Great progress on the Banzai charge. Super painting skills - especially considering the scale. 
This is the starboard plate of the gun mount. The two outlined areas are subassemblies 4a (dry fit) and 4c (glued). It took a bit of head scratching to get here.
I screwed up on subassembly 4c. I cleaned up the gates on Part C6 but one of them doubled as the locating pin for C5. Trying to fit C5 was the head scratcher but I finally figured it out.
I tried dry-fitting Subassembly 4b but that also is puzzling, but that’s for another session.
Time for some paint and work on the guns.
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Brilliant builds going on.
I really do need to crack on with that Airfix Val.
Painted the cockpit interior, such as it is.
I’m just going to get this thing together and painted. Little point spending any more time and effort than necessary on this oldie. Especially as I have the much better Hasegawa 1/48.
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I recall you mentioned looking for the Platz Val. Here is a build-review of it
Sorry I’m so late with this post.
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Thanks. That kit does look really nice.
Also seen one from an eastern European manufacturer. ZTS Plastyk I think? No idea what it’s like though, probably no where near as good as the Platz.
Vaccuform canopy was a bit of a bust, user error, it isn’t squadrons fault. I’ve never had much luck with vaccuform. Don’t think I’ll buy again.
I’ve decided to use the kit canopy. Gave polishing a try over dipping. Gotta say I am super impressed with the tamiya Polish compound.
Frame on the canopy is really faint so I measured the window sizes with calipers and cut masks with my cricut
Front and rear canopy will be tougher, so gonna have to go old school and lay down tape, outline and trim with knife
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Got the fuselage halves and wings together. Fuselage needed some persuasion to line up.
I’m probably opening up a can of worms with this, but Japanese Navy grey.
I’ve got three to choose from in my paints, 2 Vallejo and one Tamiya. All very different. Who’s the closest?
Any help is appreciated.
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I’m also curious here. I too have XF-12. It’s a nice color, that I think works well, but I would defer to expert opinion. I only have a little Xf-12 left so I’ll have to mix something
By the way, the Val looks nice! I find all Japanese aircraft so elegant
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Fwiw, Nick Millman released a brochure on early zero colors. Those colors would be about the same as what a Val would wear.
But wait, there’s more! Also on his website the aviation of japan, a Mr. Toews, has put together a very detailed primer on the valve. It’s available for free.
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Val-edictory to a Long Departed Dive Bomber
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Thanks, I think that will be a big help. Even looking at those colours in the picture, it looks like Vallejo might be close.
Interestingly Airfix recommends 168 Hemp, so I might dig out the Humbrols and see how that looks.
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Hemp has been judged “closest” by one prominent WW2 Japanese researcher. Maybe others. I recall there being some technical variations such amount of saturation, luster, maybe being slightly tan instead of greenish. I don’t remember the exact information but I decided that early Zeros, Vals, Pete’s, etc., Will be painted hemp.
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I contacted Mr Toews over on the website and he very kindly sent me the documents. They’ll be very helpful. Looking at colour chips he provides, Vallejo are not far off. Tamiya looks a bit too green, although it might be ok for a late war colour? I definitely need to invest in some references on Japanese aircraft and colours. Over the last year I’ve bought a bunch of Japanese aircraft from PlazaJapan cheap. Mostly bombers, but a few other types.
I made a test with Humbrol Hemp alongside and it definitely looks more in scale. I might see how Vallejo’s and Gunze’s RAF Hemp compares, but I definitely think this is what I’m going to go with.
Thanks for all the help.
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That’s great that Mr. Toews replied so fast. That publication he created is amazing so much to learn in it. I reviewed Millman’s publication on the early zero colors and also highly recommend it. The thing I really like about Millman’s work is that he goes into detail about the forensic examinations in the various color systems, and mentions what artifacts he worked from.
Even though you’re building a Val and I’m not 100% sure anymore if the valve gray is the same as the Zero gray, but I searched for an article about Zeros being in an ash gray color and found this very detailed article by the late Jim Lansdale, considered one of the patriarchs of Western studies of WW2 Japanese aircraft:
https://j-aircraft.com/research/zeroclr.htm
I find it very interesting that Mr Lansdale points out that many of the early color “experts” simply ended up quoting each other’s work. I don’t remember what the document is called, maybe it’s in the addendum of the article I linked to above, but about 15 years ago a Japanese man, who wished to remain anonymous, made an original copy of the mid-war Japanese headquarters official list of aircraft colors, and I think it may even have contained paint swatches, but made it available to a select group of researchers.
This stuff just fascinates me!
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Thanks, I’ve bookmarked that article. I’m sure it will be really useful.
I’ve just remembered that somewhere I have got a magazine, SAM maybe, that covered Japanese aircraft colours at Pearl Harbour. I think they did use fragments of wrecks to help. Will have to have a look for it.
This little project has certainly got me inspired to do others now.
Thanks for the help.
to me the one on the far left is the closest. the color was more on the amber side than grey, ak real colors makes a good matching color too.
Joe
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Thanks Joe.
Would that be this colour?
I found the magazine I was thinking of, it’s the December 2001 issue of SAM. And my partner is always telling me to throw away my old magazines!
Some weekend reading I think.
Picked up a bottle of Vallejo’s Hemp and it looks a little too dark and green. Tried adding a little white, but not entirely sure how it came out. Definitely warming towards the Vallejo Ash Grey for the final colour.
Never, never, NEVER toss old mags. Sacrilege! I blew it and sold several years of Fine Scale Modeler magazines and duly regret that mistake! Hindsight is indeed 20/20. 
You never know what will come up where you “know” you read something, but can’t remember where, so you go down memory lane by surfin’ through the pages of your reference materials (i.e. monthly or quarterly magazines).
Mike
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