Nakajima J1N1-S Type 11
/"Gekko"/*
901st Hikotai, 153rd Kokutai
Matina Airfield (Davao No. 2)
Mindanao, Philippines
August 1944
I am always on the look out for interesting scale modeling projects and
Japanese WWII units and aircraft based in the Philippines is one them.
As I was going over the history units, I stumbled upon the exploits of the 153rd
Kokutai whose 901st Hikotai were equipped with J1N1-S Gekko night fighters.
One interesting piece of info that I gathered was the use of an early Type 11 "hump
back" version that was with the unit when it transferred to the Philippines
in August 1944. Now being a a researcher of airfields and airdromes in the
Philippines, my recent area coverage was Davao. Although there were
several airfields in Southern Mindanao that were used, narrowing down the units
that were stationed there required a little more effort than usual. So
when I learned that the
901st Hikotai was based at Matina Airfield (Davao No. 2), it
immediately caught my attention and it gave me a reason to build this kit.
Click on
images below to see larger images
The model was built straight
out of the box without any modifications. There was minimal filling and
sanding as the parts fit well. Detail of the interior for an OOB
finish is good. I followed most of the interior painting instruction
while modifying a few colors on the insides. Exterior details are great
and built the model in sub assemblies so as
not to damage smaller details during handling.
I opted to paint the yellow leading edge IFF rather than use the kit
supplied decals. Tamiya suggest that the underside of the two tone
aircraft be IJN Grey but I opted to use a NMF undersides as my previous
research mentions that early Gekkos deployed in the southern fronts had an
NMF finish. With this in mind, I painted the undersides with Mr.
Color No. 8 (Silver). The upper camo was painted using a combination
of Mr. No. 15 (IJN Dk Green) and No. 129 (Nakajima Dk Green).
I used the kit supplied hinomarus but used spare decals for the 153rd Ku
tail markings. Weathering was done with enamel paints and washes.
Overall it was fun build.
Definitely this will not the last Gekko I will be building.
Cheers,
Tony Feredo
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