Ki-61-I Hien (Tony)

MDC Radu Brinzan, 1/32 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

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Model Design Construction has earned a reputation over the years as a company that delivers very high quality accessories and conversions.

Last year, MDC released their debut full-kit offering, a 1/32 scale Hawker Typhoon Mk.IB. This was a remarkable kit - large, well-engineered and incredibly detailed.

MDC has now followed up with their second full kit, a 1/32 scale Ki-61-I "Hien" (Tony) IJA Type 3 Fighter. This model has been designed and mastered by Radu Brinzan for Model Design Construction.

MDC's 1/32 scale Hien is a comprehensive multimedia offering with 118 parts in grey coloured resin; 9 parts in clear and tinted clear resin; a small photo-etched fret; 3 parts in cast white metal; a clear vacform canopy (plus one spare); markings for four aircraft plus decal instruments; canopy masks and a short length of fuse wire.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

The kit is carefully packed in a stout box, with parts for each sub-assembly inside a separate plastic bag. The large, hollow fuselage halves are further protected by a packing tube inside the main box.

The kit features superb surface detail - crisply engraved panel lines combined with delicately raised details where appropriate. The fuselage halves and the bottom of the wings are especially noteworthy in this respect.

The fuselage halves are very impressive and quite large in this scale. They are surprisingly flexible along their length, but the installation of cockpit and radiator intake sub-assemblies will increase rigidity after the fuselage halves are assembled.

Each wing is supplied as a single part with a detailed wheel well cast in place.

The trailing edges are ready for the separate ailerons and flaps with recessed locating positions making it easy to position these control surfaces. The fabric texture on the separate control surfaces is subtle and very convincing.

Smaller details are just as good. The cockpit includes deep sidewall detail, clever undercuts on the cockpit floor and a very nice two-piece seat with a padded backrest. The instrument panel features flat disks for dials, ready for the nicely detailed Japanese instrument decals. The lap harness is supplied as photo-etched parts.

The kit provides clear and tinted resin navigation lights.

This model can be supported by cast white metal undercarriage legs, or by optional resin legs also supplied in the kit. The resin legs are as more crisply detailed than the white metal items. Even so, the metal legs will look great after careful cleanup and are the best option considering the likely weight of the completed model.

The vacform canopy is supplied with a spare. These parts look nice and clear. They are quite thin too, so extreme care will be required when cutting out and handling the canopy parts.

Another nice touch, and a first for MDC, is the inclusion of canopy masks. The package is rounded out with a length of fuse wire for detailing.

Four marking options are supplied on two high-quality decal sheets.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Unlike some limited run kits, MDC's Hien has been designed with a number of thoughtful assembly aids, including locating tabs on the tailplanes, and slots in the wing roots to accurately position those heavy wings.

There will be some cleanup, but it is mostly lightweight. There are no heavy casting blocks on any of the resin parts, and no serious warpage on any parts in my sample. In fact, the only noticeable warp is on the rollover structure behind the pilot on one fuselage half..

MDC's Typhoon was a hard act to follow, but the new 1/32 scale Ki-61-Hien is a worthy successor.

The kit is beautifully detailed, with exquisitely delicate surface features and some really colourful marking options. Even without building the kit, it is a pleasure to fondle the carefully packaged contents. This is a triumphant blending of art and engineering. Bringing to life such an intricate replica in resin must be no mean feat.

You will definitely need experience with resin kits if you want to tackle this project, but MDC's thoughtful planning will make workbench time a real pleasure.

Highly Recommended.

Thanks to MDC for the sample.

Review Text Copyright © 2007 by Brett Green
Page Created 10 January, 2007
Last updated 24 December, 2007

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