To add some extra choices to your various Hasegawa kits comes this sheet with five options. You could also fit these to the Otaki kit if you wish, but you may have to fudge things around a bit. Any of the aircraft with white backgrounds to the insignia will have to have these areas painted on.  I should also mention that the control surfaces were painted in IJAAF grey-green.

First up is a Ki-44-IIb from 1 chutai, 87 sentai in Sumatra during 1943. It is in IJAAF Dark Green on the upper surfaces. It also has a blue spinner. All these planes have black anti-glare panels and yellow wing leading edge ID stripes.

Next is a Ki-44-II Otsu from 3 chutai 47 sentai based in Japan during 1944. Blue tip to fin and white 'bandages' behind insignia.

From the 1st chutai, 246 sentai is this IJAAF Dark Green upper painted Ki-44-IIb. It is unpainted on the bottom and, unusually, has no black anti-glare panel.

The fourth aircraft is a Ki-44-II Hei of the 3 chutai, 246 sentai. It has yellow 'bandages on the fuselage an an overly large yellow wing ID markings. Spinner is yellow, leading edge of the fin is red, making for a colorful plane.

Finally, from the 3rd chutai, 70th sentai is this Ki-44-II Hei with a number of kill markings. It has the red-brown prop that was common on IJAAF planes for most of the war.

In all, five excellent schemes.

April 2005

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