Kawasaki Ki-61 II Kai Hien 1:48
A Kamikaze's Plane

This extremely high quality Ki-61-II is crafted by manually modifying a Ki-61 kit, since a 1:48 scale Ki-61-II kit does not exist. An awful amount of work has gone into converting the original Ki-61 kit to create this extremely rare Ki-61-II replica. This is one of only two 1:48 scale Ki-61-II model known to exists. The Ki-61-II, a specialized version of Ki-61, was designed specifically for high altitude performance. It's a single seat fighter with an all-metal alloys body with semi-monocoque fuselages and self-sealing fuel tanks. The extensive chipping on this model reveals the underlying metallic silver alloy surface. All colors, including the exquisite cockpit interiors are carefully constructed to match the original aircraft.

Starting in August of 1944, as the Japanese were sustaining heavy loses from U.S. B-29s bombing raids. The Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF) made it an official policy to use the Ki-61s in kamikaze suicide attacks against American B-29s by intentionally slicing them into the B-29s. Its metalic alloy body makes it more likely that the B-29 will sustain serious damage. Most Japanese kamikaze pilots perished in these attacks, but a few survived.