Mitsubishi Ki-21 "Sally" in 1/48 by Dan Salamone

This is my completed 1/48 ICM Ki-21I kit. Products used include: Gunze acrylic black surfacer, Tamiya acrylics, including custom mixes for IJA interior blue grey and exterior dark green (ao midori iro), AK paint marker for lighter green undercolor above Tamiya XF-14 base camouflage. Dead Design canopy masks, Kelik 3D decal interior details, oils for weathering and some light use of AK weathering pencils. Kit decals were used, I also added landing lights from MV lenses, and brake lines from fine wire.

This is my third “larger” kit from ICM, and so far the best as far as engineering, fit, and in the box detail. The clear parts are of a very high quality. Be sure to dry fit everything, there are a few steps where parts numbers are transposed on the instructions, dry fitting will reveal these errors. The main thing to be very careful of on this model is when the landing gear need to be attached, which is before the lower cowl parts are attached. This means the long gear legs are exposed to lots of handling, and also being masked during the painting process.

ICM would also have you build the model with the bomb aiming device protruding from the lower nose. The vast majority of Ki-21 images sitting on the ground show this instrument as not being visible, I closed the molded open hole and stowed the device inside the fuselage.

The bomb bay doors are also a bit fiddly, and ICM would have you glue the door halves together, with the front and back actuator arms in between, then attach the assembly for each side once dry. I attached the “outside” doors to the fuselage, then added the actuator arms, and the following day attached the “inner” doors. I'm not fully satisfied with the final look, if the attachment points on the door parts were more pronounced, it would have been a much easier process.

Overall, this model was very enjoyable, and is yet another type that I had though we would never see in 1/48. Kudos to ICM for daring to produce models like this, even more so during a time of war in the Ukraine.

It took me awhile to decide on what camouflage scheme to go with. I had assumed I'd go with one of the later Hamamatsu bomber school schemes, but ultimately decided on the 25th Independent Air Brigade HQ Flight option. 

The few images I was working from showed 2 colors painted on the overall grey green, to replicate the lighter color I went with the AK paint marker for ao midori iro, which is lighter than their color in the bottle. I mixed my own version of this same color to be close to the bottle color, using Tamiya acrylics. Thinning about 40% using Tamiya acrylic thinner and Tamiya acrylic retarder, and using less than 10 psi, I freehanded the dark green color in two separate sessions, totaling about 5 or 6 hours. I've been using an Iwata HP-C for almost 25 years, and as usual it performed very well.

The final clear coat is a new (to me) product, Gunze “Mr. Super Smooth Clear Matt”, in a spray can. This clear coat dries quickly, is matt, yet has a very fine eggshell finish that is very pleasing to the eye. 

References used were Famous Aircraft of the World #153, and Arawasi Eagle Eye #3. For a full build review with many in progress images, please look for my personal model bulding page on Facebook, “The 48th Dimension”. 

- Dan Salamone -

Mitsubishi Ki-21 "Sally" In Action - video

A short clip from the NHK collection, dated 27/5/1941, featuring Mitsubishi Ki-21 Model 1 Koh "Sally" bombers during a May 15 raid against targets in Zhejiang Province.

Although tail markings are not clearly visible, the unit these bombers belong to is the 14th Sentai. It was the only IJAAF heavy bomber unit operating in the area on that date and the narrator mentions among the pilot names "Hironaka" who is Colonel Hironaka the commander of the 14 Sentai at the time. At 00:38 we can barely see some tail marking consisting of white or yellow horizontal bands on the tail; the original tail marking of the 14 Sentai (as we first showed in our EE#3), before changing to Model 2s and moving to Papua/New Guinea.

Mitsubishi Ki-21-IA ‘Sally’ by Jan Voorbij

Mitsubishi Ki-21-IA ‘Sally’ bomber
60th Sentai, 2nd Chutai, spring 1939
Various AB's in occupied China
(ICM 72205, 1/72)

I finally completed my Mitsubishi Ki-21-Ia 'Sally' bomber. The kit is well detailed both on the inside and outsides. The building itself went well, but the plastic is a bit brittle which caused some problems when cutting the parts from their sprues and with the assembly of the landing gear and the engines. There were some minor other problems, like getting the tiny windows in place on the fuselage, which I could solve with some effort. A real problem I had with the incorrect color scheme as prescribed by ICM and it took me a lot of research and consulting experts on Japanese WWII planes (esp. “Arawasi George”) before I could pick and apply the right paints and shades. I prefer Tamiya paints for my Japanese aircraft and in this case I used XF-49 Khaki, XF-13 J.A. Green and X-2 Flat White for the upper side and XF-27 Black Green Flat for the undersides (NOT black!). Applying the challenging camouflage scheme was in itself quite an ordeal for me, being a brush painter. For the masking of the 129 tiny windows I used the Eduard CX638 masking set. I sprayed the kit with a layer of Mr. Hobby Top Coat  Flat to finish it off. Well, here she is:

Japanese Airfields, Equipment & more #22 - revised

Various activities at the airfield (IJAAF version). 

Kawasaki Ki-32 "Mary" light bombers are getting a check-over before the next mission. Note the Type 89 Special Twin flexible machine gun operated by the rear gunner.

Changing the tire of a Mitsubishi Ki-21 Model 2 Koh "Sally".

A last engine check of a Kawasaki Ki-48 "Lilly" and a Mitsubishi Ki-51 "Sonia" belonging to the IJAAF school at Gifu.

The Gifu Army Flying School was organised in August 1940 at Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture. It was disbanded in March 1942. A year later, the Gifu Rikugun Koku Seibi Gakko (Army Air Maintenance School) was organised based at Kakamigahara with three kyoiku-tai (training units).

The video from the NHK collection is dated March 1, 1944.

Changing the propeller of a Mitsubishi Ki-21 Model 2 Koh "Sally". Note the unpainted front with the red stripes and the black rear.

Changing the whole engine of a Mitsubishi Ki-21 Model 2 Koh "Sally". Note the crane mentioned in a previous post and the efforts of the crew to lift the tail to adjust the plane with the new engine.

Bringing water or tea to a newly arrived pilot with his Nakajima Ki-44 "Shoki".

Mitsubishi Ki-21 "Sally" by Andrey Zhevnerov.

Mitsubishi Ki-21-Ib, ICM kit in 1:72.

Mitsubishi Ki-21 "Sally" by Jean Barby

Here is the ICM Ki-21 in 48th. First many thanks for the great Arawasi book on the bird, it was more than useful. I have used the plan to do the riveting job, long, boring but, in the end rewarding. The model is good, correct in dimensions, and full of details invisible once the fuselage is closed. The large amount of transparencies requires masks, there is a pattern in the instructions, which I did scan and print on my Silhouette. Plastic is very fragile and many small parts were replaced with evergreen rods. With a plane this size, working with sub-assemblies is a must. The fit is very good so no trouble there. I would have preferred a Ki-21-2, with the Ha-104 engines, streamlined engine covers, and dorsal turret. They wore interesting camos. Searching my books I found what I was looking for in the Pacific Profiles Vol 2 from J. Claringbould, with a model 1 used as transport by the 14th Hiko Sentai based at Rapopo in March 43. Of course, I did all the markings with masks including the 14th Sentai tail marking. The whole plane was painted Grey-Green and randomly covered with green mottle on the ground. On to the pics now (the plane is large and my photo studio is small, so I do apologize for the quality of the pics).

Wrecked Japanese aircraft - Okinawa

Here's a bunch of photos that were on sale on Ebay today, by this seller featuring wrecked Japanese aircraft in Okinawa. Leave a comment if you can identify the type of aircraft, if you have more information, or if you can spot interesting details.

The Sally in the photo above is the "546" of the "Giretsu Kutetai". 

Check the similarity of the nose camo.