From: "Submissions for ARC" To: "Dave Johnson" References: <4CD36DC4.6020800@wingnutfilms.co.nz> Subject: Re: HLJ - Zoukei-Mura,,1/32 Kyushu J7W Shinden pt 1 Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2010 09:48:30 -0800 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="Windows-1252"; reply-type=original Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit 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, November 04, 2010 6:36 PM Subject: HLJ - Zoukei-Mura,,1/32 Kyushu J7W Shinden pt 1 > Zoukei-Mura > > 1/32 Kyushu J7W Shinden > > Product #60320 (http://www.hlj.com/product/VOL50283) from HobbyLink > Japan (http://www.hlj.com/scripts/hljlist.cgi?rel=nav&GenreCode=Air > ) > > Product Article by Dave Johnson on October 2010 > > *History – * > > The Kyushu J7W Shinden was developed for the Imperial Japanese Navy as a > short-range interceptor in a specific response to the B-29 Superfortress > raids on the Japanese homeland. For this type of mission, the J7W was > armed with 4 forward-firing 30mm cannons in the nose. It was to be > operated from land bases. > > The canard (forward surface is smaller than the rearward) configuration > was chosen by Captain Masaoki Tsuruno from the technical staff of the > Imperial Japanese Navy in early 1943. The idea of Captain Tsuruno was > that the aircraft could easily be fitted with a jet engine in a later > stage of its production life. The construction of the first two > prototypes began around June 1944, stress calculations were finished by > January 1945, and the first prototype was completed in April 1945. The > 2,130 hp Mitsubishi MK9D (Ha-43) radial engine and its supercharger were > installed behind the cockpit and drove a six-bladed propeller via an > extension shaft. Engine cooling was to be provided by long, narrow, > obliquely mounted intakes on the side of the fuselage. This > configuration caused cooling problems while running the engine while it > was still on the ground. This, together with the unavailability of some > equipment parts postponed the first flight of the Shinden until 3 August > 1945, when Captain Tsuruno himself took to the air at Itazuke Air Base. > Even before the first prototype took to the air the Navy had already > ordered the J7W1 into production, with quotas of 30 Shindens a month > given to Kyushu's Zasshonokuma factory and 120 from Nakajima's Handa > plant. It was estimated that some 1,086 Shinden fighters could be > produced between April 1946 and March 1947. In fact only the two > prototype aircraft were ever completed. After the end of the war the > second prototype was shipped to the USA, while the first is reported as > being scrapped. > > *The Kit – * > > Zoukei-Mura is a new comer to the plastic model injection scene, and the > company and product came out of nowhere. Based in Japan, Zoukei-Mura has > a few interesting releases that are planned for the future. Their main > business is producing dolls and accessories under the name Volks. (check > this out). The kit itself is very impressive once you remove the box top > and expose all the plastic parts. The parts are moulded in grey, black > and silver plastic which reminds me of the old Matchbox kits that I > tried to assemble when I was growing up as a kid. 252 parts make up the > kit along with 16 clear parts, so there are a few parts within this kit. > > The instruction sheet is very neat looking, and appears to be an old > Japanese war document from the front. The first page of the booklet is > printed in English and happens to be an A4 insert and that is about the > only English text that you will see during the build process. The > instruction manual shows the constructional process in neatly drawn > renderings, and completed with photos showing the model at the same > stage of completion during the build process. Most of the callouts are > in Japanese and the odd English one. But the pictures are very clear and > most modelers should be very able to follow along with the pictures. The > paint callouts are from Vallejo range. The exterior parts are molded in > the grey plastic, and have fine scribed panel lines and fine rows of > rivets, there are a couple of small areas that have some flash but the > kit is free of any signs of sink marks. The molded silver parts make up > the interior components. The first thing that stands out is the very > large framing that is the base of the fuselage and wings. There are also > two seats included, one has a molded seat harness and the other hasn’t > which is great if you prefer to use a photo etch harness. The side walls > has a lot of detail, which some will say that it looks to be overdone > slightly but I think it looks fine.The engine is also included on the > silver sprues and work of art by itself. The Mitsubishi Ha-43 engine is > molded in 66 parts. The level of detail is excellent and is worth > display the engine cowling off. If the modeler was alsoto add some > plumbing to thehe engine, the results will be fantastic. The engine > assembly is a mini kit in itself. The cooling fins on the cylinders are > very finely molded and will lookawesome with a coat of paint and a wash > to make the detail pop. > > On the black sprue is the huge 6 bladed propeller, tires which are > molded separately from the hubs, which will ease the painting stage. > Also included are the 4 30mm Type 5 autocannons. These cannons are > molded very nicely and will look the part when the barrels ends are > drilled out. The instrument is included on the clear sprue with the > canopy parts and other small clear molded items like the gunsite and the > wing tip lights. The instrument panel has very fine molded dial faces > and will look fantastic when they are painted up. Zoukei-Mura has molded > a 3 piece canopy, so the modeler can display it open and show off the > cockpit area, also included is a one piece canopy if you do decide to > close it up. Also included is a pre-cut mask set to help the ease of > masking. > > The decals are printed on a single sheet and only for one aircraft. The > decals are not for a particular airframe as there were only the two > prototypes built, so the modeler can be creative with unit markings or > even a captured airframe with stars and bars. The decals themselves are > nicely printed and in very good register. > > Overall the kit is fantastic for a first release from a new comer to the > plastic injection model kits and their future releases will be very > interesting. Zoukei-Mura also offer a few extra upgrades as weighted > wheels, photo etch, turned gun barrels, Prototype cowling and a Ne-20 > jet engine, just to name a few! This is surely a must have kit for > anyone that has a interest in Japanese or late-war/X-type aircraft. > > I would like to thank HobbyLink Japan (www.hlj.com) for the review sample. > >