Hasegawa

1/48 TA-4J Skyhawk

Kit Number: PT43

Reviewed by  Ed Kinney, IPMS# 2989

MSRP: $57.65 Review Sample Provided by Dragon Models USA: www.dragonmodelsusa.com It's really good to see the manufactures beginning to gravitate to Navy training aircraft as subject choices, and it doesn't take much inspection to make the decision that this offering is truly the definitive TA-4J. Molded in light grey plastic on seven trees and one clear, I found it to be completely flash free and without sink marks anywhere. One can see from the "get go" that other versions are planned for this kit, based on the extra parts included. Further examination quickly reminds me why I work, as a rule, with the larger scale. Numerous really tiny parts are included, some of which were "tweezer launched" during installation to be devoured by the carpet monster. Damn! - I hate it when that happens! The catapult bridle hooks are gone forever. Oh well…as to the build, the engineering of the kit is outstanding and no fit issues of any kind were encountered. In point of fact, the model was ready for paint in about 3 days. Many of the parts (gear doors, speed brakes and the like were painted separately and attached with cyano acrylic cement when dry. The clear parts are absolutely beautiful…very thin and crystal clear with engraved detail. I had ordered an Eduard Masking Set which fit perfectly and I highly recommend the use of these masking sets when available. The cockpit tub and instrument panels have molded detail and the modeler is given the choice to either carefully brush paint the details or to use the kit decals which are also very well done. I opted to use the brushing techniques for the switch panels and to use the panel decals for the instrument faces. The results are pleasing although if you are really good with the small pointed brush work, you may wish to go that route. I used a set of aftermarket seats from True Details, but discovered that they had to be trimmed to fit into the tub. Extra work, but they look fine to me. The landing gears are multipart affairs, very nicely done, with the only negative being the fact that the nose wheel is molded to the strut in one piece, similar to the entire Hasegawa A-4 lineup. Not really a big deal, but unusual for this manufacturer. Options include flaps down or retracted, speed boards and canopy open or closed. My personal experience is that it's easier to leave a panel open than to try to make it fit flush when it might not. The wheel well details are outstanding and take a light grey wash well, as did the rest of the aircraft. On the underside, 5 pylons with anti-sway braces are included and a set of under wing tanks. I opted to use the tanks only, as images show. The kit decals include 2 options. First is an absolutely gorgeous blue and white aircraft from VC-1, and a red/orange over white bird from VT-7. Both are colorful choices, but I also had the "Hard Corps Scooters" decal sheet previously reviewed here and discovered an overall white aircraft with bright green and yellow trim that I thought was unusual. This scheme was from H&MS-42, October, 1975. These decals, printed by Cartograf, are excellent and very thin which made the mating of the fuselage band that goes over and around the fixed rear sections of the canopy difficult to say the least. I managed to tear this portion several times and had to mix a matching green touchup paint to make the repairs. Just a word of caution when using Cartograf decals…when sliding off the backing sheets, they tend to stay where they've landed and repeated positioning will surely result in tearing of the decal. Further, do NOT use any setting solutions 'til the decal is exactly where you want it. I have found that it's helpful to use a very light solution of water with a couple drops of liquid detergent to assist in the positioning without risk of tearing them. In the case of the fuselage stripe, because of the placement over the canopy hump, I would have elected to paint the stripes rather than use decals. As they say, hind sight is always 20/20. The aircraft was sprayed with Testors gloss white, with a flat really dark grey anti-glare and cockpit section. A light grey acrylic panel line wash was used, and after removal, the machine was sprayed with Floquils' clear flat, which is actually a misnomer, in that, it produces a beautiful satin finish. Very light application of light grey pastel chalk was used to give a "life" to the subject. Hey, everyone knows the Marines washed their aircraft once a year whether they needed it or not. Conclusion: An excellent rendition of an attractive aircraft, well engineered and most certainly worth adding to your collection. Many thank to Hasegawa for the review sample. Most highly recommended. My thanks to Dragon Models USA for the review kit.