Airfix Ki-46-II 'Dinah' Flies Again.

The venerable Airfix Mitsubishi Ki-46-II 'Dinah' kit from 1965 flies again in a re-release this year in their 'Vintage Classics' series. The kit is unchanged except for the instructions, decal sheet and darker grey plastic - the original kit was moulded in a lighter grey plastic and the US Airfix Craft Master release in silver plastic.

With the more recent Hasegawa release (2000) and the LS kit (1975, re-released by Arii in 1995 and still intermittently available) there will probably be plenty of scorn for the re-emergence of this 61 year old Airfix kit. Personally I like it, probably due to a hefty dose of nostalgia but also because it better replicates the fine lines of the original aircraft than the more detailed Hasegawa kit. The surface detail is raised but very fine and thankfully the dreaded Airfix riveter had the day off when the mould was cut. The parts of the original kit fitted well (the main components of the Craft Master release can be dry assembled without glue) and it was an easy, relaxing build. Some care needs to be taken with the plug in wings to avoid excessive dihedral but there are no other fit issues. 

The modelling trend now seems to be for ever larger scale kits and more meticulous interior detail even when it can't be seen when the model is completed!  The Airfix Ki-46 has good interior detail for its era - a cockpit floor with integral observer's seat, separate pilot's seat, control column and instrument panel with two bulkheads, the rear incorporating a navigation table. Although the ventral camera window was included there is no camera equipment inside the cockpit but the representation of a camera moulded to the underside of the cockpit floor. Airwaves offer a photo etch set of enhanced details for the kit as AC-72-173, including extended flaps if there is patience enough to fix the 14 tiny runner attachments on each one. Still available from Hannants at £6.50. Paint suggested for the interior, including wheel wells, is Humbrol 56 Aluminium - Metallic.

Cowlings are solid with the crude 'flange' type flaps typical of Airfix kits at the time and a little too tapered without the 'swell' achieved in the LS kit. There is some very rudimentary engine detail within the cowlings but little can be seen once the props and spinners are fitted. The spinners are too long and not representative of the original but it is doubtful any aftermarket replacements will be offered for such an old kit. A set of masks for all the kit transparencies and wheels is available from UKScaleModeller at £5.75 purchasable from eBay.  

Markings options are as for the original kit with decals printed by Cartograf for Dokuritsu Hiko Dai 18 Chutai (18th Independent Flying Squadron) based in China during 1944 (shown below), but this time the unit's tiger motif is more representative than the leaping 'Esso' tiger of 1965.  Yellow leading edge IFF strips, instrument panel decal (aluminium!) and prop blade markings are also included on the sheet.

In addition a second option offers markings for a captured aircraft operated at Eglin Field, Florida in 1945 (shown above). This aircraft, c/n 2846, was captured at Hollandia, New Guinea and in September 1944 made airworthy by personnel of the 13th Bomb Squadron, 3rd Bomb Group which operated the A-20 Havoc. Red and yellow prop tip stripes for this version are included on the decal sheet. Assigned the Technical Air Intelligence Centre designation TAIC 10 it was shipped to the USA and still displaying the 13th BS insignia on its nose was test flown at NAS Anacostia, NAS Paruxent River and at Eglin Field where it was reported in April 1945, ultimate fate unknown. It seems to have been re-painted in US service but the colour remains open to interpretation. It originally had the rudder painted in the pre-war red, white and blue stripes, subsequently overpainted in a dark colour. The instruction sheet schematic shows olive drab for the rudder as well as for the elevators but in one photo the latter might just be the result of shadow.

A curious note suggests that both options were painted overall in J3 'amber grey' (to be represented by Humbrol 168 Satin Hemp) which was a Navy not an Army colour standard, the Army finish being # 1 Hairyokushoku (灰緑色 - ash green colour). Ki-46 colours as recorded on c/n 2414 were explored at the blog in April 2010  here and indeed appear similar to the Zero amber grey colour, the pale blueish grey observations possibly due to oxidisation and chalking of the surface. A report by FO Bellinger of 5 Sqn RAF from December 1942 described a Ki-46 as having under surfaces of a pale duck egg blue with upper surfaces of a little darker blue, perhaps inspiring the 1978 Airfix re-release suggestion for an 81st Sentai aircraft to be finished in Airfix M8 Duck Egg Blue.   

The Mitsubishi painting process for the Ki-46 was rigorous with an overall primer coat of # 3 Hai ran shoku ( 灰藍色 - ash indigo colour) a dark blue grey, also applied to all interior spaces including cockpit, followed by a mid coat of the elusive # 17 Tan Sei shoku (淡青色 - pale blue colour), not always applied, and finally several top coats of # 1, sanded and polished. Panel divisions were also puttied and sanded before painting, resulting in a very smooth surface finish. 

Previous re-releases of the Airfix Ki-46 kit were featured at the blog in December 2012 here and in November 2008  here. Still worth consideration for an undemanding weekend 'retro' build and it won't break the bank at £9.99.

Image credit: Airfix box art and colour/decals schematics © 2026 Hornby Hobbies Ltd; Airwaves photo-etch image © 2026 H G Hannant Ltd; Mask set image © 2026 UKScalemodeller.     

Kawasaki Army Type Otsu 1 (Salmson 2A2) in 1/72 by Rob Ronconi

The first of two more 1/72 scale biplane masterpieces from the miniature aerodrome of Rob Ronconi. The Salmson 2A2 was a reconnaissance and light bomber aircraft designed in France during the First World War. The Salmson saw effective use in French service and also with air units of the American expeditionary force where it came to the attention of Japanese army observers. It could hold its own against enemy fighters too with several American pilots and observer/gunners becoming aces on the type.

After the war the Salmson was taken to Japan with the French military mission (Mission Française d'Aéronautique) of 1919. Kawasaki had acquired manufacturing rights for the aircraft and Salmson's 260 hp 9Za nine cylinder, water cooled engine but in 1920 the Japanese army began manufacturing a copy of the aircraft at their Tokorozawa depot in the pretext of repairing the imported aircraft. Following a protest by Salmsom Kawasaki mediated and manufacturing rights were established with the Army designating the aircraft the Type Otsu 1 Reconnaissance Aircraft and formally accepting it into service in December 1921. Two protoypes had been produced, one from Army parts and the other by Kawasaki from scratch. Kawasaki and the Army then collaborated to manufacture 300 aircraft before production ceased in August 1927. The first 56 were built with imported engines but the remainder with Kawasaki engines.

The Type Otsu 1 saw active and useful service over Siberia in October 1922 and during the Manchurian and Shanghai incidents, performing a diverse range of sorties from the original reconnaissance to include bombing, artillery liaison and supply drops. The Type 1 Otsu continued in Army service until 1933 when the Type 88 Reconnaissance Aircraft (Kawasaki KDA-2) replaced it. The Army adopted the Hai Ryoku Shoku (Ash Green Colour) as a standard overall finish for its aircraft from 1922, incorporated into the Army Aircraft Material Temporary Standards in March 1924 and revised in October 1927. 

With special thanks to Rob for sharing these images of his excellent model built from the Kovozávody Prostějov kit.

Image credit: All model photos © 2026 Rob Ronconi; Colour schematic © 2023 Aviation of Japan

New A6M2b Zero kits from Fine Molds in 1/48

Fine Molds are due to release two new A6M2b Zero kits in 1/48 scale. This month IJN Carrier Fighter Zero Model 21 (Mitsubishi early production) 'Aircraft carrier Akagi', Two schemes for Lt Cdr Shigeru Itaya (A1-155) and his wingman NAP 1/c Shinaji Iwama (A1-153). 

Fine Molds write about this new kit as follows:-

While we currently sell the Zero Fighter Type 52 series, for the development of this Zero Fighter Type 21, we redesigned and developed almost the entire model, including the wings, forward fuselage, cowling, first canopy, and vertical stabilizer (rudder), using new molds. Features of the kit include the ability to choose between folded and unfolded wingtips, separate parts for the canopy frame and glass, and a slide mold for the rear fuselage, ensuring ease of assembly. Furthermore, while there are differences in the ailerons of the actual aircraft depending on the manufacturing lot, this kit reproduces the early Mitsubishi-made type (up to aircraft number 326) equipped with a protruding mass balance.

For release in August A6M2b Zero (Nakajima production) 'Air Battle Over the Solomons'. Two interesting field camouflaged schemes from the 2nd Carrier Division at Buin airfield in April 1943, 2-2-103 and 2-1-128, and X2-113 of 202 Ku at Kendari airfield, Celebes in 1943 (attacks against Darwin).

Fine Molds write about this kit as follows:-

About the Type 21 Zero Carrier-Based Fighter (Nakajima-built)

The Type 21 Zero—the early production variant of the "Zero Carrier-Based Fighter"— performed remarkably during the opening stages of the war. It also saw intense action during 'Operation I-Go,' an air campaign conducted in the Solomon and New Guinea theatres. This operation took place from 7th to 15th April 1943, involving joint sorties by land-based air units and aircraft from the carriers Zuikaku, Jun'yō  and Hiyō. Since Mitsubishi had already ceased production of the Type 21 in June 1942, it is believed that the majority of the Type 21 Zeros participating in this operation were manufactured by Nakajima.

Kit Details

Nakajima Aircraft began mass production of the Zero in November 1941. Nakajima-built units are characterized by a spinner that is more pointed than the Mitsubishi version; additionally, due to the timing of their manufacture, they lack the protruding mass balances on the ailerons. While the airframe paint scheme was initially the same as that of Mitsubishi-built aircraft, Nakajima built planes began featuring a white border around the fuselage 'hinomaru' (red circle insignia) starting around the summer of 1942.

This kit accurately reproduces these manufacturer-specific differences; the canopy frame and transparent sections are molded as separate parts, and the rear fuselage is a single piece created using a slide mold. Markings are included to replicate aircraft from the carriers Jun'yō and Hiyō, as well as an aircraft from the 202nd Air Group finished in the characteristic 'light grey-green' (ame-iro) color.

PS The newly announced 1/48 scale Ki-32 kit from Classic Resin Airframes is resin with 3D printed details and Hannants are showing it as a future release for £159.99! 

Image credit: All © 2026 Fine Molds

Kawanishi N1K2-J Shiden-kai in 1/48 scale

Ronnie Olsthoorn is an accomplished and skilled 3D artist who has collaborated with me on Osprey projects and contributed far more than just the cover art, profiles and plans. Here he demonstrates an equal skill in model making too with his N1K2-J Shiden-kai made from the original 1/48 Hasegawa kit. Over to Ronnie then:-

'This is my finished Hasegawa 1/48 Kawanishi N1K2-J Shiden-kai ('George'). This model was started way back in 1997 and this kit is still made from the original 1980 mould, with raised panel lines and all. Despite its age this is a decent kit and it went together without fuss and minimal putty.

Noteworthy modifications to the kit are:

• resin wheels (which were included in the kit);
• seatbelts from scratch (I think I used foil from a wine bottle, but this was back in 1997 so I am not sure...);
• navigations lights cut off and replaced with clear sprue leftovers, sanded to shape
• all raised panel lines were re-scribed (also done back in 1997/1998);
• fully riveted;
• stressed skin effect added by taping off all rivet lines and fabric and detail areas, spraying a thick coat of Mr Surfacer, and then sanding this back to smooth out the edges;
• upper fuselage inspection window drilled out and filled with clear UV resin;
• typical details added like an EZ-Line aerial wire, copper wire brake lines, drilled out the exhausts pipes and clear plastic sheet gunsight glass;
• custom colour scheme markings cut out with a Silhouette plotter. (The only kit decals used are the fuselage data stencil and an inspection hatch inside the chin air intake, which both went down beautifully despite being 30 years old);
• lastly a quartet of Luminaero 20mm cannon barrels replaced the horribly thick sticks provided in the kit.

Back in the 1990s all Japanese aircraft supposedly had aotake cockpits, so that's what I did back then. With oil washes I tried to bring it more in line with the grey-green upper cockpit decking. Instrument dials were painted with a needle. All exterior painting was done in recent years. The plane was primed with Mr Surfacer and sprayed in Mr Hobby SM208 Super Duralumin with my 1990s-vintage (and surprisingly good) Badger 150, while the top camouflage is Tamiya XF-11 J.N. Green, with the markings in X-7 Red and Mr Hobby H24 Orange Yellow.

Some historical notes: the 343rd Kokutai was the only user of the N1K2-J with the later narrow-chord vertical fin, so my choice of colour schemes was very limited and I chose 343-37/A as I'd never seen it done before. Note that the no-step flap area warning stripes are done in aluminium paint and not in red. This was standard Kawanishi practice and literally all N1K/N1K1-J/N1K2-J decals sheets are wrong in providing these in red colour! (Thank you Nick and also Taizou Nakamura for pointing this out). Also, the gear oleo pressure indicator stencil on the wheeldoor was red-blue-red and not "traffic light" style red-yellow-blue, as usually given in decal sheets.

I finally completed the model on New Years Eve. More could still be improved, but I'm calling this done and move on with an Eduard 1/48 A6M2, which has been in the works for some time.'

With special thanks to Ronnie for sharing these images of his superb and convincing Shiden-kai model with Aviation of Japan.

Image creditL All © 2026 Ronnie Olsthoorn. 

Tojo, Jack and Shiragiku Kits in 1/72 Scale

Sword have (re-)released a 1/72 scale Nakajima Ki-44-II Shoki 'Tojo' kit with two markings options (shown above), containing PUR parts for the engine and pilot seat, with masks, retailing at £17.99 in UK. Also three Mitsubishi Raiden 'Jack' variants in the same scale and same price, with PUR cockpit details. 

Additional images of kit parts and decals: SW72158 J2M2 here, SW72160 J2M3 here; SW72161 J2M5/6 here.

Kovozavody Prostejov have announced a new 1/72 scale kit of the Kyūshū K11W Shiragiku IJN crew trainer. Rather than one kit with three scheme options it appears to be three kits depicting different schemes. 

No price given yet or whether each kit offers additional schemes and markings options but a very welcome release of a long neglected type.

Image credit: © 2026 Sword and Kovozavody Prostejov

Pete Quartet For Sale!

Not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR surviving Mitsubishi F1M2 'Pete' airframes for sale from Classic Aircraft Sales Ltd.! Hat tip to Chad Atkins  for this astonishing news, who discovered it whilst looking for internal details for a potential Hasegawa Pete build project  

 

And to round off this Pete presentation here is a look at an early Hasegawa version - in 1/75 scale circa 1965!

This simple kit is moulded in green plastic with scribed engine detail on the cowling face and no cockpit detail. Two head and shoulders crewmen mouldings plug into the cockpit apertures. The underwing bombs shown on the box art are not included. The small decal sheet has six hinomaru, four with white borders, the red and white warning band for the main float and alternative tail codes for 'P3-18' and 'RI-15'. 

Thanks to Chad for alerting to this sale.

Image credits: Photos © 2025  Classic Aircraft Sales Ltd.; Box art and instruction sheet © 1965 Hasegawa Corp.

Ginga Night Fighter by Felix Gossler

Felix Gossler has kindly shared images of his Ginga model, representing YoD-181 of 302 Ku's 2nd Hikotai as a so-called Type 21 mentioned here. Felix has set the model on a well crafted display base featuring ground crew figures re-painting the Hinomaru which provides a real sense of scale for this elegant night fighting twin.

With special thanks to Felix for sharing these excellent images. 

Image credit: All © 2025 Felix Gossler  

It's Christmas Day

With best wishes for the Christmas season and New Year  to all Aviation of Japan readers and contributors. Thank you all and special thanks to those kind souls who have reached out to ask about this Blogger's health and well being. Still here, just moving ever more slowly!

Image credit:  Clearing After a Snowfall on Mount Fuji (Taganoura Beach) 1932, Kawase Hasui 川瀬 巴水 (1883-1957)  

A Rare Survivor

A tip of the seasonal hat to Andrew Young for very kindly sharing these links featuring a rare surviving tail fin and rudder in original paint from a Nakajima C6N Saiun 'Myrt' 21-101 of 121 Ku captured on Tinian. The article C6N Saiun Tail presents a comprehensive selection of large and clear photographs of the tail including close-ups and also features the left hand tailplane of Mitsubishi A6M2 c/n 2666 Hōkoku 515 (Hiroshima Prefecture Industrial and Source Branch) with a link to the website of Mr Taizo Nakamura  detailing this Zero and discussing its colour scheme. The Saiun article notes that this shows that the Zero fighter was not 'amber colored' but a completely achromatic gray.

Photographs of Saiun 21-101 at the time of its capture were published in Bunrin-Do's Famous Airplanes of the World No.82 in February 1977, demonstrating without doubt that the paint scheme is original. A link to Misawa Aviation & Science Museum also features further photographs of the artefact whilst a link to a NewsOnline article tells the story of its survival and acquisition (cut and paste the Japanese text into Google Translate to get the gist). 

With special thanks to Andrew for the links. 

Image credit: via links above and FAOW cover © 1977 Bunrin-Do.

Japanese Submarine Aircraft - Book Review

In the 1960s the imported Japanese Aoshima kits of IJN floatplanes were a revelation and wonder - Shiun ('Norm') 紫雲,   Zuiun 瑞雲 ('Paul') - and Seiran 晴嵐 - a floatplane carried in a submarine. Not some fragile, dinky design but more like a Judy on floats, powered by an Aichi inline engine.

Aoshima Seiran 1964

In 2002 MMP (Stratus) published Japanese Submarine Aircraft by Tadeusz Januszewki in their Red Series, a 128 page soft cover slightly larger than digest size, shown below. This presented details in text, plans and photos of six submarine carried floatplanes together with the proposed catapult launched Kugisho Ohka Model 43 Ko. Appendices included a list of submarines, 14 pages of colour profiles and 17 pages of colour photos, inside and out, of the surviving Seiran at the NASM Garber facility.

Now this new 2025 publication, shown at heading, authored by Ryusuke Ishiguro and Tadeusz Januszewki, a near A4 sized, 176 page hardcover with laminated boards and a splendid cover illustration of Seiran by Tomasz Kaca, takes a deeper dive into the subject. The two publications compliment rather than duplicate each other, for example the new book does not include the NASM 'walk around' photos of Seiran but provides more details of development history and, importantly, operations, hitherto unknown or shrouded in much confusion and mystery. The contents are as follows:-

Chapter 1

• Japanese Experience with Submarine Aircraft
• Operational Strategy
• Pacific War: Reconnaissance Operations over Pearl Harbor
• Operational Activity of Submarine I-25and its Reconnaissance Seaplane
• Reconnaissance Flight over Sydney Harbor on 17 February 1942
• Reconnaissance Flight over Melbourne and Port Phillip Bay on 26 February 1942
• Reconnaissance Flight over Hobart and Tasmania on 1 March 1942
• Operational Activities of the 8th Submarine Squadron
• Reconnaissance Flight over Sydney on 23 May 1942
• Reconnaissance Flight over Sydney on 19 February 1943
• Flights over the Indian Ocean
•  Collaboration with the Kreigsmarine in the Indian Ocean
• Kugisho E14Y1 Seaplane in the Far North
• Bombing Attack on US Territory
• The Most Probable Course of Nobuo Fujita's First Bombing Flight
• Submarine Transport Missions to Germany - Operation Yanagi
• Submarine Aircraft Carriers Against the United States
• Project Sen-Toku
• Sen-Toku ClassSubmarine Aircraft Carriers
• Armament of Sen-Toku Class Submarines
• Junsen Ko-Gata Kai Class Submarine Aircraft Carriers
• Combat Operations of Sen-Toku Submarines: attack on the Panama Canal
• Combat Operations of Sen-Toku Class Submarines:
• Final Departure
• Capitulation
• Biological Weapons and Sen-Toku Class Submarines

Chapter 2

• Yokosho 1-Go
• Yokosho 2-Go (E6Y1)
• Watanabe E9W1 (Slim)
• Kugisho E14Y (Glen)
• E14Y2 Model 12 Development Version
• Watanabe E14W1 
• Aichi M6A Seiran/Nanzan
• Kugisho Ohka 43 Ko-Gata
• Kawanishi Baika

Chapter 3

• Japanese Submarine Aircraft Carriers

Bibliography

As may be seen Chapter 1 is a densely packed collection of sub-headings, rich in data and complimented by rare and good sized photos, including a Hinomaru adorned Arado Ar 196, plus relevant maps,

Chapter 2 covers the various aircraft types, again with rare photos, plans in 1/72 or 1/48 scale, colour profiles and some colour plan views, although there is some inconsistency over the infamous IJN 'orange' or 'orange yellow' hue! That is a minor quibble against a fine presentation of colour schemes and markings. The different markings of 'Glen' and Seiran are of special interest, including the latter floatless, stripped of paint and wearing spurious US markings. The pilot Ensign Takahashi thought this was a violation of international law and a cowardly thing to do. In defiance he painted the symbol of an arrow piercing a heart on the spinner with the characters for 'One hit, one kill'.  This chapter should inspire a few models although, sadly and despite abundant data, a mainstream, injection moulded, 1/48 scale 'Glen' kit has not so far appeared. In 1/72 scale a decent kit of 'Glen', complete with catapult launching rail, was released by Fujimi in 1997 and was re-released by Hobby2000 in 2020. Whilst Tamiya offers excellent kits of Seiran in 1/72 and 1/48 scale, and Nanzan in 1/72 scale.   

Chapter 3 presents the details of the submarines with histories, technical data, side view plans and photos, including a couple in colour or colorised.

The Bibliography is comprehensive and impressive.

This book is a tour de force and I expect it to be the last word on the subject in the English language. Tadeusz Januszewski and Ryusuke Ishiguro's research is meticulous and the data they present fulsome and fascinating. They are the authors of previously impressive books on Japanese Special Attack Aircraft and Flying Bombs, Japanese Anti-Submarine Aircraft of the Pacific War and a monograph on the Kugisho 'Glen', all by the same publisher.

With special thanks to Ryusuke and MMP Books for the review copy of the book, a delight to read.

Image credit: Book covers © 2002 and 2025 MMP Books: Box art © 1964 Aoshima