Kugisho P1Y1 Ginga (Frances) Type 11 '521st Flying Group' - 1:72 Hasegawa

[Paul A H]

Kugisho P1Y1 Ginga (Frances) Type 11 '521st Flying Group'

1:72 Hasegawa

The P1Y1 Ginga, known to the Allies by its reporting name 'Frances' was a twin-engined fast bomber which was originally intended to be a successor to the Mitsubishi G4M 'Betty'. The specification against which the aircraft was designed was so demanding, however, that the resulting aircraft was quite complex and proved to be difficult to manufacture. The 18-cylinder Nakajima Homare engines also proved to be difficult to manufacture in sufficient quantity, causing further problems for the aircraft. Many of these problems were addressed to some extent, and by the War's end, over 1100 examples had been manufactured.

In service, the Frances was capable of carrying over 2,000lbs of bombs or a 1,800lb torpedo over a range of almost 3000 nautical miles and at a speed of up to 340mph. Defensive armament was covered by a front firing 20mm cannon and a rear-firing flexibly mounted 13mm machine gun. A night fighter variant was produced, but it wasn't terribly successful against the high-flying B-29s. During the closing stages of the War, some aircraft wound up being used in Kamikaze attacks. Interestingly, the man credited with developing the aircraft's aerodynamic shape, Miki Tadanao, went on to design some of Japan's early bullet trains.

Hasegawa's Frances is a relatively recent tooling, having first seen the light of day in the mid-nineties. It has been re-released a number of times since then, sometimes with extra parts for the night fighter version. In the box are 79 parts spread across seven sprues of grey and clear plastic. In common with many other Hasegawa kits, the mouldings are clean and crisp and surface detail is comprised of very nicely rendered recessed panel lines and fasteners. Unlike some of the earlier kits from this manufacture, there is a reasonable amount of detail as well.

The cockpit is pretty good and is comprised of a long part for the floor, seats for the three crew, the control column and side consoles for the pilot and the radio set. The rear firing machine gun is provided on its flexible mount and the front firing cannon is split into two parts so you can attach the barrel at the end of the build and therefore minimise the risk of damaging it whilst handling the model. Interior parts such as the instrument panel, side console and radio lack raised details, so decals are provided instead. There is no detail on the insides of the fuselage halves. The overall impressions is reasonably good and what can be seen through the canopy should pass muster.

Once the cockpit has been assembled it can be sandwiched in place between the fuselage halves. Following this, the wings, engine nacelles and tail can be assembled. As the wing is mid-mounted, it is moulded with separate port and starboard upper and lower halves. Ailerons are moulded in place. Separate parts for the roofs of the main gear bays fit between the wing halves, but they aren't especially detailed. The horizontal tail surfaces are simple, solid pieces with elevators moulded in place.

The engine/nacelle sub-assembly is quite complex, with each being made up of eight parts, including a poly cap to hold the propeller. The engines themselves are really nicely moulded and should look fine by the time they're tucked away inside the aerodynamic nacelle. Each of the propellers is made up of three parts, with the blades sandwiched between the front and rear parts of the aerodynamic hub. Decals provided for the stripes on the tips of the blades.

Whilst the landing gear bays are somewhat lacking in detail, the landing gear legs and wheels have been very nicely reproduced. Each of the main gear legs is made up of three parts, with separate hydraulic actuators and scissor links. The wheels are split vertically, which avoids having any ejector pin marks on the tyres as is the case with some Hasegawa kits. Two different tail wheels are provided, so pay attention to the instructions and make sure you use the right one. A reasonable selection of ordnance is provided, including two external fuel tanks and two nicely moulded 500kg bombs. The roof of the bomb bay has some basic structural details moulded in place, but you'll need to cut the bomb bay doors open yourself in order to display them in the open position.

The clear parts are superbly done. Distortion is well controlled and the frame lines are clear without being overly heavy. A DF loop and radio aerial complete the assembly. Two marking options are provided, both for Aircraft of the 521st Naval Flying Group, 1944. Both schemes are virtually identical, with the only difference being the tail codes. Both aircraft are finished in IJN (Nakajima) Green over aluminium. The decals look nicely printed. In my experience Hasegawa decals usually look rather thick on the sheet but tend to perform quite well.

Conclusion

If you want to build a P1Y1 in this scale, then your choice boils down to either this kit or the older Revell offering. The latter isn't such a bad kit, but it is of its time and sports the raised panel lines typical of that era. In my opinion this kit is much nicer, being both well moulded and accurate. If you can find a reasonably priced example then you won't be disappointed.

Review sample courtesy of UK distributors for

[Antoine]

Thanks Paul.

This is indeed a very nice kit.

For something a little bit different, check Bestfong decals, who offres a sheet with Chinese markings on a well weathered aircraft.