Hasegawa Nakajima Ki-49 Donryu Helen in 1/72 Scale

Finished Models

This is one of a series of Japanese twins released by Hasegawa in the late 1990’s, the Ki-49 Helen from 1998.  Fit is excellent as you would expect from Hasegawa, and the design hides the minimal interior detail well.  A good set of canopy masks is a must as there is an incredible amount of individual transparent panels in many of the clear pieces.  The markings are of the 62nd Sentai in Japan during 1945.

Published by Jeff Groves

Scale Modeling and Military History

Published

7 thoughts on “Hasegawa Nakajima Ki-49 Donryu Helen in 1/72 Scale”

  3. In contrast to other Japanese aircraft, this excerpt from Wiki:
    “in the spring of 1942 an up-engined version was produced, fitted with more powerful Ha-109 engines and this became the production Army Type 100 Heavy Bomber Model 2 or Ki-49-IIa. The Model 2 also introduced improved armor and self-sealing fuel tanks and was followed by the Ki-49-IIb in which 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Ho-103 machine guns replaced three of the 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Type 89 machine guns.”

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    1. The Japanese emphasized range and maneuverability for most of their designs. They increased defensive features of their aircraft later than most, but U.S. designs initially suffered from similar issues. The first B-17 considered truly combat ready was the E-series as one example.

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