finished a model

who made it? any pictures? that's a kit i really want. a friend of mine's father trained for the kaiten but the war ended. good thing or no friend. is dad is really fragile but i know he would really like that model as a gift. i have got to get me one of those!

e> In article , Gernot Hassenpflug wrote: >> Hey ho, at last, something that had been sitting in my cupboard >> for, oh, 6 years or so: 1/72 euII Kaiten suicide torpedo >> model. In fact, the crew must have mutinied, for the hatch is >> missing :-) But it turned out very well, even the decals >> cracked from exposure to heat and humidity (some years storage >> was outside, with the typhoons...). Used a mixture of Tamiya >> and Mr Hobby (water acryl), Mr color (laquer acryl), and Tamiya >> and Humbrol (old-based enamels), with water acryl coats of >> gloss and matt by IIRC Microscale. Now on to the rest of the >> stash... building 1/72 W1 (and Eduard 1/48 W1 in tandem), >> Tamiya 1/72 Spitfire Vb, Italeri 1/72 Spitfire Mx.VIII, Gartex >> 1/72 Mustang P51A and Ki-43-III Hayabusa, and euII 1/72 minisub >> Type A (used by IJN at Pearl Harbor, Indonesia, Australia and >> in the Aleutians). Good times!

e> who made it? any pictures? that's a kit i really want. a friend e> of mine's father trained for the kaiten but the war ended. good e> thing or no friend. is dad is really fragile but i know he e> would really like that model as a gift. i have got to get me e> one of those!

Brandname: eu-II (the e is accented with two dots) Maker: Fine Molds (says on instruction manual) year: 1997 (and I guess at intervals since then) scale: 1/72 price: 3000 yen (maybe cheaper second-hand)

Quality: very very good. Not that there's much on a torpedo to start with! But detail is excellent, molding crisp, propellors thin, and a carriage of the type used in training is included. Four variants (a type as in operation, No.3 and No. 10 used for training, and one as tested on the Oi/Kitakami light cruiser kaiten-carrier conversion). Decals also are good, even after mine got damaged in the climate they went on and stayed on.

eu-II also produced the Target Type A minisub in 1999, this was priced at 3050yen, rather a better deal since there is obviously more plastic. I am building that one soon.

As far as kaiten go, yes, scary stuff, glad your friend's father could survive. Students were graduated quickly (2 years instead of 4 by late

1944) and given options by the recruiters who came to the classes. You could "volunteer" for "special units", else you were assigned where they thought fit. Students developed a code whereby they would be able to read from their seniors' (previous graduates) letters whether there was any chance of survival in these "special units". For the kaiten units, as it turns, the answer was no. There are some books in Japanese on the subject, and right now there is a movie playing, very successfully, called "Deguchi no nai umi" (Ocean without an exit) about these units. I am waiting for it to come out on DVD early next year. It will no doubt feature the sinking of the Indianapolis, BTW. Do a search on the web and you can get some preview clips from the production site. Not sure if english search will find it for you, so here: Enjoy! Cheers, Gernot

thanks g. any idea where i could find the kit? i would send you the money if you find one for me.

e> In article , Gernot Hassenpflug wrote: >> >> Brandname: eu-II (the e is accented with two dots) Maker: Fine >> Molds (says on instruction manual) year: 1997 (and I guess at >> intervals since then) scale: 1/72 price: 3000 yen (maybe >> cheaper second-hand)

/../

e> thanks g. any idea where i could find the kit? i would send you e> the money if you find one for me.

Hmm, I'll have a look in Osaka in a few hours, going down there now for a visa application. Other than that, I'll check on the net over the weekend and let you know if I have any luck.

Cheers, Gernot

thanks, i really want one.

IIRC the Indy was sunk by the submarine's forward torpedo tubes, not the suicide torpedoes she was also carrying.

Bill Shuey

e> In article , Gernot Hassenpflug wrote: >>>>>>> "e" == e writes: >> e> In article , Gernot e> Hassenpflug >> wrote: >> >> >> >> Brandname: eu-II (the e is accented with two dots) Maker: >> Fine >> Molds (says on instruction manual) year: 1997 (and I >> guess at >> intervals since then) scale: 1/72 price: 3000 yen >> (maybe >> cheaper second-hand) >> >> /../ >> e> thanks g. any idea where i could find the kit? i would send you e> the money if you find one for me. >> >> Hmm, I'll have a look in Osaka in a few hours, going down there >> now for a visa application. Other than that, I'll check on the >> net over the weekend and let you know if I have any luck. >> >> Cheers, Gernot

e> thanks, i really want one.

Um, I found one! Fine Molds released in May 2006 apparently, using the upcoming movie as an excuse, hence the boxart and included filmography stuff. And a catalogue of FM kits and accessories... in Japanese :-) Decals look a little better (finer) than the ones in my 1997 version, kudos to FM for upgrading their decal printing when they can. And... the price went down! Can there be a God after all? Instead of 3000 yen at the end of the bubble economy FM is now asking 1680 yen. Which is good, considering the small size of the kit. Maybe they just expected more sales what with the movie and all.

Well, I bought it for you, beccasue there really only was one. Let me know address and I'll quote you the postage SAL or surface. You cnna pay me cash in the mail, or Paypal (or oother if you have any ideas that don't cosst a fortune in banking charges).

Cheers, Gernot

Gernot - I have to ask. I have a model of the Kaiten as well. My version is from Paramount (at the time from Montreal Canada) and it's a repop of a Japanese kit, though I don't know whose. I bought them in about 1972. There were two other kits that I bought at the smae time from the same manufacturer, the Alvin and the Trieste. These "models" were rather toylike and designed for swimming pool play, with a motor and ballast to make the thing go up and down in the water. On the box side, they showed a lot of other submersibles, including a number being used by Jacques Cousteau, although I was never lucky enough to find them. Can you give me any history of these kits? I've check eBay and other sources (Hobby Link Japan) with no luck. Thanks, John Braungart

yea gernot! 2 points and a lap dance from christina applegate. use this to get a better address.

t100rAThotmailDOTcom i think you can figure it out.

The> Gernot Hassenpflug wrote: >> Hey ho, at last, something that had been sitting in my cupboard >> for, oh, 6 years or so: 1/72 euII Kaiten suicide torpedo /../

The> Gernot - I have to ask. I have a model of the Kaiten as The> well. My version is from Paramount (at the time from Montreal The> Canada) and it's a repop of a Japanese kit, though I don't The> know whose. I bought them in about 1972. There were two other The> kits that I bought at the smae time from the same The> manufacturer, the Alvin and the Trieste. These "models" were The> rather toylike and designed for swimming pool play, with a The> motor and ballast to make the thing go up and down in the The> water. On the box side, they showed a lot of other The> submersibles, including a number being used by Jacques The> Cousteau, although I was never lucky enough to find them. The> Can you give me any history of these kits? I've check eBay The> and other sources (Hobby Link Japan) with no luck. Thanks, The> John Braungart

Helllo John, I can try, it loks interesting from a historical point of view. It might help if you tell me the scale of the Kaiten (and the other kits), at the moment I only have the year to go on. Also, what was it made of? Plastic, resin, some other compound? Let me know and I'll give it a bash in Japanese search engines.

Cheers, Gernot

Gernot - The Kaiten ~appears~ to be 1:72 (very broad +/-), the Trieste about 1:144 and the Alvin between 1:72 and 1:100 (no scales were given on the boxes, and as I said, these "models are pretty much water toys. The prop on the Kaiten is huge, to make it functional in water, and powered by a rubber band; the other two were motorized, if I remember correctly. Regards, - John

Gernot - (and anyone else interested) I just happened to remember, go to

for a look at the box art. It's the yahoo "Box Art 2" group. Regards, John

The> Gernot - (and anyone else interested) I just happened to The> remember, go to The>

The> for a look at the box art. It's the yahoo "Box Art 2" group. The> Regards, John

Thanks for the info. I've registered and am waiting for the moderator to approve me. Sounds like an interesting group to browse! History freaks are always fun to talk to :-)

While searching:

Here is what the kaiten should be used for: transporting o-sake across from one side of an onsen to another.

And here's the page you want::

Damn, I'm good - you try looking for "kaiten" and "model" (I added "motor" which was probably wise) just after a major film release on that topic! :-)

It's the last in the list on this page. Seems the Kaiten was made by Fujimi, costing 150yen at the time.

Hope that helps. Gernot

It does for the Kaiten. But not for the Cousteau models. I guess I'll have to keep on looking... Thanks for your help. -- John

Sorry couldn't find the others easily. Will give it another go.