Background
The “Pete” is a successful
Japanese floatplane, serving mainly in the observation & recon role from
ships and harbours. It was also used as fighters when the “real”
fighters are not available, especially in the more remote areas in the South
East Asia. It was arguably the last successful Japanese biplane.
A single intact Pete was seized
by the Indonesian at the end of the “Pacific War” in the naval base of
Soerabaja, East Java. The earlier Indonesian national markings was
achieved by painting the lower portion of Japanese Hinomarus with white. Rudders
were also commonly repainted with red & white.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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The Kit
This is a Fujimi
1/72 F1M2. Overall construction is excellent with only tiny, tiny amount
of putty required. However, I don’t like the wing construction, which left
seams at the fabric sections of the wings. The instructions also include a rigging
diagram, complete with suggestions on the length of the wires, which I
found too long for the actual application. I made the rigging from
stretched sprue. The kit also includes the beaching dolly.
I used this kit for
a weathering experiment, using Tamiya enamel brown in the airbrush for the
waterline. (It was the first time I use an airbrush for weathering).
After the paint had dried, I used very diluted mix of brown and black enamels
with a fine brush to accentuate the airbrushed waterline. Stupid me ! In
the urge to finish the kit, I forgot to apply Future before applying the diluted
mix, and it dissolved the airbrushed waterline in several places. Oh well,
live and learn. The deteriorating paint effect on the floats was achieved using
a mixture of Citadel paints.
Enjoy !
Iwan
Jakarta, Indonesia
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