This is the 2nd part of the Sweet 1/144 Ki-43-I boxing. The first build can be found on this link. Overall, my thoughts on the model are the same, but I took a different approach with this model. I hadn't built anything in two months and I really needed to use something to relax. Looking at the various "Falcons", I noticed that quite a few of them were bare metal, or they had small splotches of paint. Unfortunately, none of them were in the boxing that I had. Henceforth, I decided to make an unhistorical version.
The camouflage can be thought of as a weird version of the 11th Group's Ki-43, albeit mine is the -I version rather than -III!
One thing I must mention that I am extremely proud of is that the whole build, including the primer, varnishes and aluminium paint are all brush-painted! Part of why I did it like that is that I just wanted to build something and relax and I didn't feel like cleaning my airbrush so I went and just used my brushes.
I think it turned out lovely, especially with all the irregular camo patterns and I am rather satisfied with the build.
The rigging was done using Uschi Standard line and all the paints used were AK 3rd gen.
I must say, the Ki-43 is a funky plane - it is both super narrow and thick. It has a radial engine, making the front of the plane round, while the back is as sharp as a pencil. The 2 blade propeller makes it look like something out of the early 30s and not 1941 and the armament isn't far off. It's armed with 2x7,7mm or 13,2mm MGs which is pitiful for a modern WW2 plane. As a modeller, the various types of camouflage schemes make me want to make more of the planes and I will likely buy a set in the future.