Model Art Co, Ltd

Modeler's Handbook of Japanese Airplanes 3 The Japanese Fighters

Reviewed By  Phil Peterson, IPMS# 8739

MSRP: 2,000 Yen This looks like a very interesting read, if you can read Japanese. Since I can't, I have to rely on the photos and in this regard, Model Art delivers some excellent photography. As the title states, the book covers most of the Japanese single engine fighters used during WWII. Most of the builds are in 1/48th scale with only 1 in 1/32nd and 1 in 1/72nd. The first build is the lovely Tamiya Zero in 1/32nd scale. There are 120 step-by-step photos which include details of painting the interior, wiring the engine and adding some other details. While the pictures are great, I really wish they would include some type of English translation as I would love to know exactly what is being done. The next builds are all in 1/48th scale starting with the Hasagawa George. This one has 24 drawings showing some of the techniques used on the kit followed by some pictures of the completed build. The drawings are nicely detailed and I can pretty much follow what is being done. There is another build of the same kit that only has 2 pages and 2 pictures showing off different markings. This is pretty much all text. Another 2 page article covers the Hasagawa Jack and again, you pretty much need to be able to read Japanese to get much out of this one. Next is the Fine Molds Sam. This one includes 24 pictures detailing the painting of the standard Green over Grey scheme. The next few articles don't cover building kits. The first one seems to be a little history showing a couple of pictures of US aircraft the Japanese fought. Again, need to be able to read this one to know what is going on. Ever wonder what the Japanese naval pilot's ate? Me neither but that is the title of the next article which includes drawings and pictures of the food, labels and containers that were used. Why did I never learn to read Japanese? When I was younger, the dramatic box art used to help me decide which kit I was going to plunk down my allowance money on. The next story shows some nostalgic box art. There is a 1/50th Tamiya Jack, several 72nd kits by Aoshima, some Otaki, Nichimo and even Revell. But my favorite has got to be the Midori 1/28th (that is not a misprint) Ki-61 Hein Tony with "Propeller turn round and round. And taxiing. The point of main planes is light by electricity." Thank goodness for these helpful bits of information. Another history lesson follows with a write up of all the single engine fighters used by the Navy and Army. No pictures are included. Back to plastic with 2 pagers on the Fine Molds Oscar, Hasagawa Tojo and Tony. These are followed by another 24 step build of the Hasagawa Frank detailing the natural metal finish using Alclad II. The last page of this is a 3 view color drawing showing the locations of the different aluminum shades. One more Tony rounds out the 48th scale kits. This time the Hasagawa radial engined version gets only 1 page of coverage. The last build is the RS Model 1/72nd scale Ki94-II. This one gets 18 pictures showing the build and some problem areas (at least I think that is what they are showing) to watch out for. While Model Art gives you some great pictures to look at regarding these builds, knowing Japanese is really necessary to get the full value out of this book. That being said, the detail pictures and interesting paint schemes on Japanese aircraft can definitely help you detailing your Japanese fighters. I want to thank Model Art for supplying the book. Make sure you check out their site at www.modelart.jp/english/ .

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