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Cherry Blossom Trainer

ausf

ausf

Master at Arms
Or, the "what was I thinkin' thrill ride of death'.

My place holder to CTA.

Fine Molds IJN Ohka Unpowered Trainer K1 in 1/48.

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It was filled with water ballast to simulate the warhead, unpowered and had to be landed with zero experience at 130 MPH. If you landed well, you were strapped in to one with a rocket on a one way trip. Most were destroyed on the ground of shot down while still in the Betty.


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Startup pic time, although I won't get to building yet.

It's destined for the sprue wash, then I'll get my hands on it a later time. I didn't realize how small it was, almost like a 1/72, but I guess that makes sense.


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ausf said:
razordws said:
sharkman said:
Looking forward to this!

Crazy to think someone would actually climb into this willingly

:popcorn
Click to expand...

Doubt they really had a choice in the matter.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it was probably along the lines of, "University Student, in service of your Emperor, it has been decided you are going to be dropped from a Bomber. This can go two ways."
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A very interesting subject and cool looking model. :popcorn

There are a few documentary's and books on the Kamikaze program which sheds some light on the training and tactics. I originally thought everyone jumped at the chance for the one way trip. According to some sources the officer who created the first Kamikaze program survived the war. The link is a single source but interesting read none the less.

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/11/kamikaze-pilots-chosen/

Cheers James
 
maus said:
ausf said:
razordws said:
sharkman said:
Looking forward to this!

Crazy to think someone would actually climb into this willingly

:popcorn
Click to expand...

Doubt they really had a choice in the matter.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it was probably along the lines of, "University Student, in service of your Emperor, it has been decided you are going to be dropped from a Bomber. This can go two ways."
Click to expand...

A very interesting subject and cool looking model. :popcorn


There are a few documentary's and books on the Kamikaze program which sheds some light on the training and tactics. I originally thought everyone jumped at the chance for the one way trip. According to some sources the officer who created the first Kamikaze program survived the war. The link is a single source but interesting read none the less.

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/11/kamikaze-pilots-chosen/

Cheers James
Click to expand...

To add a bit to this story, Saburo Sakai and some of his fellow aviators were sent on a ( non volunteer )Kamikaze mission but returned to base, being unable to find the target. He had at least 28 victories ranking him fourth for the war for Japan


The aircraft was very simple, being made from "non-strategic" materials (mainly wood and steel). To save weight, it was to use a jettison-able undercarriage (there was to be no landing), so a simple welded steel tube undercarriage was attached to the aircraft.[2] This, however, was found to give unmanageable ground-handling characteristics, so a simple shock absorber was then incorporated. The cross section of the fuselage was circular and not elliptical as were most planes of this size and type; such a fuselage was easier to make.

Tsurugi had an instrument panel with some flight instruments; rudder pedals in addition to joystick type control column, and also a place for a radio. Flight controls included both ailerons and elevators and (in production versions) flaps.

The Ki-115 was designed to be able to use any engine that was in storage for ease of construction and supply, and to absorb Japan's stocks of obsolete engines from the 1920s and 1930s. The initial aircraft (Ki-115a) were powered by 858-kilowatt (1,151 hp) Nakajima Ha-35 radial engines. It is not known if any other engine was ever actually fitted.

After testing the first production aircraft were fitted with the improved undercarriage and two rocket units. These may have assisted with take-off[2] or may have been designed for the final acceleration towards the targe


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Great info guys, thanks.

I was under the impression the first Kamikazes were a response to B-29s operating with impunity. The only way a zero could reach the altitude the 29s operated at, the planes had to be striped bare, including guns and ammunition, so the only recourse was mid air collision.

Once the taboo was overcome, it was seen as a solution and they recruited university students since there were very few young males left on the Home Islands as well as a certain level of intelligence to pilot.
 
Okay, got some progress on this little beast.

After gluing a few pieces together, I mixed up a batch of IJN Mitsubishi Interior and sprayed away. The kit came with instrument decals, but there was also great detail in texture, so I opted for painting instead.

After some dry brushing of metal and wee bit of wash and dust in the crevices, I'm ready to close it up.

Here's a few pics before I do. This is usually when it goes south for me. I'm going to try just a tiny float of Tamiya Extra Thin into the seams this time (after cleaning off the overspray). We'll see. The fit is superb, I hope I can do it justice.


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I just realized I still need to put a drop of Future in the bezels so they look like they have glass.

I didn't forget to spray the interior of the canopy frames with interior green.


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Thanks again for looking.
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

I assembled this little sucker. I don't know if this is one of the best fitting kits made or my final plunge into using Tamiya Extra Thin only, but this thing went together like a dream. I can't believe how well it mated together. The only blip was the pitot tube was bent while still on the sprue. I had plenty of wire on hand, so it didn't take long to swap.

It's paint ready and there is zero need for putty anywhere. I'm dumbfounded, I've never experienced this before.

I saved all the surfaces between the panel lines to reflect the variation in the aluminum, but didn't go too hard since these weren't long lived. You can't see the texturing in the pics, hopefully it'll show in the paint.

I painted the interior canopy panels interior green, as well as the rear deck (not sure if that's accurate), so I just need to mask the exterior greenhouse stuff, then it's paint time. I'm sitting here with two empty sprue, it's a very rare thing for me as an adult modeler.


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Thanks for looking!
 
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