{"id":1525,"date":"2025-09-14T15:10:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T15:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aceartanddesign.com\/?p=1525"},"modified":"2025-09-14T15:10:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T15:10:10","slug":"godzillas-magnificent-lightning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aceartanddesign.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/14\/godzillas-magnificent-lightning\/","title":{"rendered":"Godzilla\u2019s \u201cMagnificent Lightning\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our favorite nuclear lizard rose from the ashes in a classic origin story remake and brought along some aviation history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Set in the days after the end of World War II, 2023\u2019s Godzilla minus One<\/em> is a retelling of the beginnings of the classic thriller franchise. The dramatic ending of the movie finds the hero, a former pilot, set to take a unique, futuristic looking fighter plane into battle against our favorite mutant lizard. Screenwriters tapped actual aviation history by enlisting a Kyushu J7W Shinden fighter for the climactic final battle. The arrow shaped Shinden was a prototype design developed near the end of the war but never saw operational use. The Shinden was the perfect mix of historical accuracy with a hint of science fiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Kit<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hasegawa first released their 1\/48 scale J7W in 1981 but signed up with Toho studios to get on the Godzilla bandwagon for this 2023 rerelease. The kit is classic Hasegawa, crisp molding with little flash and nicely recessed panel lines. The instructions are simple and straightforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This release of the kit doesn\u2019t simply change the box art. A number of details are called out in the instructions. Deleting the tiny outrigger wheels at the base of the vertical fins, not adding the fourth cannon (to make room for the explosive that blew the monster\u2019s head off \u2026 or did it?) and deleting the World War II pilot figure. There\u2019s even a pretty neat decal of the monster along with the set of generic Japanese markings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is all that\u2019s currently on display of the last Shinden at the National Air and Space Museum\u2019s Udvar-Hazy Center.<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n


The Smithsonian\u2019s National Air and Space museum has the last surviving example of this unique fighter and the photos they have are just what\u2019s needed to serve as reference for this kit. The forward section of the cockpit is on Display at the museum\u2019s Udvar-Hazy Center. It\u2019s an airplane that appears a little worse for wear but that\u2019s the \u201clook\u201d I\u2019m going for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting started<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Start with the cockpit, painting the interior the standard Japanese interior grayish green. Dry-brushing a bit of aluminum and a dark colored wash to pop out some detail. Use a toothpick dipped in a bit of paint to highlight knobs and switches. Paint the control panel a deep dark gray, nearly black. A decal for the cockpit dials needs a liberal bit of setting solution to get the decal to snuggle into the nooks and crannies. An aftermarket seatbelt is all that\u2019s needed to finish detailing the cockpit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A little extra cockpit detail is all that\u2019s needed. The kit holds up well for its age.<\/em>
<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Multitasking masking<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Allied forces discovered a number of incomplete Shinden fighters at the end of the war. One look at the unique canard design and five bladed \u201cpusher\u201d engine and it\u2019s no surprise that engineers wouldn\u2019t have wanted a closer look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What they found looked a bit worse for wear, pieced together and a little \u201cunfinished,\u201d it\u2019s an interesting look that requires some masking, some more masking and a little patience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the instructions, assemble the wings along with the vertical \u201crudders,\u201d I\u2019ll keep those outrigger wheels on my model. Mask and paint a couple panels aluminum silver and\/or a pale green gray \u201cprimer\u201d color. Using photos as a guide, add small specs of a masking solution where natural wear and tear would be. Once the liquid mask is dry, paint the wing assembly a dark Green over a pale gray\/green. I\u2019m using Tamyia\u2019s Japanese Navy Dark Green; AS-21 and USAAF Light Gray; AS-16, with TS-1 Red Brown for the spinner and propeller. While there are plenty of opinions, veritable scholarly dissertations on what the \u201ccorrect\u201d colors should be, I\u2019m relying on my own standard \u201cTLAR\u201d system (That Looks About Right), matching it to my vision of what the airplane might have looked like when it was found in an abounded hangar by a group of curious allied aeronautical engineers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Looking a little rough around the edges, the Kyushu J7W Shinden was one of the most interesting fighter designs of World War II.<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That well worn look<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

After scrubbing the liquid mask from the wings, set them aside to dry. Take the finished cockpit and fit it between the fuselage halves along with the nose gear wheel well. Part B11 covers the area with the forward canard \u201cwings\u201d and the machine gun bay. In this case it\u2019s also the perfect spot for a few lead weights so that this unique fighter sits properly. With weight in the nose and the fuselage together, mask and paint the fuselage in the same fashion as the main wings. With everything dry, assemble the wings and fuselage. Set the nearly completed Shinden aside to dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paint the landing gear struts black with chrome silver for the hydraulic oleo. Tires should be a black \u201crubber\u201d color with aluminum hubs. I used a mask set from the Czech company Artscalekit, ASK, (ASKM48125) that made painting much easier. The set will do the same for the clear canopy parts. With the landing gear completed, set them aside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I rubbed down the model with the finest grit sandpaper I had, to dull the finish and give it a generally scuffed up appearance. Tamiya makes a number of weathering sets, complete with an applicator that will add some dust and grime to the finish. Set \u201cA\u201d (Sand, Light Sand, and Mud) gives me the colors I\u2019ll need and comes with it\u2019s own little applicator. Satisfied, it\u2019s time to attach the landing gear, a pair of antennas and the five bladed propeller that pushes this model across the finish line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A unique looking fighter on any display shelf, this Shinden sure got Godzilla’s attention!<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our favorite nuclear lizard rose from the ashes in a classic origin story remake and brought along some aviation history. Set in the days after the end of World War II, 2023\u2019s Godzilla minus One is a retelling of the beginnings of the classic thriller franchise. The dramatic ending of the movie finds the hero, a former … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Godzilla\u2019s \u201cMagnificent Lightning\u201d”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aceartanddesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aceartanddesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aceartanddesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aceartanddesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aceartanddesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1525"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/aceartanddesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1534,"href":"https:\/\/aceartanddesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1525\/revisions\/1534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aceartanddesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aceartanddesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aceartanddesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}