I started this build at the request of a local hobby shop owner. When Tamiya released their I-400 class submarine in 1/350, the hobby shop owner decided to build it himself, and since he had a spare Seiran sitting at the shop he thought it would be nice to have the submarine next to the 1/48 version of the plane stored within the hangar of the sub. Naturally I agreed. It was determined that the kit would be built out of the box and with minimal weathering at the owner's request.

As I looked over the kit, I made the mistake of browsing through the available aftermarket parts and found two that I'm actually very pleased I purchased. First is the excellent exhaust by Moskit. It is made of metal, and arrived looking as it does in the pictures (I didn't have to paint it at all). Most amazingly of all, it is completely hollow. The pictures show the comparison between the kit part and the Moskit exhaust. I can't say enough about this product! If you see that there is a Moskit exhaust for an aircraft or tank you're building, I highly recommend you pick it up (I have one for a Panzer I in my stash). The second bit of aftermarket detail I added was the Eduard Photo-etched set. It added a lot of detail (that is sadly, not really visible) such as the radiator exhaust ducting panels, pop-out fuselage and float steps, instrument panel and bomb fins to name a few. The bomb fins added a lot of realism and took about a day to get just right.

I decided to cut out the wingtip navigation lights and replace them with clear plastic. I was told what works well for this is the clear handle of a cheap toothbrush! I think I used I tired old tooth brush from the toiletry kit provided at a hotel I stayed at or an airline I flew (can't remember which). I just cut a big chunk of toothbrush and glued it to the wing light, and carefully sanded away the excess. I think I changed the contour of one of the wings, but I'm told it's hardly noticeable. Syringe needles were used to replicate the pitot tube on the port wing.

I wanted to pose the canopy open to show off the Eduard photo-etched detail and proceeded to cut apart the single piece Tamiya part. Having done this, I dry fitted them to the canopy and to my horror, the canopy did not sit well when they were placed one on top of the other; the plastic being too thick. I thought I could get away with it by sanding down the inside of the sliding parts of the canopy and sanding down the lower ledge of the fixed portion to give it a more realistic look. Big mistake. As I was sanding the inside of the canopy down, it snapped in two. After a few days of utter depression (how am I going to explain to the hobby shop owner I just ruined his model?), I decided to check online. Wouldn't you know it? Squadron makes a vac-formed canopy for the Tamiya kit!

While this was on order, I stuffed the interior with tissue and used blue tack to seal the edges of the cockpit (the great thing about float planes is that there is no gear bay to mask off!) I actually used rattle cans for this build since I wasn't sure what the appropriate color was with Gunze lacquer. In order to do the feathered edge, I decanted some of the rattle can paint into my hi-grade airbrush and went over the hard edged camouflage line. It took several tries as I am a bit ham handed with my airbrush but I finally got it looking acceptable.

I applied several coats of Tamiya rattle can gloss clear to have a smooth surface to apply the decals. Another headache. The decals for the Hinomarus wouldn't conform to the surface using either Mr. Marksofter or Solvaset! After a few days, it started to bubble up and deform. Luckily the owner of the hobby shop had a spare decal sheet, so I used a sharp #10 blade and some Tamiya masking tape (in order not to pull off the paint underneath) to remove the old decals. Disaster! The new Hinomaru decals were badly cracked and didn't look up to scratch. So, I used my caliper to take some diameter measurements, tore them off again and in a fit of rage, went out to buy the old Tamiya 1/48 A6M5c Zeke because the decals were just the size I needed. These went on without a hitch and finally snuggled into the panel lines. I also decided to mask off and paint the yellow leading edge identification bands rather than use the decals. I sealed it with yet another coat of gloss clear, gave it a simple wash and some exhaust staining and a good dose of Testor's Dullcote.

The canopy finally arrived and went on without a hitch. Everything was coming together. I asked a friend to help me paint the dolly for this float plane and he did an outstanding job simulating the wood. The dolly is all plastic and stock. No aftermarket parts were used on that, just some Gunze "Radome" for the lighter parts and "wood brown" for the darker ones. I glued all the fiddly-bits on and added the aerial. Voila – after eleven months of work, a lot of sweat, tears and decals – a Japanese attack floatplane that almost saw action.