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1/48 Hasegawa B7A2 "Grace"


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I'm building all the Japanese planes in the stash this year (and likely into next) and this one is the one that was next in the pile:

B7A.jpg

I have a couple issues with this kit and both refer to the photo etch wingfolds. One is the nature of the folds themselves. They're hairy. It takes quite an uncomfortable cut to get what the instructions want and this one wasn't molded like they did with their Kate and Val. Those kits have distinct recesses molded into the insides of the wing where they are to be cut. This one is not, and the whole idea of folding the wings on this kit look more like afterthought than long term pre-planning. Another issue is that I never built one of these and I would prefer my first one to have the wings down than up. Airplanes with folded wings don't quite look like the airplanes they are. Not to mention the fact that there was little need to fold the wings on the real ones. Their service life with the fleet can be measured in hours as the last carrier capable of handling these monsters was sunk at Philippine Sea just as enough of them were built to serve on it. Ironic that the IJN finally gets a carrier attack bomber that's the equivalent in performance to the A6M Zero and it's relegated to kamikaze missions from land bases. Had the carrier fleet survived long enough for these to go into service, they could've presented a real problem.

Anyway, I think I'll save the photo etch bits for the wingfolds along with the instructions and when I pick up another down the road I'll fold the wings on that one. I want this one to look the part.

I started by painting all the interior bits with metallic blue (or blue/green, if you prefer) and I'm hoping to get on with assembly this weekend. It'll be a pretty clean one as they didn't serve long.

Ken

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I have a steady stash of IJN planes that I will be building in the next little while. Missing from this collection are my most wanted - the Val and Grace. To me the Val represents the height of the IJN (despite the fact it was the Kate that did just as much damage, if not more) and the Grace representing the 'what could have been'.

I'll be looking on!

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The irony here is when I get all the Japanese stuff in the stash build, my next one will be everything Glossy Sea Blue. I think I only have 5 kits but I think this GB will end before I get to them.

Started with the 'pit. I painted all the bits on the sprue, assembled most of it and resprayed the whole thing:

B7A002.jpg

Then I picked out the details:

B7A006.jpg

It's actually kinda neat to have one that doesn't have a green cockpit.

Once that was done, assembly was a downhill foot race:

B7A007.jpg

There was just a bit of a gap in the wing bottom, which of course doesn't show in the pic:

B7A009.jpg

Took longer to mask the canopy than it did to assemble fuselage and wings. Next week I'll get the frames and yellow leading edges painted, mask the edges and apply color and I should have it ready for decals by next weekend.

Ken

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  • 3 weeks later...

Done:

B7A017.jpg

The decals on the gear doors went playhouse mirrors on me and I had to scrounge up the numbers from a Kate kit. And individual exhaust stacks were a little fiddly. But for the most part, it was a nice little build of a pretty neat airplane. Compare the lines with the Corsair:

B7A015.jpg

The B7A2 could have indeed been a factor to contend with had the IJN had carriers and pilots when it went into service.

Ken

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