Community > Members > Martin L (Manchester, NH) > Product Reviews
A great Value for Money kit that you can't go wrong with!
 
This kit comes with a reasonably detailed cockpit, that has a decal for the instrument panel and a decently detailed radial engine. There are options to have the undercarriage up or down, the canopy closed or open and decals for 5 different markings; I modeled one with the canopy closed and one with the canopy open. The undercarriage is sturdy and nicely detailed, too. A 8 page black and white assembly/instruction booklet is included that is clearly detailed with part numbers, decal numbers and Tamiya paint numbers. The decals are typical Tamiya which I expected to have some breaking issues with, as I have with other Tamiya kits, but fortunately, these decals went down excellently, adhering to recessed and raised details nicely. The parts are very crisp and cleanly molded with no ejector pin witness marks on visible areas, no warp, no flash and no aberrations on the clear molded parts which are also nicely molded and thin, too. The exterior surfaces of the plane come with recessed panel lines. Scores out of 10: Packaging: The kit comes in a sturdy two part box- lower and lid format, the grey sprues are packaged in one polythene bag and the clear parts are packaged in a separate clear polythene bag that is within the larger bag. The lid has nice artwork on the front and the two longer sides show two of the five different markings available, one in the IJN Green and one in the IJN grey/Green. Score: 9/10 Quality of Molded Product: 10/10 Quality of Molded Details: 9/10 Engineering Fits: I had no issues with this kit, although reading other reviewers comments, some modelers did. Everything went together well for me and no need for filler anywhere! Score: 10/10 Quality of Decals: - it's a bonus to have enough decals for 5 different markings! Score: 9/10 Quality of Instruction/Assembly Booklet: It would be much better if Tamiya included color pages for the painting and decaling sheets and provide other paint manufacturers conversion colors instead of just their own paints. Score: 8/10 Value For Money: 10/10 Enjoyment Value: 9/10 I had two of these kits and built them at the same time, finishing one in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) Green and the other in the IJN light grey/green all over color. I would recommend this kit for modelers of all skills; it's simplistic enough for the beginner to put together and also has some decent details for the more experienced modeler to take advantage of when finishing and weathering. For the price of this kit, you're getting great value for money and enjoyment in building it!