Mitsubishi J2M3 "Raiden"

Nathan Dempsey
Following 👀

James C
It's on hold for the moment until I get a replacement canopy mask. I'm hopping Dead Design Models will respond to my email sent earlier today and provide a replacement. I'm not counting on it though. I may break out the Ki-84 next as it too has a canopy mask by the same company 🤔

Rui
Following 😎

Mark Sherwood
In. 🥸

Nathan Dempsey
I have DDM canopy & national insignia masks for a Judy but haven't got around to it yet. I'll let you know if I have the same issue. The insignia masks look to be made of a different material though… It will not be fun if the masks don't work.

John
I'm running into the same issues with Montex masks on the Ju-87 but the opposite issue, they don't stick around curves very well and start to lift. If DDM don't do right by you, my solution was just to take the mask, plop it down on some tamiya tape and use a new blade to cut around it carefully and make a new mask.

James C
I'm still holding out in the hope that the company will respond but am not holding my breath. I'll check the masks for the Ki-84 kit before I make a start on it.
Between the more traditional Eduard type yellow paper masks and the Montex vinyl masks, I personally prefer the Montex brand as I find them far more durable which allows for repeated repositioning attempts without damaging the edges. They are usually slit to allow better conformation around tight curves which I usually brush over with a liquid mask or offcut Tamiya tape etc. Have never had any issues with them myself.

As a teenager I would have just made my own, but nowadays I find that my vision is not good enough anymore and secondly the canopy frames on this kit are extremely faint and difficult to make out.

@ John - Thats not a bad idea mate and hadn't thought of doing that! I may end up giving it a go if all else fails 😉👍

John
These Montex ones may be old, they just don't stick very well. I too like them overall, as you say, the edges are a lot more durable, but that also makes the cutting new ones out of Tamiya tape easier as the blade follows the edge really well w/o cutting into it. The DDMs look to be tape so you might have a little more hassle with those, but at least they would give you a template that you can add some tamiya tape bits to if needed.

James C
Yeah I figure if I lay down some 30mm Tamiya tape on the cutting board I can lay the DDM masks over the top (pinned into place) and just trace around them with a pencil and then just cut them out by hand. Fortunately, while they do stick to the backing paper... they are die-cut quite well so don't have any rough edges.

In desperation I even tried an Eduard set that I mistakenly purchased for this kit a number of years ago but found they didn't come close to matching the frames, as they were designed for the Hasegawa kit. Curiously, despite being many years older than the DDM masks, they still peeled off the backing paper properly.

James C
Just heard back from Dead Design Models whom have acknowledged the problem that I had with the canopy masks, and advised that a replacement set has been sent. Can't ask for more than that really, and is a bit of a relief. Hopefully, I wont have to wait too long for them to arrive.

Nathan Dempsey
Good to hear.

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Oh nice, a Raiden. Hopefully you get the replacements soon, James. Cheers, mate! 👀 👍

Nathan Dempsey
James, I just wanted to let you know I'm currently using the DD masks on my Judy build and they're working fine. Hopefully your set was a one-off bad set and your replacement one will be a-ok.

Sebastian Meyner
Following 👀 Looking forward to see what you make out of the "oldie" 👍

James C
Thanks Nathan, and yes must have been a one off as the Ki-84 set is fine. The replacement Raiden masks have now arrived as well. 👍
Welcome aboard Sebastian. 🙂

James C
Thanks Sebastian 🙂

With Winter rapidly approaching (along with cooler temperatures) I figured that I should pull my finger out and make a bit more progress after having left these two sitting idle for a number of weeks now. The paintwork is done on the Raiden and since taking the pictures I have also finished applying the decals, but still need a few more applications of Micro Sol to get them to snuggle down properly. Most of the joins on the Ki-84 have been cleaned up and am not too far off shooting a coat of primer on it.

John
Is the Hayate the Tamiya kit of the same vintage as the Raiden?

James C
Yup, same Tamiya 1970's vintage 😉 👍

Interesting to note that being this old.... the Hayate kit is not up to the same specs of other (Tamiya) period kits. The cowling for example needed a lot of literal grinding/sanding as it wanted to sit off-center. Slowly reshaping it... just hope I don't destroy the shape in the process.

John
I had much the same.experience James. Also, the wing landing light clear part was a disaster. I should have just made my own. Overall the Raiden was better for sure.

James C
Thanks John. Will keep it in mind. Still toying with what paint scheme to do it in... either green or overall silver....

Lode Schildermans
Looking forward to see what choice you will make James