Ki-61-II Kai Ko Take Two!

[Jesters-Ink]

Jade, it’s a subject I know very little about apart from making a template for FB.
You’ve made a good start, all I can offer as advice (and I am going to take this myself too), keep checking back to your reference and do it regularly.
Even the stuff you think you have got down perfect, go back and check again.
My Bf09 has been redrawn now for about the 8th time and I still see things that need changing or updating.

Don’t be put off by the lack of comments. I’m sure there are others like me who feel it is not their place to critique a subject they know very little about.
Stick at it and you be rewarded.

[Supah]

Same reason here, I know next to nothing about ww2 japanese planes. I liked flying the Ki-43 in IL2FB a lot though. If you ever draw one of them I'd love to see it!

[Jadehawk]

Thanks fellas for the kind words

Maybe when I posted, I guess I was not clear in what I was seeking. I believe now I should have been more detailed in what I was after such as, what do you think about the lines? Too strong? Not enough? Rivets too vague? And what you think about the shadowing? Not enough? Wrong in what way if you feel it's not right?
Ya know, things like that.

I had no hard feelings....well maybe a lil bit! But opinions about the above would give me a second pair of eyes that may help me.

I do believe in what you said Jester about constant checking your references! My Motto is always this: Too much references is never enough!

[SunDog]

Hi Jade,

Your Line Drawing looks very good to me, you can always lighten or darken them as you need to.

What I do when stating a profile now, is to brake it down into it's parts because there is just too much to take in too much going on, you'll only end up missing things out and in the end this will effect upon your profile.

1/ The Line Drawing
2/ The Painting flat 1D image i.e. (Spinner, Fuselage Upper/Lower, Wings)
3/ The Texture (Canvas, Metal, Wood)
4/ The Highlights and Shine.
5/ The Shadows and Shading.
6/ The Ware and Tear (Oil Staines, Paint Ware/Chips, Smoke)

If you work on something like this alternately you should soon see it coming to life, but like Jester said always look at photos of the real thing. Look at one of the above and transfer it onto the real A/C to see how it looks in the flesh.

[BLOWHARD]

It looks good! A lighter touch than I'd like to see and maybe the forward cowling and rear fuselage could be a bit more rounded. Plus, I still think white is the best color for profiles, but that's an opinion
What's next?

[Jadehawk]

Humm... Yeah I can see what you mean about the roundness of the fuselage. I'll get to that soon! As in the front cowling area, I kept in mind the nature of the inverted V-12 engine having more of a bulky slightly squared top like the later Bf-109's do. Maybe it's TOO pronounced and I need to soften it some. I'll look into that too.

What's next? Humm...I got a B-24H profile I wanted to do, but I dont got the urge to tackle it right now. Maybe make some other Sentai markings of this one first then maybe the Ki-61-II Kai which is the fastback version of this Bubbletop.

[BLOWHARD]

About the cowling shape, I might be wrong but it looks the same or vary similar to a standard Ki-61.

At least that's why I suggested it. But maybe this later model is different?

[Jadehawk]

Sorry I have not posted sooner, I'm fighting a tooth ache and seem to be winning this time!
I'm thinking it's similar to that pic which I also have myself. That Ki-61 has the Ha-40 engine which is somewhat like the DB-601 in the Bf-109E.
The Ki-61-II Kai and Kai Ko use the Ha-140 engine which I believe is again somewhat larger and is roughly like the DB-605 used in the Bf-109G series on up.

Also, in the Model Art Profile series Kawasaki Ki61 HIEN book, there are several pics of a Ki-61-II Kai which is the "razorback" version of what I did in this that shows the top in my opinion more flatter than the pic you posted.
But I still believe I should broaden and do more the highlights in this area as I feel now it's looking too boxy.

Thanks for the help everyone and I'll post more once I get the time!

[Jadehawk]

Update time!

Changed the primary color to the correct shade of IJA Green. Worked more on the highlights and shading and looks better to me! Also show the tail area where you can see the fabric tape patterns ion some places that I noticed in some photographs.
Played around with the panel and rivet layers trying to make them slightly more visible.

[Jesters-Ink]

Put it to one side now m8 and call it done.
Start a new project and when you've finished that, look at the Ki again with fresh eyes.
If it still looks as good as you expected then stick a fork in it, if not, then get the crayons out again and play some more.

You've done a top job, you should be very pleased with the results.
There is a Ki-100 down at Hendon I didn't get pics of whilst I was there, (kids running around like their asses were on fire an all that), but I am going back again soon.
Let me know if this is of any interest to you