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 Post subject: 1/144 Tora! Tora! Tora!
PostPosted: Mon Nov 21, 2022 10:15 am 
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Decided to make a new thread for just the aircraft from the movie: Tora! Tora Tora!

Ever since the first time I saw the movie:Tora! Tora! Tora! I became fascinated by it. Especially being captivated by the aerial sequences. In 1996/97 there were two airshows held at the Sikorsky Memorial Airport that hosted the CAF Tora team, and I was able to see these replica aircraft in action, up close and personal! Especially the Friday before the show, when four Zeros in a diamond formation flew at tree top level, right down our street, PAST OUR HOUSE! It was an amazing surreal experience my father and I will never forget.

I started with a F-Toys T-6. I replaced the engine with a leftover 1/144 cowling (cant remember what it was from). I hogged out the filled cavity for a spare Boeing 314 engine and made a scoop underneath. I added larger wingtips, fuselage farings, wing fairings, tail, forward windscreen, and raised cockpit side walls with styrene plastic. I used putty to smooth out the new features of the model, and sanded it smooth.

The original magicians who made the Tora aircraft back in 68 went so far as to build new A6M2 canopies that were the same size and shape as the originals. This made replicating the canopy that much easier, as I ended up using a spare (open) canopy from a Bandai Zero kit. I also used a spare reserve fuel tank from a 21st Century Zero, and landing gear covers / doors from another. The wheels are the F-Toys T-6 landing gear in the "up" position. I took those landing gear, trimmed down the T-6 doors, added a rod on the inside to act as the gear strut, and glued the Zero gear doors on the outside. The tail wheel was scratch built. The prop was sourced from the spare parts box, and is probably from another kit of a Japanese plane. I custom made the "AI-101" decal on the computer and printed it out. The other Japanese roundels came from the F-Toys T-6 decal sheet. I still need to clear coat it to seal it all in, but don't want to have to rewove the canopy at this point and I'm afraid to ruin the canopy. Thoughts?

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The replica Val was the first of the three completed. Using a 3D printed BT-13, I added new wingtips, fuselage fairings, tail fairing, and replaced the landing gear with wheel pants from a 1/144 Arii "Val". I decided not to extend the fuselage the 12 inches or so since I figured it was such a small length to show up in 1/144th scale, that it'd be more trouble then its worth. I scratchbuilt the dive breaks, and aiming tube in front of the cockpit. I designed some custom decals in the markings of the replica Val that can be seen at airshows throughout the North East here. A favorite of mine! Its not perfect, but its good enough for now. I do hope that we eventually get a plastic injection kit OR better yet, F-Toys does a Tora! movie Gasphon set. THAT would blow my mind...

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And last but not least, I finally started to dive in and do some big cutting and grafting onto this F-Toys T-6 to turn it into a "Kate" Torpedo bomber. I already sense that I will be able to use a Bandai spare Kate canopy and torpedo for this one.

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I added thin styrene on top of the canopy rails, since the same was done to the replicas to make them look more accurate. shaved down and shaped the wingtips, and figured out what to do about the rear fuselage / tail. I first added some curved and bent styrene stock to the firewall, and rear fuselage. These were shaved down to eventually accept the "donated" parts. Since the Arii 1/144 "Val" kit was already so very helpful, I decided to make use of it some more! chopped the rear fuselage off and grafted it onto the T-6 forward section. I used plastic stock for the tail and horizontal stabilizers. I added wing / fuselage fairings, and an intake underneath the engine cowling (which also was liberated from the Arii Val kit. I also ended up applying putty filler to even out the two fuselages to make them seem more coherent and as one. Now she's ready for primer!

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Will post some updates soon!

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Christopher Soltis

Dedicated to the preservation and education of The Sikorsky Memorial Airport

CASC Blog Page: http://ctair-space.blogspot.com/
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Chicks Dig Warbirds.......right?


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 21, 2022 3:54 pm 
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Nice work, the Kate is looking especially good.

August


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PostPosted: Tue Nov 22, 2022 4:00 pm 
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Primer on. Found some divots (as can be seen in these shots). I filled them with putty, sanded and reprimmed. Should be ready for paint now.

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Christopher Soltis

Dedicated to the preservation and education of The Sikorsky Memorial Airport

CASC Blog Page: http://ctair-space.blogspot.com/
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Chicks Dig Warbirds.......right?


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2022 10:28 am 
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Update on the Kate! I used some more putty, sanded and cleaned the surface for a white base coat. I think it came out pretty good!

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Then I began the arduous task of recreating what's become known as the "Speckled Kate".
1945 built AT-6D (N3242G) that operates in the CAF's Tora! Tora! Tora! airshow team.

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The reason I picked this pain in the a$$ to replicate instead of some of the other equally interesting (and easier) examples is simple. I had a chance to actually sit in this aircraft around 2000/01 at the National Warplane Museum's annual Wings of Eagles Airshow, being then held at the Elmira Airport in upstate New York. While out at dinner one night with the family, some of the Tora pilots came into the same establishment. Immediately recognizing them (by the many rising suns) I went up to them and thanked them for flying in the show. One pilot gave me a small rising sun batch and told me to visit the announcers booth the next day, and he would take us over to see the fleet of Japanese aircraft that were parked quite a distance away from the show. My father did just that the following day and were escorted over to the row of beautiful looking aircraft where I was allowed access to sit in the Kate.

So with the plan now in place, I set off to find as many reference photos as possible of N3242G. It easily took about 2 hrs to replicate the pattern on this 1/144th scale version. I'd say the end result is about 93% accurate to the original with a few edits / modifications. One thing to note is that I believe whoever painted the real one took there time with the port wing and side of the fuselage, and seemed to have gotten impatient and was more expressive and "loose" with the spray gun on the starboard side. They look so different when you really study the patterns closely! This was the end result.

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Since taking these shots I painted the wing walk areas on the wings, the interior grey, and painted the T6 propeller that will be reused in this model. Now I need to focus on kit bashing the decals together and start in on the landing gear which will basically be just reusing the T6 landing gear. Eventually I will need to go hunt down for the extra Bandai Kate canopy that is somewhere. Hope you like it. Stay tuned!

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Keep Em' Flying,
Christopher Soltis

Dedicated to the preservation and education of The Sikorsky Memorial Airport

CASC Blog Page: http://ctair-space.blogspot.com/
Warbird Wear: https://www.redbubble.com/people/warbirdwear/shop

Chicks Dig Warbirds.......right?


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PostPosted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 1:29 am 
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Nice. I saw her recently.

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PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 3:28 pm 
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Update: I've added the decals from some F-Toys AT-6s for the roundels. The real Kate doesn't have the white outline on the meatballs, but I've come to accept this inaccuracy as I'll probably even forget about it in a few years. The tail was a bit... involved to say the least. But I find it fascinating how the green mottling is tied together once the decals are on and over them. Without them it just looks wrong. But with them it looks "right" (to me).

I had to use 4 thin white decal strips for the bands on each side, then the custom printed call letters: "A1-313" and the two (what I assume are) kill markings on clear printable decal paper. In total, 14 separate decal pieces on the tail alone. The red band was just a leftover decal from a sheet. I hand painted the wing walk areas, lines in front of the windscreen, and small serial number info on the port side. I'm omitting the circular "rising sun" design that has was added to the wheel covers in the past few years as I am portraying the aircraft circa 2000/01. I need to double check I'm not missing any other markings before I clear coat it and start in on the canopy. I found what I believe is a spare canopy from a Kate or some other long Japanese aircraft. I'll take pics of it in the next post.

I still need to fashion some exhausts for both sides, landing gear covers, and paint a new T-6 prop, as the carpet monster got the first one. :evil: I am still holding out against hope that I will find it! After that, its just a matter of adding a pitot tube, guns, maybe a tail hook, and of course, a torpedo! Digging through my spares I haven't been successful in locating the spare Kate torpedo yet, but I know I have one somewhere not in use! Enjoy the pics.

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FYI, the base was also recently completed for another model from my 1/144th Warbird Restoration series.

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And one shot with the other two. Eventually they will come together in a diorama.

Thanks for looking. Stay Tuned...

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Keep Em' Flying,
Christopher Soltis

Dedicated to the preservation and education of The Sikorsky Memorial Airport

CASC Blog Page: http://ctair-space.blogspot.com/
Warbird Wear: https://www.redbubble.com/people/warbirdwear/shop

Chicks Dig Warbirds.......right?


Last edited by Warbird Kid on Tue Dec 06, 2022 12:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 9:06 pm 
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That paint job is crazy at that small scale, nice work.


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PostPosted: Tue Dec 06, 2022 12:08 pm 
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Thanks! To be honest it took some patience and perseverance to get the whole thing done, and it wasn't in one sitting that's for sure! :lol: :rolleyes:

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Keep Em' Flying,
Christopher Soltis

Dedicated to the preservation and education of The Sikorsky Memorial Airport

CASC Blog Page: http://ctair-space.blogspot.com/
Warbird Wear: https://www.redbubble.com/people/warbirdwear/shop

Chicks Dig Warbirds.......right?


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2022 1:47 pm 
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Update: After tearing through my spare / loose parts AND cleaning out my excess tree box with bits of model pieces still clinging to them, I couldn't find the spare Kate torpedo I was searching for... so I just ended up stealing the one from the Bandai Kate I had, and inserted a modified HE-111 torpedo. I scratchbuilt the bomb hoist as well as exhausts on either side. One of them still looks wonky to me, so I might have to do some more work on it.

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Unlike the actual Kates, the T-6 / BT-13 hybrids had their torpedo's down the centerline of the plane.

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Once I was satisfied with the location and the main shackle was glued on, I added the four stabilization bars insitu, and then painted them.

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Not sure why the pictures came out so discolored. Now onto making the landing gear doors / fairings and then I can finally clear coat the darn thing! Then onto the canopy. Thanks for looking. Stay tuned...

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Keep Em' Flying,
Christopher Soltis

Dedicated to the preservation and education of The Sikorsky Memorial Airport

CASC Blog Page: http://ctair-space.blogspot.com/
Warbird Wear: https://www.redbubble.com/people/warbirdwear/shop

Chicks Dig Warbirds.......right?


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 2022 3:03 pm 
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Update: After clear coating the plane, I was successful at finding a spare Bandai open canopy set from what I believe was a Kate. I originally started trying to glue each one onto the fuselage in position, but they were not coming out very straight and in line. So I decided to glue all the pieces together with crystal clear off of the plane, and then attach it in place. This ended up working alot better as I was able to fill in any excess gaps with crystal clear. I then painted the canopy bracing white with green splotches over it.

For the pilot's sliding canopy I used the remaining canopy in the set, hoping to just add it on top of the other ones. Sadly it was too bulky and had to be used to make a mold instead. I super glued the canopy onto a wooden stick and used the old tried and true "heat and smash" technique. I was satisfied with the first example and promptly cut it out, glued in place, and then painted it.

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Eventually resigning to the fact that I lost the first T6 prop, I stole another and painted it to match the prop on the real Kate. Once glued on, I called this one good!

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Now I'm onto the final phase of this build. For awhile during this project I didn't have a clear finish line, trusting in the process and knowing the basics.

1. I wanted to recreate the Tora! birds in 1/144th scale

Eventually when I decided to replicate this specific Kate, the completed design for this diorama finally came to me! Like a sudden light bulb going on, it was right there in front of me! Why not make it a personal and specific diorama, depicting when I actually sat in the cockpit of this Kate? With that, I knew what was needed for the rest of this project. Which will include painting these two figures up, along with two more, and a minivan. More to come! Thanks for looking.

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Keep Em' Flying,
Christopher Soltis

Dedicated to the preservation and education of The Sikorsky Memorial Airport

CASC Blog Page: http://ctair-space.blogspot.com/
Warbird Wear: https://www.redbubble.com/people/warbirdwear/shop

Chicks Dig Warbirds.......right?


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2022 8:05 pm 
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You'll need tea light explosions!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8_FdCCgjcw


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PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2023 1:14 pm 
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Way cool! I hope to do the same thing in 1/72 at some point. When I was a teenager (back when Ba Ba Blacksheep was still a current network show) my friends and I converted a few Airfix AT-6s into Zeros, but of course they're long gone now.

SN


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