it was possible to see right through from one end to the other. So, I put in a rear bulkhead and added some extra detail to the cockpit area; a map table complete with a hand-drawn map(!), a radio set, and seats for the navigator and radio operator. The crew figures with the kit were not particularly well detailed and were short-shot so that they had no right hands. Even though they look very "Anglo" (one of them is even wearing a tie!), I put the crew from the Airfix Nakajima "Kate" in the most prominent seats and relegated the Hasegawa crew to positions where they couldn't easily be seen. Figure painting is not my forte but not much was going to be clearly visible once the thick canopy was in place.

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The kit went together really well; the only build issue I had was in fixing the main wings in place. They butted up to the fuselage without a gap to be seen. I was feeling really pleased with myself till I noticed the starboard wing anhedral and compared it with the port wing dihedral. :shock: I had to break the joins and pack them out with plastic rod to get the wings to sit level.

The real issue came when I began putting on the decals. They were really fragile and broke into pieces, even after being coated with Kleer. I had no spares but, luckily, MarkyM607 came to the rescue and provided me with a load of spares. Thanks Mark! The only original decals are the tail markings and the yellow, leading-edge identification markings outboard of the engines (though even they needed the cracks filling with yellow paint). The inboard ones fell apart and I couldn't face painting them in over the dark green.


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Somewhere behind this glazing, sits a Hurricane pilot conscripted as a tail gunner.

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The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that none of the small windows are glazed. I deliberately left out the thick transparencies in the kit with a view to using white glue to glaze the openings later. I haven't done this as yet because I am still debating whether to weather the kit. From images I have seen, these planes deteriorated quickly with paint flaking, etc.

This is never going to win any prizes but it was an enjoyable build of a plane I've always had a soft spot for and I wanted to capture it in "mint" condition before I ruin it all with some heavy-handed weathering :-D

Cheers
Springy
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iggie
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Re: Hasegawa 1/72 Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betty"

Post by iggie »

Cracking work! That looks a great build against the odds!
Best wishes

Jim
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Re: Hasegawa 1/72 Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betty"

Post by Old_Tonto »

Very cool build. Those crew members look extremely cozy in there. :lol:
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MarkyM607
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Re: Hasegawa 1/72 Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betty"

Post by MarkyM607 »

That looks smashing, glad I could help in some small way. It's odd to see 'my' decals on a model that's thousands of miles away! :lol:
Hoping to return to modelling sometime this year!! :lol:
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Re: Hasegawa 1/72 Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betty"

Post by Migrant »

I haven't done this as yet because I am still debating whether to weather the kit. From images I have seen, these planes deteriorated quickly with paint flaking, etc.
I was just going to post how refreshing it was to see a Japanese aircraft model that's not heavily weathered :) I like it in its clean state, but that's just me. Lovely model, regardless.
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Re: Hasegawa 1/72 Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betty"

Post by ShaunW »

I like it as it is Springy and tend to agree with Mike that it is nice to see a pristine Japanese aircraft from time to time but it is true, of course, that in reality they didn't stay that way for very long! The Betty is quite a handsome machine IMHO and I think you've done a great job of it!
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Stupot
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Re: Hasegawa 1/72 Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betty"

Post by Stupot »

I'd leave the weathering - it looks great. Having to break joins is a real pain but you really made a good job of it. Crew look great too!

Stu :)
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skypirate
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Re: Hasegawa 1/72 Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betty"

Post by skypirate »

Terrific result from the old cigar tube, Simon!
And you appreciate it more when you have to whip it into shape.
I suggest you practice weathering on a similar scheme first!

Cheers,

David
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Re: Hasegawa 1/72 Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betty"

Post by Marek »

Quite a looker! May be the ancient base kit but your result gives it a second life. I like it a lot
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Re: Hasegawa 1/72 Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betty"

Post by DazDaMan »

Very smart!

Aaaand you've just given me another movie model to think about....!

Daren

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Springy67
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Re: Hasegawa 1/72 Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betty"

Post by Springy67 »

Thanks everyone.

I took your advice and left it as is. I glazed all the small windows with white glue so now I am calling it finished.

Of course, viewing the clip that Das linked to, you see that even Yamamoto's personal aircraft had patches where the paint had flaked off. But I'll leave that to Daz in his movie build. :-D

Cheers
Springy
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