From: "Submissions for ARC" To: "Dave Johnson" References: <4C6458A2.4000301@wingnutfilms.co.nz> Subject: Re: HLJ - Special Hobby,,1/32 A5M2b Claude 'Over China" Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:08:06 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Unsent: 1 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3664 Hi, I just wanted to let you know your article went on ARC today. Thanks again for sending it in. Steve Bamford Aircraft Resource Center http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com Live like there is no tomorrow; Love like you've never been hurt. Work like you don't need the money. Dance like nobody's watching. Sing like nobody's listening. Live like it's Heaven on Earth. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Johnson" To: Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2010 1:25 PM Subject: HLJ - Special Hobby,,1/32 A5M2b Claude 'Over China" > Special Hobby > > 1/32 A5M2b Claude 'Over China" > > Product #8185 (http://www.hlj.com/product/SPH32034) from HobbyLink Japan > (http://www.hlj.com/scripts/hljlist.cgi?rel=nav&GenreCode=Air > ) > > Product Article by Dave Johnson on August 2010 > > In 1934, the Imperial Japanese Navy prepared a specification for an > advanced fighter, requiring a maximum speed of 350 km/h (220 mph) at > 3,000 m (9,840 ft) and able to climb to 5,000 m (16,400 ft) in 6.5 > minutes. This specification produced designs from both Mitsubishi > and Nakajima. Mitsubishi was assigned the task of designing the new > fighter to a team lead by Jiro Horikoshi, who would be later > responsible for the famous A6M Zero. The resulting design from > Mitsubishi was designated as the Ka-14, was an all-metal low-wing > fighter, with a thin elliptical inverted Gull wing that featured a > fixed undercarriage. The aircraft far exceeded the requirements of > the specification, with a maximum speed of 450 km/h (279 mph) being > reached. The second prototype was fitted with a revised, ungulled > wing, and after various changes to maximize maneuverability and > reduce drag, it was ordered into production as the A5M series. The > aircraft entered service in early 1937, and soon seeing action in > pitched aerial battles at the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, > including air-to-air battles with the Chinese Air Force's Boeing > P-26C Model 281 "Peashooters" in what was the world's first-ever > aerial dogfighting and kills between monoplane fighters built of > mostly metal. The A5M series proved themselves the better of every > aircraft they encountered, though the Mitsubishi team continued to > improve the A5M, working through versions until the final A5M4, > which added a ventral drop-tank for extended range. The Flying > Tigers encountered the Type 96, although not officially, and one was > shot down at Mingaldon airfield, Burma on 29 January 1942. Some A5Ms > were still in service at the beginning of World War II in the > Pacific. United States intelligence sources believed the A5M was > still the primary Navy fighter, but they had already been replaced > by the A6M Zero on first-line aircraft carriers and with the Tainan > Air Group. Other Japanese carriers and air groups continued to use > the A5M until production of the 'Zero' caught up with demand. The > last combat actions with the A5M as a fighter took place at the > Battle of the Coral Sea on 7 May 1942, when two A5Ms and four A6Ms > of the Japanese carrier Shoho fought against the US planes that > sunk their carrier. Most remaining airframes were used for kamikaze > attacks in the closing months of the war. > > When I heard Special Hobby announced that they were going to be > releasing, I was looking forward to seeing the kit in the flesh. > Once the box arrived from HobbyLink Japan, it was the first thing I > dived into the box for. Once opening the conventional style of box > top for this limited run kit, you have 5 sprues of medium gray > plastic which contains 67 parts and 1 clear sprue that hold 3 parts > in the box. Also included is a Photo Etch fret that contains 35 > parts. The thing that surprised me was the size of the kit, I though > that the A5M2b Claude was a bit smaller but in fact is has a > impressive wing span. The instruction sheet is printed on 3 sheets > of A4 paper and clear and easy to follow steps during the build > process. > > Some times I have found in the past with limited run kits that the > detail can be lacking in some areas. But Special Hobby has produced > a nice looking product. The exterior panel lines are molded > beautifully with crisp lines that you would expect from a Hasegawa > or Tamiya kit. The fabric control surfaces feature have also a nice > touch to them and are not overdone. I have notice on this sample > that I have received that there is a funny bump/excuss plastic on > the starboard of the wing. It appears that it could be a repair in > the tooling, this it not a huge problem just a light sand will fix > the problem. Also with my past experience with limited run kits > there is always a small amount of flash on the parts, well I am glad > to say that there is hardly, if not any present at all. Also > included is a nice example of the 477kW (640hp) Kotobuiki 3 > Engine that powers the A5M2b Claude that requires 5 parts to build > it up. You will have to supply some .3mm diameter rod or stretched > sprue to create the pushrods for the engine. Unfortunately there is > no ignition wires supplied in the Photo Etch sheet. Again some fine > wire can do the trick for the ignition wiring or you could wait and > get the Photo Etch set that Eduard is planning to release shortly, > which they gave a sneek peek on their Facebook page the other week, > which surely would include the ignition wiring harness. The cockpit > detail is has been nicely done, but is a little bit to soft for this > scale. Most of the kits components are for the cockpit area. > > The kit decals provide colourful two schemes for the A5M2b that have > red tails, the two options are - > > A5M2b, Kyosaku Aoki, 12th Kotutai, Hankow, China, October 1938. > > A5M2b, Pilot unknown, 14th Kotutai, captured by the Chinese, 1940. > > The decal sheet has been superbly printed by Aviprint and designed > by Rising Decals in the Czech Republic. The sheet is printed in good > colour saturation and excellent register and minimum carrier film. > But I have spotted one small error on one of the decals, The call > out number is printed within one of the Japanese characters decals > that features on the wings (see photo).Again its not a huge error to > correct. > > Special Hobby has produced another fine quality semi-short run kit > that should build into a very fine model of the A5M2b Claude. This > kit would be a great addition to anyone who is interested in early > or Japanese aviation. It wouldn't be recommended to a beginner, as > the kit has hardly any locating pins/tabs. > > I would like to thank HobbyLink Japan (www.hlj.com > ) for providing this review sample. > > >