I am pleased to share that the Kazu Fukuda section of the Japanese Solid Model Archive has now been substantially completed.

During Mr. Fukuda's lifetime, I had the opportunity to help him, together with another supporter, upload and preserve many of his solid model construction records on a website and forum. At that time, we did not fully know how important those records would become.

Mr. Fukuda left not only completed models, but also detailed records of his making process: materials, shaping, corrections, surface preparation, painting, markings, final assembly, and even the reform of an already completed model.

I have now been able to place these records in the archive, organize them, and add some explanatory and interpretive pages.

The newly completed Fw 200 C-3 construction record is especially important. It shows how a large four-engined aircraft model gradually emerged through material cutting, trial assembly, interior work, nacelles, engines, propellers, bombs, painting, and final assembly.



For me, this is more than simply posting old model photos. It is a way of preserving the thinking, judgment, and craftsmanship behind Japanese solid model making.

I am very happy that Mr. Fukuda's records can now be read again in this form.

Japanese Solid Model Archive:
https://fine-scale.net/solidmodel/doku.php?id=en:authors:fukuda-kazu:start

Wow. Those are awesome.

Louis

Thanks, Louis.

I agree. Mr. Fukuda's models are truly awesome. In the last years of his life, he was especially determined to record his building process, not only the finished models.

That makes his work very valuable today, because we can still follow his decisions and corrections through those records.

Kenji