There are certain iconic aircraft from the Pacific War. One of them is the Aichi D3A or 愛知99式艦上爆撃機 (pronounced - aichi-kyū-kyū-shiki-kanjō-bakugeki-ki)., Known as a “Kanbaku”for short by the Japanese, it was called by its code name “Val” by the Allies. The D3A was the first Japanese aircraft to bomb American targets in World War II with its participation in the Pearl Harbor attack. Some sources credit the Val with sinking more Allied warships than any other Japanese aircraft.
Zenji Abe in front of his Val shortly after the Hawaii Operation
This Val represents the aircraft crewed by pilot PO2c Gen Goto and radioman/gunner PO2c Michiji Utsugi from the carrier Akagi. Goto was part of the second wave of the attack assigned to neutralize the Marine air station at Ewa on the southwest shore of Oahu. They were the wingmen of Lieutenant Commander Zenji Abe, commander of the dive bomber forces in the second wave (Chiaki Saito, radio operator/gunner). During the attack Abe and Goto were attacked by 2LTs Kenneth Taylor and George Welch, based out of Haliewa Fighter Strip on Oahu’s north shore. During the attack Welch made a pass at Goto’s airplane and was hit by Utsugi’s rear facing 7.7mm machine gun. As Welch broke off the attack Taylor pressed home the attack wounding Utsugi and forcing Goto to make a crash landing close to the beach east of Barber’s Point.
Goto pulled Utsugi from the wreckage and swam to the beach. It’s unknown whether Utsugi died in the crash or after. In any event, Goto buried Utsugi in a shallow grave on the beach and made his way inland. Using both his pistol and Utugi’s he fought off members of the Hawaiian Territorial Police and units of the 55th Coastal Artillery Regiment. Goto was finally killed late in the day on 07 December after he refused to surrender, though some accounts describe him holding out until Tuesday 09 December.
Goto pulled Utsugi from the wreckage and swam to the beach. It’s unknown whether Utsugi died in the crash or after. In any event, Goto buried Utsugi in a shallow grave on the beach and made his way inland. Using both his pistol and Utugi’s he fought off members of the Hawaiian Territorial Police and units of the 55th Coastal Artillery Regiment. Goto was finally killed late in the day on 07 December after he refused to surrender, though some accounts describe him holding out until Tuesday 09 December.Photo of the inscription on the wreckage recovered neat Goto's crash site
In 1992 a beachcomber came across wreckage that had washed up on the beach near Barbers Point Naval Air Station after a Hurricane Iniki. The one by three foot long piece of twisted aluminum was painted gray on one side and metallic green on the other. A Japanese inscription was found on the green surface which read: 99 Naval Bomber / Aichi 3217. Subsequent research indicated that this wreckage was from Goto’s Val.
The Kit:
The Kit:This Val is one of the many incarnations of the Val in 1/48 scale. It was released in the 1990s and has been reboxed with new decals at least half a dozen times. Despite it’s age it is still an example of cutting edge molding technology and utilizes engineering that is just plain clever. Three are simply no fit or ejector pin mark issues with this kit. The cockpit doesn’t benefit appreciably from the addition of photo etch or resin as it is simply excellent to begin with. The canopy parts are agreeably thin and nestle in perfectly to the fuselage. 
One version of the Hasegawa Val that is long out of production is the folding wing version. Try as I might I couldn’t find one at the local hobby shop or on line so I did some research and put the folding wing tips under the saw. I used Evergreen plastic for the wing spars along with sprue and lead wire for the struts and control wires.
I used Tamiya acrylics almost exclusively to paint the model. I began by painting and masking the red national insignia and unit markings with Tamiya XF-X Flat Red, darkened just slightly with XF-1 Flat Black. The base color is Tamiya XF-76 IJN Grey Green. I post shaded this with the base color thinned and lightened with XF-2 Flat White. I then masked and painted the black cowling.
I mixed my own “aotake”, the metallic blue colour used on Japanese aircraft, by mixing X-23 Clear Blue, X-25 Clear Green and a touch of X-24 Clear Yellow. I painted the interior wing surfaces with XF-16 Aluminium first, then the “aotake” mix. 
The kit bomb benefitted greatly from some photo etch parts in the Eduard PE set. The fins were also somewhat thick so I thinned these to scale with sanding sticks. Vals only carried one 250 kg bomb on the Pearl Harbor mission. The wing racks for the smaller 60 kg bombs were taken off prior to the mission leaving only the hard points showing. I replicated these with Evergreen strip.
One version of the Hasegawa Val that is long out of production is the folding wing version. Try as I might I couldn’t find one at the local hobby shop or on line so I did some research and put the folding wing tips under the saw. I used Evergreen plastic for the wing spars along with sprue and lead wire for the struts and control wires.I used Tamiya acrylics almost exclusively to paint the model. I began by painting and masking the red national insignia and unit markings with Tamiya XF-X Flat Red, darkened just slightly with XF-1 Flat Black. The base color is Tamiya XF-76 IJN Grey Green. I post shaded this with the base color thinned and lightened with XF-2 Flat White. I then masked and painted the black cowling.I mixed my own “aotake”, the metallic blue colour used on Japanese aircraft, by mixing X-23 Clear Blue, X-25 Clear Green and a touch of X-24 Clear Yellow. I painted the interior wing surfaces with XF-16 Aluminium first, then the “aotake” mix. The kit bomb benefitted greatly from some photo etch parts in the Eduard PE set. The fins were also somewhat thick so I thinned these to scale with sanding sticks. Vals only carried one 250 kg bomb on the Pearl Harbor mission. The wing racks for the smaller 60 kg bombs were taken off prior to the mission leaving only the hard points showing. I replicated these with Evergreen strip.
After removing the positive masks for the Hi no Marus, wheels and tail stripe I began the weathering process. Japanese aircraft used in the Hawaii Operation were very well maintained but had been used during rigorous training during the summer of 1941 so some fading was called for. I used a very light wash of burnt umber and black artists oils for this. Once this had dried fully I gave the aircraft a light coat of Future to give it the very light semi-gloss look IJN aircraft had during this time period.
The only decals I used on this kit were the tail numbers. I tried a new procedure for preparing the surface and it worked wonderfully. I first buffed the flat painted surface with a tech wipe (Horizon Brand) stretched over my index finger. This smoothed the surface appreciably but did not mar the finish. I then sprayed Future Floor Wax over the buffed area. Once this was dry I applied the decals in the normal manner using Micro Set followed by Micro Sol. They not only nestled down over the detail but adhered like iron to the smooth finish.
Despite the performance advantages over anti-tank guns then in use, it turned out that no branch of the US Army wanted the new gun. The Infantry considered it too large and heavy. The other possible user, the Tank Destroyer Corps, preferred more mobile self-propelled weapons. Finally, a pressure from the head of Army Ground Forces, Gen. Lesley McNair, resulted in the gun being adopted by the TD Center.
The 640th was issued M5s in 1941 upon it’s organization in California. They took them with to the South Pacific and were still on the 640th property books when they saw action in New Georgia in 1943. No evidence that they were used in combat exists however. When the 640th left the South Pacific to participate in the campaign to take the islands of the Eastern Mandates they left the M5s behind. Subsequent to this all companies of the 640th except the Reconnaissance and Headquarters companies were equipped with M-10 tank destroyers.
The Kit:
That being said, artillery models are always tricky and I believe a true test of the model makers skill. They blend all sorts of delicate and fiddly interconnected parts which need be assembled with exacting precision otherwise the whole thing turns our askew. This kit was no exception.
I painted the base color using Tamiya XF-62 Olive Drab lightened to scale with XF-60 Dark Yellow. I then post shaded with diluted XF-57 Buff. I followed this with a wash of black artist oils cut with mineral spirits. The final weathering touch was a very light dry brush with ground pastel chalk to bring out the fine detail. I left the weathering somewhat subdued and understated on this piece since there is no evidence they were used in active service by the 640th.
The M8 performed this function with distinction. Each M8 armored car was equipped with a long-range radio set to communicate with higher headquarters and another short-range set to communicate with lateral units. The M8 weighed 16,400 lbs fully loaded and was capable of cruising 100–200 miles cross country or 200–400 miles on highways without refueling. On normal roads, it was capable of a sustained speed of 55 mph. The M8s of the 640th’s Reconnaissance Company were instrumental in racing well ahead of friendly lines during the battle to retake Luzon.
I purchased the Eduard PE set for this kit. It had some very useful parts such as the large hull ammo bin, ammo racks in the turret, brush guards and some components for the driver’s position. I also used the Archer Fine Transfers set for this kit. The numbers for the turret ring display very well through the open turret top.
I also used a fair number of tie downs from Tiger Models in the turret. These little resin beauties are inexpensive and give eye popping detail way out of proportion to their cost an effort. As with the M-10, these tie downs are very prominent on the turret.
Other than that the build is pretty much stock box. I did sand off the molded in handles on the drivers and co-driver’s hatches and replace them with stretched sprue.
I painted the base color using Tamiya XF-62 Olive Drab lightened to scale with XF-60 Dark Yellow. I then post shaded with straight Dark Yellow diluted to almost water consistency with isopropyl alcohol. 
Following this I treated the wheels and wheel wells with a sludge of mineral spirits mixed with ground pastel chalk. I applied the thick mixture so that when dry it would have the three dimensional feeling of caked on mud.
I followed this with another wash of mineral spirits mixed with the same ground pastel chalk only this time much thinner so that when dry it would have the appearance of a coat of dust, not mud. Once this was fully dry I went over it with another wash of black artist oils cut with mineral spirits. This subdued the pastel wash and gave it a deep three dimensional effect. The final weathering touch was a light dry brush with ground pastel chalk to bring out the fine detail.
The only stowage I placed on the exterior of the vehicle were some rolled tarpaulins made from rolled tech wiped stiffened with diluted white glue. I also fabricated an orange air-recognition panel from Tamiya Epoxy Putty rolled paper thin. The tie downs are lead foil.
The markings are from the Archer Dry Transfers Tank Destroyer set. One photo of 640th M-8s on Guadalcanal shows them sporting the TD branch insignia on the bumper.