Hasegawa

1/48 J2M2 Raiden

Kit Number: 09890

Reviewed by  Michael Novosad, IPMS# 36721

MSRP: $ 44.99 Review kit courtesy of Dragon USA. Website: www.dragonmodelsusa.com History- Jiro Horikoshi was the designer for the famous Mitsubishi A6M1 Zero. This aircraft designer was called upon to design and develop a fighter-interceptor with design criteria far different from what was laid out for the Zero. Speed and rate of climb were stressed over range and maneuverability for this new aircraft. The new specification called for a single-seat, single-engine fighter-interceptor with a maximum speed of 373 mph, and a climb to 6,000 m in less than 5 ½ minutes. Armament was to be identical to the A6M2, but for the first time armor protection for the pilot was a requirement. Preliminary discussions were held in October 1938, but efforts languished for sometime while the Mitsubishi team focused its attention on the A6M1. The first flight occurred on March 20, 1942. The test pilots had several criticisms of the aircraft. The initial curved windscreen and long engine cowling created several unacceptable vision problems, especially when landing the aircraft. The J2M2 was accepted for production in October 1942, but problems with the power plant delayed the program. Teething problems continued after the aircraft was made operational. The J2M3 Model 21 became the major production model with 260 aircraft of this model manufactured and delivered. All series aircraft were plagued with complaints by the pilots of poor visibility. A revised canopy design was under development when the war ended. A small number of Raidens were stationed in the Philippines, but the majority served in the defense of the Home Islands. Captured Raidens were later flown by the Indonesian and Korean air forces after the war. A surviving J2M3 is on display at the Planes of Fame museum in Chino, California.

The Kit The box contents are bagged in a single baggie for the plastic parts, while the decals and clear parts are separately bagged. Four poly caps are also included. The kit itself is molded in a medium grey plastic, with crisp detail typical of the recent Hasegawa efforts. There are approximately 80 parts in this kit, with three poly caps and two plastic parts noted "not for use" in the kit. Not using the bombs raised the "not for use" count by another 12 parts. Fine engraved panel lines are featured throughout.

The cockpit is a multi-part assembly that appears to offer fine detail, and should look quite acceptable after painting. There were several raised ejector pin marks on the floor and side walls. The seat appears to be somewhat thick and could use some thinning or replacement for a more scale appearance. Seatbelts need to be added if the modeler so desires. The instrument panel has raised and recessed details, with a full decal of instrument panel face and dials. A set of rudder bars is also provided. The fuselage sides have rectangular recesses molded in for the cockpit assembly to fit into. Two propellers are included: "standard" and "high performance". The instructions note that the modeler may pick which ever suits their requirements. A pair of bombs may be installed, and mounting opening must be drilled out in the wing bottom surfaces. None of the references that I have reflect bombs mounted on the Raiden, but the inclusion of these weapons will allow the modeler some artistic license.

The wheel wells are molded as part of the lower wing, and include fine detail. The cannon barrels fit into receptacles in the wing leading edges with internal stops to set the correct barrel length. The landing gear appears quite stout and adequate for this model. There were some raised ejector pin marks on the main gear doors. The wheel hubs include nice detail. The instructions are typical Hasegawa in the fold-out format of eight pages. The assembly instructions are shown on three pages, with 11 steps of assembly suggested. The sprue and parts breakdown is shown on the fourth page, with each part being numbered. A list of paints and colors is also included. Three aircraft are shown in right- and left-hand profiles. Top and bottom plan views are included for generic marking. The leading edges' yellow identification markings need to be painted. The canopy and windscreen are a single molding, and would require careful cutting for an open display of the cockpit. An armored glass panel is also included for mounting behind the gun sight. Wingtip and tail navigation lights are provided as clear parts. The top of the clear canopy for my sample was slightly marred but a gentle buffing and a dip in Future completely eliminated the defect.

There are marking for three green over grey aircraft, with the only differences being the tail codes and some stenciling. Construction Aftermarket Accessories-I enjoy adding aftermarket accessories to my project, and this effort would be no different. I decided to use the Eduard photo etch set number FE117, Eduard canopy mask, the Squadron vacuform canopy and True Details wheels. But…………read on. Fuselage- The cockpit consists of floor, sidewalls, seat, front and rear bulkheads and the instrument panel, along with several levers. The assembly will fit into tabs on either side of the fuselage halves, which are then fitted together. I built the cockpit per instructions except that I left off the sidewalls until everything was painted with detail painting added. The mounting tab on part J7 (seat adjustment lever) was a tight fit, but after some minor trimming fit in place perfectly. The instrument panel features raised detail for the dials and controls. A decal is provided for the instrument panel. The dials are quite nicely represented. While waiting for the aftermarket order to arrive, I decided to build the kit cockpit and started by painting the panel flat black, lightly dry-brushed the surface with Silver Rub-n-Buff, then placed a spot of Future within each dial face to act as a smooth base for the dial decals. I used a punch and die set to punch out each dial face which was then placed in the appropriate location. Once dry, another spot of Future was applied to create the clear glass dial faces. I was quite pleased with the results. Hmmmm. After this work was finished the Eduard PE set arrived. I then decided to hold the Eduard set for another build. In my opinion the Hasegawa instrument panel is more than adequate and need not be replaced with the Eduard set. I was hoping to be able to slide the cockpit tub into place from the bottom after the fuselage halves were fixed together and seams sanded smooth. A test fit revealed this would not be possible, so I followed the instructions. Care was required to fit the cockpit assembly into the right fuselage half. I placed a few drops of solvent where the floor met the side wall tabs and held everything in place with masking tape until the joint hardened. Once the installation was firm I fitted the left side of the fuselage in place and with some minor tweaking everything fit. The horizontal stabilizer fit into slots. A test fit revealed a minor step between the top surface of the stabilizers and the fuselage flair. I slightly oversized the mounting slots with a hobby knife, applied solvent and fitted the stabilizers in place. An improved fit was the result. Wings- The wing assembly consists of the bottom surface, the two top surfaces and a small wheel well plug. Everything fit nicely. The wingtips have small notches for the installation of clear parts representing the navigation lights. A two-part fuel tank is included for mounting between the wheel wells. The two connector pipes on my tank were broken off by my carelessness, and would be replaced with lead cord after painting. Engine- There is no engine! The cooling fan and vane assembly would have concealed the engine if provided with the kit. Based on the paint scheme that I planned, the cowling was left off for painting later.. Landing Gear The landing gear struts are single pieces for each side and include fine detail. The gear doors have three parts per side. Installing the three doors per side was a bit fiddly, but with some care fit in place nicely. Patience, a sharp eye, and a steady hand are in order for this task. Clear Parts I originally intended to replace the kit canopy with a vacuform, but soon changed my mind with the fine quality of the kit part. As noted above, the canopy was slightly marred. A dip in Future eliminated the mar and further enhanced the crisply molded canopy. When I test fit the canopy to the fuselage I discovered a very noticeable gap between the antenna mount and the center section. This was filled with white glue that hardened nicely and filled the gap. Eduard masks were used for the clear areas of the canopy. I did not install the clear wing tip navigation lights until after the model was painted. This was a mistake!! The parts were a bit too large for the molded-in notches. I used white glue to build up the clear lens, then applied Tamiya clear red and green. Weapons- Although the kit includes two wing-mounted bombs I did not use them as I considered the Raiden to be a pure interceptor. I did find references that showed the Raiden could be armed with 2-60 kg. bombs, but no images to support this. Finishing/Painting I decided to finish this model with a more colorful scheme that I found during an Internet search. I first primed the assembled model with Rustoleum Painter's Choice white, sandable primer. All panel lines were pre-shaded with a blend of Tamiya flat black and red/brown. The yellow wing leading edges, engine cooling flaps and vertical stabilizer tip were painted with a blend of Tamiya flat yellow and flat red. Once the yellow had dried it was masked and the Tamiya IJN navy grey and IJN Green were airbrushed onto the underside and topside respectively. Once the paint had dried overnight, all masks were removed and four coats of Future were applied over a period of 24 hours, and another 24 hours elapsed before I applied the decals. All kit decals were used in this build except for the tail codes. The decals were dipped in room temperature water and in less than a minute could be applied to the model's surface. MicroSet was used to place each decal, and a makeup Q-tip was used to stroke the excess water from below the decal. As I stroked the decals from center to edge, the decals began to snuggle down into the finely recessed panel lines. Only one decal ripped slightly, while all others laid down almost perfectly. MicroSol was carefully brushed onto each decal, taking care not to wet the adjacent areas. The decals reacted well to the MicroSet and MicroSol. I did notice that sometimes the edge clear film and white surround on the Hinomarus would bridge panel lines. Each was cut with a sharp No 11 knife blade. Once the decals had thoroughly dried, a thin application of Gunze Sangyo satin finish was applied to seal everything in place. The engine exhausts are made up of four small stacks per side. I left the parts on the sprue and airbrushed the flat black, then carefully removed each part, fixing each to the stick side of a piece of masking tape applied to a craft stick. The parts were them airbrushed with flat black again. It is unfortunate that the attachment points are located on the outer surface of the stacks, but careful handling and cleanup eliminated the spur. If any parts are to be lost during this build one or more of the exhaust stacks would be it!! Conclusion While doing an Internet search for additional information on the Raiden, I had a sense of deja vu when I compared the Hasegawa box art with that of the old Tamiya box art. They are almost identical. This model builds easily out of the box, without the need for aftermarket parts. I planned to use several aftermarket accessories as part of this project, but as the work progressed I soon realized the high quality of the kit negated the need for the upgrades. I somewhat regret my initial decision to purchase the aftermarket accessories, but most likely will use them on a future Raiden project. The quality of the kit parts is such that there is no need for aftermarket accessories for most modelers, which is a tribute to the Hasegawa quality of this kit. I do recommend the use of pre-cut masks only because I am never happy with my results when using tape. I found no significant problems with the kit, and the finished product will result in a very nice representation of a Japanese naval fighter/interceptor. I was very impressed with this kit and the molding and engineering of the parts. This is kit is highly recommended. Many thanks to IPMS/USA and Hasegawa for the opportunity to test my skills on this project.