I’ve started to research my Raiden and am having a hard time finding a good choice for the green color of the cockpit. The directions on the kit are less than helpful, partly because they’re in Japanese but mostly because they just say paint it green. The research I’ve done shows Japanese WW2 aircraft with a bright green cockpit color but the builds I’m seeing show a more muted almost drab green. Does anyone have a definitive answer and paint numbers from the Vallejo or Tamiya paint lines?
Ahoy dadoffour. The obvious answer to Japanese Cockpit Green is paint it “Aotake” or “bamboo green.” For a comprehensive description of Aotake go here: Aviation of Japan 日本の航空史: Aotake - Part One
This color has baffled me for years. However, I now have a Vallejo blue IJN (Navy) 71.419 and a green IJA (Army) version 71.417. and also an AK lacquer blue version. Good luck in your search.
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Building at least a 1:72 Aoshima Ki-61 I-Tei
Possibly building a Hasegawa 1:72 Toyota Starter Truck GB, a 1:72 Ki-36, and a 1:144 H8K
(I can build multiple, right??)
Thanks for the article @Strongeagle . Here’s my cockpit. I was able to find a site that had several photos of the cockpit of a Raiden and used it for inspiration. What do you guys think?
Thanks! I added a couple of levers that weren’t part of the kit based on the pictures I saw. It was a fun distraction. I really enjoy getting creative in the cockpit detail. Too bad it rarely gets seen.
Not as much done tonight. I was able to get the fuselage together with the upper wing pieces and tail pieces glued. I’ll let it dry overnight and finish the wing in the morning. Hopefully there’s not a lot of filling and sanding to complete.
Next step is canopy masking followed by engine detail.
Seems there are lots of questions from members regarding colors and such for the subject they are building. Here are two excellent sources for research on Japanese aircraft. If you have not checked them out, I highly recommend them:
My understanding is that cockpits were not generally painted Aotake (well, not as the top coat anyway). Aotake would generally be only visible on interior ‘non-crew compartment’ areas–wheel wells, gear covers, fuselage interior, etc…
Now, personally I find this information very disappointing as one of my fondest modeling memories as a kid was building the Tamiya 1/48 Zero (Hamp) and mixing my own metallic blue green from Testors square bottle paints. I was very proud of my efforts and the resulting look…
