Lyric, you've got a lot of reference material, but I think you need to be a little more picky with what you put up. A lot of it is wrecked aircraft out of context, non-combat cannibalized airframes, and situations where you really can't make any reasonable (reasonable, mind you - not saying it has to be absolutely clear) assumption that it was a combat aircraft.
Case in point...
The clover has been pretty well debunked at this point. It didn't exist in the Japanese Culture, so they wouldn't have painted it on their aircraft.
One of the better write-ups I've found on this (many many MANY years back -- we've even discussed it on these forums a few times) sums it up as such:
(original link long gone, using archived copy/paste)
EDIT: Examples of a ken katabami:
(Image removed from quote.)
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We have had this conversation on the clover leaf before on the forums as you have pointed out. I don't dispute the findings on the Japanese plant versus clover. One of the links I posted has the same findings. I guess I didn't explain my self enough in my other post. What I am saying now there is no plant leaf on the plane but a Raptor carrying a bomb. I have changed my mind from my previous postings in other threads about this aircraft.
Some how at some point something is askew with the photo & the drawing & the description of what the author did or didn't do is at question. Because he took the photo he drew the sketch & he wrote the description in his book that he published. He is long dead so we will never know. It was a ramming aircraft so it should not be done as a skin per the rules. I only posted it because at some point some one will want it done. Buyer beware is all I can say on the choice of this one as a skin.
Now as far as what aircraft did or didn't see combat.
Really?
Yes there is a number of wrecked & scavenged air frames but how did they get that way. Oh yeah allied pilots bombed and strafed the hell out of Japanese airfields. Did all of them take off & get into combat???
Doubt it.
Did they sit on the ground and get attacked???
Yes.
So they kind of were in a form of combat in my book. Were the Japanese running out of resources & out of desperation picked over the leftovers to piece a viable fighter together again sure.
The vast majority of every profile I have in this thread has no substantiating facts to prove they ever flew combat. Even kill markings that where placed on Japanese fighters towards wars end were done to just help with morale within the squadrons in some cases. So they are not entirely a reliable method either to confirm combat missions.
All I am doing is throwing viable options on the table for the skinners to choose from. Most documented information by the Japanese simply is not there to be found & language is a barrier that I can sort of work around on the internet. Published books not so easy to translate. Found one link in Japan where the Kamikaze pilots if they wanted could take the wife along for the ride!! Some of them did.
Hows that for devotion. If they want to skin Kamikaze aircraft that's their choice there is plenty of them in this thread.
Since a few of them are also in game I kind of wonder if that rule is even enforced.
