Aichi D3A1 Type 99 Carrier Dive Bomber Val

Model was completed using almost no filler. Very nice fit except watch out for the upper wing-fuselage joint. Probably best to glue the top wing to each side of the fuselage and then glue on the bottom wing. This kit had really nice cockpit details and out of the box makes it possible to build a nice open canopy version. I used the kit decals and they worked very well for a very colorful, red-tailed, green over light gray scheme from the Soryu at Pearl Harbor that is provided. The kit decals included some nicely done yellow stripes to go over the red tail.

This is a very nice kit. I built the Shōkaku version. Assembly was was very good, Fit was pretty good only needed some very minor fill for wings to fuselage. The cockpit is well detailed and you have two canopy sets, one piece for closed and multiple pieces for open. The only challenging part is the landing gear. It would have been better if the gear shroud had larger alignment pins and possibly a locating pin. The wheels have a flat spot to give the look of weight on the tires. So trying to assemble the shroud and keeping the tires aligned for the flat spot can be difficult. The decals are nice. They conform to the surface and went on with no problems. I enjoyed building this and it makes a nice addition to my collection.

Overall this is a good model kit and enjoyable to build. It is a bit challenging, with a few tiny parts that will have you looking for your tweezers. Most everything fit together well, with two exceptions. The landing gear could have been done better - there was very little surface to glue the wheels to, so it took a few tries to get them in the correct position and, once the cement dried, support the weight of the model. The other challenge was with the large bomb assembly in the middle of the fuselage. You have to get the bomb rack just right to make the bomb fit in it, and there are several components. I used Tamiya spray and brush acrylics, and the finished product did look nice. This particular model doesn't have the folding wingtips of the real aircraft, but otherwise the fine detailing of the surfaces is typical of Hasegawa's quality.