Kawasaki Ki-100-Ib
Low-back Ib / radial conversion
Colours used
in this example.
Build the main surfaces in light layers. Keep the quiet background softer than the aircraft.
Suggested pencil shades, not exact historical paint matches. Test colours on your paper before building richer layers.
Layer green lightly over warm grey shadows
Leave highlights near curved edges
Use lengthwise strokes
Keep a fine pale edge
Use light pressure and preserve white clouds
Look a little closer.
Explore the details from different angles.
Aircraft reference 1
Ki-100-Ib museum display: olive-brown upper finish and pale undersides. Preserved aircraft; displayed paint is a restoration reference rather than proof of wartime factory colours. Display copy resized without cropping.
Photo: Roly-sisaphus · Source · CC BY-SA 2.0Aircraft reference 2
Ki-100-Ib left side: low-back canopy, fuselage roundel and wing markings. Preserved aircraft; displayed paint is a restoration reference rather than proof of wartime factory colours. Display copy resized without cropping.
Photo: hugh llewelyn · Source · CC BY-SA 2.0Aircraft reference 3
Ki-100-Ib front quarter: brown spinner, yellow leading edges and undercarriage. Preserved aircraft; displayed paint is a restoration reference rather than proof of wartime factory colours. Display copy resized without cropping.
Photo: Clemens Vasters · Source · CC BY 2.0Aircraft reference 4
Ki-100-Ib front view: radial engine, propeller and wing dihedral. Preserved aircraft; displayed paint is a restoration reference rather than proof of wartime factory colours. Display copy resized without cropping.
Photo: hugh llewelyn · Source · CC BY-SA 2.0Aircraft reference 5
Ki-100-Ib front quarter: radial cowling and yellow wing leading edges. Preserved aircraft; displayed paint is a restoration reference rather than proof of wartime factory colours. Display copy resized without cropping.
Photo: hugh llewelyn · Source · CC BY-SA 2.0Historical finishes and markings
RAF Museum documents repeated repaints of its Ki-100-Ib. It was dark green overall in 1960, received a mottled 244th Sentai interpretation in 1968 and a dark-green 5th Sentai representation in 1972. Modern and older museum photographs therefore show different preservation schemes rather than one unchanged factory finish.
Markings: The museum history records 244th and 5th Sentai representations at different dates; The wartime I-Otsu photograph identifies aircraft 80 of the 111th squadron Dark olive-green upper surfaces and pale underside in the modern museum photographs Earlier overall green and mottled finishes are dated restoration schemes
In the photographs
RAF Museum documents repeated repaints of its Ki-100-Ib. It was dark green overall in 1960, received a mottled 244th Sentai interpretation in 1968 and a dark-green 5th Sentai representation in 1972. Modern and older museum photographs therefore show different preservation schemes rather than one unchanged factory finish.
In the coloured example
This pencil interpretation uses upper airframe: Olive green; underside and wheel covers: Warm grey; propeller: Dark brown, Yellow; national discs: Red, White; runway and background: Warm grey, Sage, Pale blue. It is a creative colouring example based on the book drawing. It does not reproduce a verified individual aircraft or an exact paint standard.
Make the details count.
Keep the broad radial cowling separate from the slimmer fuselage with a soft shadow.
Leave a pale edge around the bubble canopy to preserve its clear outline.
Follow your curiosity.
Model history and further reading.