[hawkonevoodoo]

Originally Posted by Cruver Collecter

That is the site I like to rely on. Pictures on his site definitely show three aircrew in the model. Go Hawk!

Hopefully the next set of pictures won't be so late getting to me, I seemed to have been the last person to get them.

[hawkonevoodoo]

Originally Posted by leeG

I believe the DAF admin posts the Manufacturers Photographs after he takes pictures of models he has purchased. It isn't prepro shots.

They are the same pictures that I get, they are pre-pros. Sometimes Daran takes his own pictures but they are of pre-pro models. I figure if HM provides nice pre-pro pictures there isn't much sense for me to spend time taking my own. If it ain't broken don't fix it. Now if I get any retail versions I will take my own pictures and post them telling everyone that they are the finished product.

[SkyBuffalo]

Originally Posted by hworth18

Yes, the bomb should be offcenter.. My big concern is with the "torpedo aiming sight" on the cowl that I have yet to find on any pics of Kates and I have looked at almost 100 pics???

Hworth : I've flipped through my reference books and located two pictures of B5N Kates showing the little square bracket on the top of the cowling. They were in my "Encyclopedia of Aircraft of WWII", top of p. 381. This same shot of two Kates over a ship is also in my "Hamlyn Concise Guide To Axis Aircraft of World War II", p. 217. Both books referred to the planes as "late production B5N2 Kates". I also found a different picture of a Kate with the "thingy" on the cowling in my "Complete Book of World War II Combat Aircraft", p. 353.

None of the texts in these books actually say what this is, i.e. if it really is a "torpedo aiming sight". If it is, maybe it is something the pilot could flip up when needed ( from a toggle switch in the cockpit ) or something they could install or take off when they wanted to. There's definitely a lot more photos of the Kates without the lil' doo-dad.

Anybody wanna throw in their copy of " TORA! TORA! TORA! " and check it out?

[hworth18]

Originally Posted by SkyBuffalo

Hworth : I've flipped through my reference books and located two pictures of B5N Kates showing the little square bracket on the top of the cowling. They were in my "Encyclopedia of Aircraft of WWII", top of p. 381. This same shot of two Kates over a ship is also in my "Hamlyn Concise Guide To Axis Aircraft of World War II", p. 217. Both books referred to the planes as "late production B5N2 Kates". I also found a different picture of a Kate with the "thingy" on the cowling in my "Complete Book of World War II Combat Aircraft", p. 353.

None of the texts in these books actually say what this is, i.e. if it really is a "torpedo aiming sight". If it is, maybe it is something the pilot could flip up when needed ( from a toggle switch in the cockpit ) or something they could install or take off when they wanted to. There's definitely a lot more photos of the Kates without the lil' doo-dad.

Anybody wanna throw in their copy of " TORA! TORA! TORA! " and check it out?

Doh!! I looked at my Encyclopedia of 21st Century Warfare and on page 246 there is a pic of 2 Kates and both have the "device".. I would like to point out that this isn't typical though, and if it were on only "Late" B5N2's I doubt seriously that it would've been on Pearl Harbor Kates, but I could be wrong..

Sounds like a question for Mr. Lanslide or his dad..

[lanslide]

Okay - this Kate looks great! I have a few corrections to offer.
1. The back side of the propeller blades should be dark brown. The red propeller warning stripes are correct but should only be on the front side.
2. The bomb should be blue-gray (Naval bombs were blue-gray and Army bombs were black).
3. The bottom side of the ailerons should not be dark-green. They should be silver like the rest of the underside of the aircraft.

[kb466]

Originally Posted by lanslide

Okay - this Kate looks great! I have a few corrections to offer.
1. The back side of the propeller blades should be dark brown. The red propeller warning stripes are correct but should only be on the front side.
2. The bomb should be blue-gray (Naval bombs were blue-gray and Army bombs were black).
3. The bottom side of the ailerons should not be dark-green. They should be silver like the rest of the underside of the aircraft.

Pursuant to the new protocol, send this information to Hawkonevoodoo who will see that it gets to the right people at Hobby Master.

[hawkonevoodoo]

Originally Posted by kb466

Pursuant to the new protocol, send this information to Hawkonevoodoo who will see that it gets to the right people at Hobby Master.

Done, thanks.

[CFBC]

Originally Posted by hawkonevoodoo

They are the same pictures that I get, they are pre-pros. Sometimes Daran takes his own pictures but they are of pre-pro models. I figure if HM provides nice pre-pro pictures there isn't much sense for me to spend time taking my own. If it ain't broken don't fix it. Now if I get any retail versions I will take my own pictures and post them telling everyone that they are the finished product.

Thanks Hawk,

The majority of pictures within the threads are either pre-pro that have been provided by Hobby Master (same as Hawk post's on his website) as we both receive the pictures or notifications at the same time and it depends what either of us are doing at the time as to who shows them first.

The other pictures on the UK Forum in the manufacturers section (only if you are logged in, not guests) are actual production releases that I have acquired and have taken. Ok, they are not perfect, but it goes a long way to show the model as it is released and gives you guys the chance to have a look before buying or not. They may influence you, they may not.

Well, back on the subject of Kate.

Nice post landslide, I hope HM review and see if they can amend accordingly.

[theodore]

A little history on the bomb on the underside of the this particular 'Pearl Harbor' Kate:

This is a modified battleship round from the 14 inch guns of the battleships Heii and Kirishima, with a reinforced, steel encased nose. The fins were modified to handle the extra weight of this bomb, 1,800 pounds. Yamamoto theorized that this modification would be necessary to penetrate multiple decks of the American carriers that he surmised would be present on this day of infamy. This one bomb would then explode into the storage tanks containing the aviation fuel or the ordnance bay containing bombs and torpedoes and this would literally obliterate approximately half of the watertight compartments and thus wreck the hull. Instead, these modified battleship rounds were used, with lethal results, on the battleships and cruisers on Ford Island.

I am not sure if the color of the bomb is correct, but, based upon some photos of a Pearl Harbor Kate, I believe the color is accurate, since this is not a standard IJN ordnance.

[Celtic]

Could the device be mounted depending on the armament slung -- device for bombing, no divice for torpedoing? I can't find the device in any of my reference material...