WHERE THE RUBBER HITS THE ROAD:  Classic Kit gets a serious makeover with pre-painted canopies and a new decal sheet with lots of extra details.  Easy build = cool model!

PART I:  KIT INTRODUCTION BY BILL ENGAR

The Mitsubishi G4M Type 1 “Betty” was a medium bomber used by the Imperial Japanese Navy during WWII.  Like the Zero, its speed and ordnance-carrying capabilities were very good at the expense of crew protection.  A cigar-shape provided a roomy interior and provided a nickname, “flying cigar” for its crews.  Allied pilots referred to it as a “Zippo” for its ability to catch fire easily when hit by gunfire thanks to the lack of protection for the fuel tanks.

The first significant item in Minicraft #14746 is a new set of pre-painted canopies.  The Betty has a lot of “glass” with quite a bit of canopy framing.  It’s one of the characteristics that makes the Betty stand out as a cool model, but in the past, it was difficult for the builder to execute effectively.  In 1/144 scale, it was always a tricky job to paint the canopy framing by hand to make it look decent.  I could never do it well, resorting instead to masking and painting.  In 1/144  scale, it was hard to get the lines to a consistent width and alignment, and of course this work was very time consuming.  Minicraft uses a Tampo printing process to put the canopy lines in for you and the painting is thin and crisp.  It will greatly streamline the construction process.

Minicraft has chosen to depict the aircraft in which Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was flying as a passenger when it was intercepted and shot down by American P-38 fighters.  The box art depicts this WWII event.

Next up is the decal scheme.  One of Minicraft’s great strengths for the past couple decades or so is a strategy to release their classic kits with new and interesting decal schemes.  On several occasions, I’ve searched aftermarket decal sources because I wanted to build a certain plane, and then found that Minicraft either had released a kit with the same decals, or one had been announced.

Model has engraved lines for flight surfaces and bomb bay doors with very fine raised panel lines.  Finished model size about 5" (13 cm) long with 7" (18 cm) wingspan.  MSRP is a low $15.99.

This kit portrays the aircraft in which Admiral Yamamoto was shot down on April 18, 1943.  Decals for another dark-green Betty are included if the modeler isn’t interested in the Yamamoto aircraft.
 
A Minicraft stand is included with this model if you want to portray the model in “flying” condition since the option is included for gear-up or gear-down.
 
While I haven’t yet built a Minicraft Betty, it appears that this kit will go together similar to others in the series, and probably easier than average (Part II of this article does cover a build thanks to Brudder Dick).  A careful inspection couldn't come up with even one sinkhole in my kit.  Tires each have two small ejector pin circles to fill and the landing gear struts each have one minor circle that may not even show when the strut is installed.  These issues are minor enough that I'm feeling nitpicky mentioning them and only contest modelers will probably try to correct them due to their insignificant nature.

In the time it takes to watch "Tora Tora Tora," you should be able to clean up parts (there is a small amount of flash) and get the basic subassemblies together.  Test-fit parts and "trim or shim" if needed before gluing.  A little putty and sanding will probably be in order to smooth joints between parts.  There aren't a whole lot of parts so it should be an easygoing build.  There is nothing here to prevent you from doing a contest-quality build if you want.

One “extra” that the original kit has always had is an interior with three seats and an instrument panel.  A new perk in many recent Minicraft kits in this series is decals for the cockpit.  In this case, an instrument panel decal is included and also a large decal for the cockpit floor, designed to go around the seats.  The decal has cutouts where the seats go, so it should fit right over them with no problem.  Minicraft also supplies decal seatbelts!  Underneath that pre-painted canopy, all this stuff  inside the completed model should look pretty amazing.

One thing we like about the overall execution of this kit is that Minicraft did a good job with the instructions.  Decal placement during construction is clearly portrayed and less-experienced modelers who know how to use glue should have no problems with assembly.

Other decal extras include engine faces and the canopy framing for the three clear gunner/observation blisters.  Decals are made by Cartograf and are of premium quality.
 
You’ll probably want to paint the interior of the aircraft Mitsubishi Blue-Green.  The kit instructions refer to it as "pale green-gray."  I’m no expert in WWII Japanese paint colors, so I don’t want to steer you wrong here, but those decals will look very nice over your interior paint.  The aircraft exterior color has been described as “black-green” and it shouldn’t be too hard to find examples from all the major model paint manufacturers, or mix it yourself by adding a small amount of black to some regular green paint, stirring and rechecking the shade until it looks right.

The kit includes pre-painted "glass" for the forward and rear gun stations and main crew canopy.  Decals, including spares, are included for the side and top gun blisters.  The clear parts sprue also includes spares of the unpainted parts.  Enhanced Cartograf decal sheet includes a number of nice extras.

The engraved portside circle on the rear fuselage represents a crew hatch.  In some pictures of Bettys  I’ve seen, it’s round, in others, it’s more squared off.  Sometimes the Hinomauru (Japanese insignia) lines up with it, other times not.  Kit instructions show you just where to put it on this kit.  Another interesting aspect of the paint scheme is that the yellow leading edge wing bands extend quite a ways onto the top of the wing, more than on other Japanese aircraft of WWII.  A quick check of photo references for the aircraft confirms that this is correct.

Fuselage halves capture the "flying cigar" look.

The props were nicely done.  Decals for the engine faces are included.

The cockpit floor includes three seats.

​To get all that “glass” to look good on the airplane, I’d recommend the use of Testors clear parts cement and window maker to secure the clear parts to the fuselage.  It dries clear and won’t fog the canopy like solvent glues or cyanacrylate “super glues.”

Box side with a profile view of the Yamamoto aircraft.

Instructions are well-done and as always include clear instructions for decal placement.

"Brudder" Dick finished his Minicraft Betty as you see here.  Part II has pictures of his build and he'll provide his thoughts about how the kit goes together.  Looks pretty awesome with the Pre-Decorated canopies and decals for the other transparencies, doesn't it!

The new canopies are a game-changer for this kit.  Painting all those lines on the “glass” in previous versions was probably the most challenging part of finishing the model.  With the decal extras also included, a striking model can be produced by the modeler with a lot less effort.  The engineering of the original tooling was very proficient and should facilitate an easy build in addition to the new perks.
 
Dem Brudders give Minicraft’s Mitsubishi G4M “Betty” model kit four enthusiastic thumbs up!

SPECIAL THANKS TO MINICRAFT FOR PROVIDING THIS KIT FOR US TO REVIEW!  CHECK OUT MINICRAFT.COM TO SEE THIS AND OTHER KITS IN THE MINICRAFT LINE!

UPDATE 25 MARCH 2021:  DICK ENGAR BUILDS THE BETTY

PART II:  BUILDING THE BETTY BY DICK ENGAR

​I began working on this model in January 2021 and found the construction to be straightforward.  There was some nice interior detail for this small scale and I used several online photos to figure out the proper shade of interior blue-green with a metallic tinge to it as the photographs of the seats show.  I was very pleased that Minicraft added some interior decals to spice up the cockpit and they were already cut to allow them to fit nicely amid the seats.  Not to be outdone by that, Minicraft also furnished with seat belt decals that, being made by Cartograf, laid down extremely well.  These decals made the interior look quite nice before it was entombed by joining the fuselage halves which fit together very well requiring minimal if any filler.  The wings also fit well to the fuselage and dihedral was spot on as was the angulation of the rudders.  The only minor irritations were some mold marks in the wheels and gear doors that had to be dealt with.  They're in out-of-the-way places for those modelers who might not want to bother filling them.

The kit's cockpit, painted.

Dick reports that the decals are very easy to apply.

It was a little tricky to get the color match right between the pre-painted canopy framing and my Pactra dark-green paint.  I decided my old Pactra paint mix was not “green” enough to match the pre-painted canopy and gun blister glass parts so I added some extra green paint that turned out to be gloss sheen from a Testors Model Master bottle I had on hand. 

The kit gives you two options as far as canopies and nose and tail turrets.  One set is pre-painted, the other set is clear as normal.  I thought I’d try the pre-painted set and thus had to carefully match the paint.  Japanese green is an interesting shade to deal with as there is a small amount of blue tint that cannot be overdone, but I came up with the right match and went for it with some old Pactra paint.  Of course I had to mask the canopy, turrets and side blisters after I carefully placed them with Formula 560 canopy glue to avoid any smearing problems with regular bonding adhesive, used a tiny bit of CYA glue to ensure that my joints were solid, and then masked with flexible but expensive car body masking strip tape and Tamiya yellow tape. 

The kit depicts the round crew hatch in the in the fuselage insignia.  You can always count on Cartograf decals to conform easily to such items.

I painted the lower surfaces aluminum with my supply of Testors Metallizer – thanks to  great friends of Dem Brudders, Dick and Suzanne Christ of Hobby Depot in Phoenix who sent me a supply to keep me going for several years since Testors, purchased by Rustoleum, isn’t making it any more, sniff-sniff!   Then after giving it a couple of days to totally dry, probably unnecessary, I used un-tacked Tamiya tape to mask in preparation for the application of green paint.

Minicraft's kit captures the characteristic cigar shape of the "Betty."

After letting it dry a couple of days I masked the top of the aircraft  so I could paint the yellow ID markings on the model per the instructions and references I had.  I first put an overcoat of white paint on and to my horror, I noticed the next day that the green paint had not totally degassed so the white paint had cracks all the way through it, some areas more severe than others.  Rather than sanding it all off, I waited a few days and then just applied gloss yellow over it in a few coats over another couple of days which filled in the cracks.  I knew it would make for thick markings, but that was the compromise.  Once the bandages came off the model looked decent, however, so I was not too disappointed.

Applying decals to a Minicraft model is always easy because their kits come with the excellent Cartograf decals which snuggle right down.  I used some Floquil Crystal Cote I have hoarded to gloss surfaces where the decals go and added small window decals, insignias and a number on the tail. I sealed these with one shot of Crystal Cote and then shot some Testors Flat Coat through my airbrush for the main aircraft top to uniformly flatten the paint.

The next step was to remove the masking over the glass parts and clean up stray paint with a toothpick.  Then it was time to put the “legs” or landing gear on the aircraft.  The instructions actually have an error here with the drawing showing the gear leaning backwards when it is actually supposed to lean forward! 

​Another clever trick I have developed is rather than putting the props on the cowlings and having to mask them before painting I put the cowlings on the main aircraft using friction grip to hold them on during painting, then add the props with the holder allowing them to spin, and then glue the finished engine/cowling/prop assembly on to the wing.  I label the inside of each cowling “R” and “L” to make sure I put the right one in the correct place.

With decals on the fuselage and wings done, I put window framing decals on the side and top blisters.  Minicraft gives you extras since these are a little tricky to put on but I had no trouble with the first try, although I broke part of one so I did need part of a second one.  These were a little tricky to get over the curves and so I did use some Micro Sol to help stretch them down.  Once the decals had set, I used some Future over them not only to seal them but to enhance the clear plastic.

The fine lines of the pre-decorated canopies combined with the decals for the transparency frames add an extra level of fine detailing to the model.  Note that the small, rectangular windows  are included on the decal sheet as well.  Many hours of tedious masking were saved.

In the mid-1980s, our father went on his second tour of Japan after 40 years.  His first was an assignment that began late in WWII supporting the Battle of Okinawa as one of the very first non-Marines to land on the island.  He was a USAAF navigator in C-46 and C-47 cargo planes.  While he was in Tokyo circa 1984, he bought me six Hasegawa 1/144 scale Japanese aircraft used in the war.  I built them all in the 1980s but was missing an important subject that belonged among my collection of planes named Lily, Frances, Peggy, and Helen. 

The missing model in this case was, of course, a Japanese star named "Betty."  This was the major bomber used by the Japanese military and from 1939 to 1945 a total of 2,446 were built.  The bomber did not have an exotic name like many notable Japanese aircraft such as “Storm” or “Swallow” but was known as “Rikko” which was actually an abbreviation for “land-based attack bomber."

Note that the main landing gear tip forward in their wells just a bit, not backward as in the instructions.  It's pretty obvious where they go on the actual kit parts.

​BONUS INFORMATION
 
A LITTLE PAINTING TIP
 
Japanese aircraft of WWII era, at least the Mitsubishi planes, were delivered to their units unfinished, meaning natural metal.  Maintenance crews were not usually stocked with primer, so the camoflauge paint went directly on bare metal.  It didn’t adhere well, which is the reason you commonly see flaked, peeled, and heavily weathered paint in many pictures of WWII Japanese aircraft.  In most cases, it's fun to portray this on  models with various weathering techniques.  We'll go with the theory that the aircraft transporting Yamamoto was well-maintained, including the finish, so Dick didn’t do too much weathering with this particular model.

BUILD A COLLECTION!
 
Minicraft has some very interesting Japanese aircraft from WWII in its product line, and a nice collection can be had without a lot of expense thanks to the low prices of these kits.  In 1/144 scale, they won't take up a lot of room on your display shelf, either.  Each includes premium-quality Cartograf decals which are easy to apply, and they look amazing on the completed model.  I've finished a couple of these kits so far (pictures included below), and found them to be easy, enjoyable builds.

#14656 is the Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki "Tojo."  This was a small interceptor with a wingspan eight feet shorter than the Zero.

#14676, Ki-61 "Tony."  This Type 3 Army Fighter was originally thought by Allied strategists to be a derivative of the Italian Macchi C.202, explaining its Allied-supplied code name.

#14679, the Ryusei "Grace,"  has a markings option for an interesting orange test/training aircraft.

(My Myrt was built from an earlier release that did not include the Cartograf decals)

#14680, the C6N1 Saiun "Myrt" was a carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft.  Its top speed matched that of the U.S. Navy Hellcat, meaning it was not easy to intercept. 

#14691 A6M2 Zero comes with an unusual orange/green color scheme.

#14751, A6M2 Zero, is the latest release of these kits.  It includes the Minicraft stand and pre-painted canopy.

HISTORY BEHIND MINICRAFT G4M “BETTY” #14746
 
The Minicraft kit portrays the aircraft in which Imperial Japanese Combined Fleet Commander-in-Chief Admiral Yamamoto was ambushed and killed by USAAF P-38’s on April 18, 1943.  U.S. Naval Intelligence had successfully intercepted and decoded a number of significant Japanese coded communications.  Anticipating Japanese actions prior to the Battle of Midway is a famous example.  Another was the obtaining of Yamamoto’s travel schedule for an inspection tour of The Solomon Islands and New Guinea to boost troop morale after setbacks for Japanese forces during those campaigns.
 
Thanks to these interceptions and decodings, intelligence personnel of the U.S. Pacific Fleet determined the location, time, and number of planes in Yamamoto’s flight—two Betty bombers and six Zero escorts.  Sources on who specifically authorized the interception mission vary, with Chester Nimitz often credited.

P-38G's with drop-tanks were selected for the raid which would require a range greater than 1000 miles.  The planes were outfitted in non-standard fashion with a 165-gallon tank on one wing hardpoint and a 330-gallon tank on the other.

This Wikipedia photo of Yamamoto's wrecked plane in the Bougainville jungle clearly shows the tail ID.  The same markings are found in Minicraft's #14746 G4M1 Betty in 1/144 scale.

Due to the distances involved, U.S. Army-Air Force P-38’s with drop-tanks were assigned to the interception.  18 were selected with four to make the actual attack and the rest to provide high-altitude cover.
 
The intercept was planned to the minute, and Yamamoto’s plane was spotted at the estimated time and shot down, crashing on Bougainville Island, Papua, New Guinea.  Yamamoto’s death was confirmed the next day by a Japanese search-and-rescue party.
 
An interesting coincidence is that the downing of Yamamoto’s plane came one year to the day after the “Doolittle Raid,” when a group of B-25’s took off from the USS Hornet to bomb Tokyo under the command of Lt Col. Jimmy Doolittle.
​
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