Ki-44 "Tojo" restoration flies in Japan!

[Skyraider3D]

Hehe, yes it is indeed a dirty old April Fools hoax! And "Shigata Baka" is the Japanese equivalent of April Fools.

There were rumours of a Ki-44 restoration (found in Indonesia) a long time ago, and who knows it may just happen one day. But this "photo" is nothing more than a 3D digital rendering I made:




Originally this 3D model was made to illustrate Osprey's 100th Aircraft of the Aces volume about Tojo aces, for which I did all cover art, profile illustrations and line drawings. Nicholas Millman of the Aviation of Japan blog (formerly straggleresearch.com) of course did the research and all the writing.

Here are some examples of the 34 profiles from the Osprey title:





A detail close-up of a topview profile:



The cover art...



...and a close-up of the cover art:



Currently I am working on a 3D model of the Ki-27, which explains the last line of the hoax!


Back to the real aircraft... for those who aren't aware yet, the Ki-44 isn't entirely extinct! A Chinese aviation museum has an unrestored wing centre section in their collection: http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~ku3n-kym/heiki0/seian/seian.html

Also, there currently is a real Ki-44 drop tank for sale on eBay. A most interesting item and some good photos too, that will be useful to modellers.

Well, I hope this was of some interest at least!
Sorry it's all fake... would've been nice though, wouldn't it? Who knows... one day...!

Thanks guys!