Several new kits of Japanese subjects have been announced for release this year or early next year. Platz in Japan are releasing the Eduard 1/48 A6M2 in Pearl Harbor guise (above) with images suggesting they are following the latest fad/theory in terms of Zero colour, of which more anon. The kit subject is BII-120 and I have enjoyed the privilege of examining and analysing actual extant paint strata on parts from BII-124 (courtesy of Bob Alford) so will have something to say about that. The side image of the model (below) looks a little odd too.
Another A6M2 Zero kit, this time in ground pounding 1/35 scale by Border Models, is due for release in January and will feature impressive interior cockpit and engine detail together with bomb armament. The box art (above) depicts a bomb carrying A6M2 special attacker of the 5th Shichisei-tai, Kyushu, April 1945 with Genzan Ku tail code ケ-113 (the subject of one of the profiles featured in Desperate Sunset), but another of the decal subjects in the kit appears to be Tainan Ku 'V-103' shown in 'grey green' finish, of which also more anon.
FineMolds are re-releasing both their 1/48 Sam kits - A7M1 and A7M2 - whilst in December Hasegawa are re-releasing their 1/72 Mitsubishi G3M2/G3M3 'Nell'. Ordinance in the kit includes torpedoes, eight 60kg bombs, and two 250kg bombs. New decals are included for Miyazaki Ku 'Miya-302', and Hsintake Ku 'Shin-307'. Also from Hasegawa a re-release of their 1/48 scale Kawasaki Ki-61-Tei kit in Major Kobayashi garb - again - this time 'Blue 24' and 'Blue-62'.
From Mikro-Mir a 1/32 scale kit of the Yokosuka MXY7-K1 Ohka (shown above) is due which should attract interest. And finally from Kora and already available this month something more arcane in the form of 1/72 scale injection moulded kits of the Nakajima Ki-6 with Bristol Jupiter engine and Nakajima C2N1 with Kotobuki engine, but not cheap at more than £40 each.
Not new but worth mentioning here is the Ushi 1/72 resin and 3D printed kit of the IJN Experimental Interceptor Nakajima J5N Tenrai as shown below. The kit offers optional 1st to 4th prototype configurations. Basic airframe components are resin with other details 3D printed and a vacform canopy. Again not cheap at over £40.
Image credits: All © 2024 per manufacturers listed.
10 comments:
Thanks for this comprehensive list, Nick. Personal experience on the 1/48 Eduard Model 21 was very negative, I would advise people to steer clear of it's over engineered and poor fit issues.
BTW, today I saw images posted on Facebook by Fine Molds on the upcoming 1/48 Model 52 Zeroes. They look great, I see a few issues with clear part fit that I chalk up to the builder (windshield fit is off on the Nakajima version, but looks good on the Mitsubishi version). Really looking forward to those kits!
Dan
Thanks for the list, Nick. The re-release of a type 96 Rikko interests me as I missed all previous ones and the J5N1 is a dream come true - altough an expensive one! Hopefully folks at Ushi models would make the two seat version (and many other unique IJA/IJN models).
A very comprehensive list Nick, thanks.
I have to wonder: what is going on with Hasegawa? While I am always happy to see them reissue the great kits of their "twins", they've produced no new kits in 1/72nd in how long? Hmmmm :(
Thanks a lot for this Nick. Hasegawa is a huge disappointment, they keep re-releasing kits from 1990s, no new molds at all. 1/35 Border Zero is a disaster. Looks very similar to another disaster in the form of 1/48 Academy A6M2-major shape issues, absolutely horrendous control surfaces' ribbing... I beg to disagree with Dan Salamone. Eduard A6M series are good kits. Yes, cockpit is over-engineered, fiddly, so are wheel wells. The only major problem I can speak about though is wing to fuselage fit. "Something" had happened during the design and if you glue wing separately and try to fit it to the glued together fuselage you end up with insufficient dihedral and rather large gaps between top wings and fuselage. At the first attempt I had to trash the wing but on the 2nd attempt, when I glued bottom wing part first and then top parts things were fine. Regardless, there were gaps to take care off. Like I said above, 1/48 Academy A6M2 is a joke, Tamiya is too old so we have only Eduard. Yes, it could (should) have been better.
Hi Mario, Hasegawa 1/48 A6M2 kits? Their re-tooled Model 21 is currently available from HLJ for only £11.36. :-0
Hi Nick, yes, I completely forgot about 1/48 Hasegawa A6M2. Probably because I haven't built it yet. Despite its age it looks good in the box, better than new Academy. Just cockpit is very sparse. I was not aware that Hasegawa retooled it.
Indeed, The Kora Nakajima Ki-6 kit is very tempting … In the past, Kora kits have proved to be a bit daunting at the workbench. I might still have to try and give this one a shot as it’s such a unique subject
Thanks for the notice Nick !
Tamiya's 1/48 A6M2 is a 51 year old classic but still looks the part. It can be built and enjoyed for its own sake and was last on sale at HLJ for only £7.82. If completed Tamiya, Hasegawa and Eduard A6M2 models were to be set side by side in a single image most people would probably be hard pressed to tell them apart. The current trend is for incorporating more internal structural detail that can complicate ease of build and which won't all be seen when the model is completed. It's a matter of choice. Some modellers may delight in working on highly detailed interiors as an exercise in satisfaction even though it disappears whilst others may want to get to the painting and decalling stage as quickly and as trouble free as possible. Personally I'm glad that some of the older classics are still made available and are often cheaper. But sadly some worthy kits, like the Nichimo 1/48 Ki-43-I, seem to have disappeared. There are also now wonderful decal sets like those reviewed here at AoJ that allow older models to be dressed up.
Thank you for the news, Nick. Not much in 1/72 but I am happy Hasegawa re-released the G3M with more interesting markings than their latest Japanese big twins, which were exercises in boredom.
After Dan and Mario's comments on Eduard's A6M I hope they correct the issues if they ever release them in 1/72. Not that I need them, the Tamiya ones are little gems and more than enough for me. I could do with more modern versions of A6M2-N and specially -K, though.
Are the Border kits any good? A buddy picked up the Border B5N "Kate" (w/section of carrier deck and command island? -the proper name escapes me at the moment) and it looks exceptional "in-the-box" even includes small lights to light up the carrier bits.
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