If I have time, campaign project #2:
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@JPTRR honestly i think it’s a late war scheme, because the tank never actually made it to service I’d say it’s a late war China or home islands scheme. It’s a unique subject but very much a boxy geometric shape. I wish the tracks had been better too, honestly the tracks are the worst part of the kit and need to be redone. If they had two piece pin tracks it’d be better.
Hi Mead,
Looks like that’s gonna have some nice fits! I checked some stuff regarding the lightening holes, looks like the ones that are on the dividing section from the commander (2 seat) facing towards the radio/tail gunner (3 seat) would be drilled out, except after looking at the kit, there’s no real place to replicate this unless you want to add it. Since I’m aging out, I’d pass, but hope this helps.
(photos from the Martin Ferkl Collection, from Nakajima B6N Tenzan in detail)
-also note the colors are not the original colors of the interior per the author.
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That is super helpful! Thanks. Finding pictures of this aircraft is tough. I think I’ll leave them out too, too much work for something that will be mostly hidden
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That has been in the ugly forest and hit every tree in it lol … Great build and really good cam, very different. The main barrel is very oddly designed … still , impressive build.
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The Japanese designed the O - I in 1939 after they got their asses kicked at Khalkhin Gol. Their Type 89, Type 95, and Type 97 tanks did not fare well against even the Soviet T-26, and were helpless against the KV - 1. So the IJA wanted a land battleship, just like the T - 35 and Neubaufarzeug, that could lumber onto the battlefield and pick off enemy tanks with impunity. They really went all out with the O - I. Impenetrable armor, a 150mm for bunker busting, 2 45mm for anti-tank, and 2 MG’s for anti-infantry. Work was done by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. There is a rumor that one was built but nothing more. All that survives is a single track link at the JGSDF Tank School. So, one is free to pick any IJA camo scheme from 1939 on, and there are several colorful options. I’m working on one of these kits presently, but haven’t tackled the tracks yet.
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@SSGToms thank you for that information, i didn’t realize this was an earlier war idea. I would recommend that you build it in reverse and wait to add the side armor onto the hull. The tracks are finicky and can cause problems.
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Your description at the tracks as discouraged me from the model. It’s an obscure oddity interest for me, but what few individual track link assemblies I have left in me will be used up on some kids I already have.
It’s still a cool subject and I appreciate you building it for us.
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@JPTRR if someone came out with metal tracks for it then i would say you should use those. I haven’t looked to see if anyone has yet. I’d rebuild it with metals tracks at a later time if they did come out on the market. I’m currently sweating that my 1:16 das werk StuG will have the same track issues, they look to be the same style but two piece.
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Gregory, if I were still into tracked armor, I for sure would have bought one of these! Unique, weird, BIG, ugly, and so many more adjectives!
Cool looking for sure!
Mike
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@TacFireGuru yes those are very fitting adjectives for this beast. It was fun and unique to say the least. I have a few more Japanese kits in the stash that this makes me want to build. I will say besides this the Type-89 has to be the other weird looking tank the Japanese used.
Anyone have line drawings showing the rivets for the B6N. I would buy a set off you. I’ve found plenty for the B5N but no luck in the Tenzan. The hasegawa kit is nice but has a distinct lack of rivets which seem pretty prominent on Japanese aircraft. I’m thinking of adding the rivets back. I have a rivet tool, but would need blue prints so they look right.
If I can’t find blueprints I’ll probably built it as is
I love that O - I heavy tank and just ordered one of the kits. I find the “land cruiser” concept interesting and have built a number of these beasts over the years. I would love to hear more detail on your struggles with the tracks. What was difficult about them?
Paul
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@hudson29 my track difficulty stems from trying to make them as movable as possible for fitting around the sprocket. Also it appears that some of them will not close all the way on the track and then you get seems and creases because it isn’t seeded correctly i noticed this more when rounding the idler and drive sprockets. I do like how takom tells you to take this on where the leave the drive sprocket end off of the kit till the next step so you can get the track right. Finally the track can come apart easily, maybe it’s user error on my part but if you secure it correctly and build it ins small pieces that could would be better then trying to creat to long pieces and two curved. I took about a day to build both track sets and lost my patience a few times with it.
yes that is one ugly tank. reminds me of the plastic generic tanks you get in a cheap plastic army playset, not marx but a cheap inaccurate set.
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I have not been active on my frank build until recently. got all the painting and chipping done except the prop. i had airbrushed chipping solution on this many months ago and after painting the other day it seemed difficult to activate. i wet and scrubbed the areas i wanted chipped and had limited sucsess. the wing root worked but the outer wings i had to chip by hand. then of course the tape added more than i wanted when i masked for the yellow id marks on the wings.
one problem that came up is that after masking and painting the canopy i lost the rear canopy. i tore my bench area up looking for it, no clue what could have become of it. i have no carpet monster and no cat at this time (soon to be rectified hopefully) so the usual excuses don’t apply.
the part is circled in the photo below. I know this is a long shot but does anyone have an extra they are not using? this is the old tamiya frank kit.
otherwise i have three choices, leave it off for now since the canopy will be open and covering the part, buy another tamiya kit for the canopy (luckily it is a cheap kit) or buy the hasegawa kit since i want to make that kit, and see if their part fits the tamiya since they are both 1/48th. I have a vac form machine so another option is if anyone has the part i could borrow to make a copy and i would send it back to them. i want to build another of these but would rather it be the hasegawa kit. if anyone can help please let me know, i am almost done but i plan on making a base for it so i have a little time.
Thanks -Joe
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JP what are the scales of those kits. especially the starter truck? is it a tamiya? i would like to give them a try. the atlantis tank is a rebox of what brand?
Thanks-Joe
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Got the cockpit parts on the B6N primed tonight. Hoping to paint them Nakajima interior green tomorrow. Then weather, detail paint and button up the cockpit by the weekend
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Was able to do more work on this beast today. I started off with giving it a wash of ochre oil paint mixed with naphtha, this acted as a wash and a filter. Then i followed up with a coat of varnish from ammo Mig followed by a filter of burnt umber mixed with naphtha. After this i did another varnish coat to protect the effect and followed up with a pin wash using ammo migs dark brown for green vehicles. This really tied in everything that i had done previously and also acts as a precursor to streaking. Tomorrow I’ll concentrate on streaking with ammo Mig and oils as well as some highlights and shadows with a few oil colors. I’ll also make an effort to wash the track using ammo migs track wash and I’m considering giving it a final wash of ochre too, this will make it look like it’s been on the move in northern China preparing for the Soviets.
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Per rivet detail, I asked Nick Millman who kindly replied:
“For Tenzan there is the old Maru Mechanic publication # 47 of July 1984 which has 1/60th scale plans showing panel lines and rivets but probably hard to find and/or expensive now. More recently the Kagero Top Drawings book on Tenzan from Sep 2021 which seems to be widely available but I haven’t seen it so don’t know if it has rivet plans.”