Mitsubishi J2M3 Raiden (Jack)

Overall a good kit, with the typical Hasegawa engineering and parts fit. Like most Hase kits, the Raiden is somewhat let down by lack of detail, although this cockpit is much better than the typically empty Hasegawa offering. The seat, instrument panel, and gunsight are well-detailed, and the cockpit really just needs a harness to be complete. Rather, the engine is the real disappointment, represented by a chunky disc with some strange protrusions sticking out. The canopy is one piece, and cannot be posed open. The kit includes a small drop tank to mount under the center fuselage. Decals are attractive, and will set down without the aid of setting solutions. The landing gear and propeller are well-detailed, but the cannons look strange, and the wheel bays are completely blank. Overall, captures the fast look of this stubby fighter with minimal putty and some level of detail.

This 1/72 scale kit comes from a very familiar Japanese modeling company called Hasegawa. A majority of the kits I’ve built from them over the years have been a hit or miss and this particular kit is a hit. The pros for this kit are as follows: There are two paint schemes to choose from and the one I did is on the cover of the box from the 352nd Naval Kokutai (Wing in Japanese) flown by Lt.Yoshihiro Aoki, Omura Naval Air Base in Nagasaki, 1945. The other one is from the 302nd Naval Kokutai, Atsugi Naval Air Base, 1945. The decals very easy to take off the paper and just as easy to apply them to the kit. The instructions were very easy to read and follow. The painting process was very good as well. The components fit extremely well with minimal sanding! The only con for this kit is that the cockpit area was very plain with no attention to detail at all. In conclusion, I give this kit a perfect rating of 5 stars out 5! Hasegawa, if you’re reading this, I like to believe that this kit is the best one I’ve worked on in recent memory. Congratulations to you all and keep up the good work!

This Hasegawa kit is fairly basic with a limited parts count. The kit comes with 2 gray parts sprues and 1 clear parts sprue. Parts are nicely molded with nice engraved panel lines. There is some flash on parts. Kit instructions have a date of 1987. Overall fit is OK with filler needed in the usual areas (wing to fuselage join, tailplanes etc). Cockpit is very basic with decals providing the instrument panel dials. There is no detail on the seat. You only have the option for a closed canopy. You do have the option for extended or retracted landing gear, and a choice of 2 different propellers. The decals were pretty nice and went down well. Some of the decals were a little translucent. Decals are provided for 2 versions. Overall a good trouble free basic kit.