Kayaba Ku-4 "Katsuodori" Ram-Jet Fighter - 1:72 Meng

[Paul A H]

Kayaba Ku-4 "Katsuodori" Ram-Jet Fighter

1:72 Meng Models

The Kayaba Ku-4 was developed in Japan in 1940 in order to test the flight characteristics and development possibilities of tailless designs. It was a development of designer Hidemasa Kimura's Ku-2 and Ku-3 tailless glider aircraft, but was intended to be powered by a combination of rocket and ramjet propulsion. Like the Ku-2, it had a low, swept wing with vertical fins at the wingtips. By April 1941, work on the prototype was well underway. The following month, however, Kimura's relationship with the Japanese Imperial Army came under pressure following the crash of the Ku-2. The Ku-4 was was eventually cancelled, with the aircraft having never taken to the air.

The kit is presented in a reasonably sturdy top-opening box, the lid of which is adorned with an attractive painting of a pair of Ku-4s sweeping through the skies. The box has a satin, rather than gloss finish, which gives it a plush, upmarket feel. Inside are two identical sprues of grey plastic (for there are two complete kits supplied), a clear sprue, a small decal sheet and a full-colour instruction manual. The mouldings are clean and crisp and the immediate impression is of a high quality product worthy of the likes of Hasegawa or Eduard. The plastic has a smooth, glossy finish and the engraved panel lines are nice and delicate. I believe this was Meng's very first kit, having first been released in late 2011, so it's good to see it available once again, courtesy of importer Creative Models.

Construction starts with the engine air intake and exhaust. Strangely, both parts feature turbine faces, which as far as I am aware should not be present in a ramjet engine perhaps someone expert in the design of air breathing jet engines can confirm this? Both parts fit into the stubby fuselage along with the cockpit sub-assembly. This is a simple affair, made up of a floor, instrument panel, seat and control column. You may want to raid the spares box for a photo etched harness to add some detail to this area, but not much will be visible through the tiny canopy in any case. The tiny wings are solid and just click into the fuselage. RATO bottles can be fitted to the side of the fuselage, but you'll need to have pre-drilled the locating holes for these prior to assembling the fuselage halves. Rather excitingly, there are three options provided for displaying the finished model. There is a ground handling trolley, a set of rather delicate fixed undercarriage and, best of all, a set of braces allowing you to fix the model to the underside of a bomber. The instructions even provide a diagram of the likely attachment arrangements for both a Mitsubishi Ki-67 Hiryu and a Nakajima G8N Renzen. What a diorama that would make!

The decal sheet provides a choice of two 'what if' aircraft:

• Ku-4 of the Imperial Japanese Army, finished in mottled green over light grey; and
• Ku-4 of the Imperial Japanese Navy, finished in overall pale green.

Each option is illustrated with a four-view full-colour profile and the decals look nicely printed. They appear to be reasonably thin but the colours are nice and bold.

Conclusion

These kind of models are always good fun, as they tend to be pretty easy to build and the modeller needn't worry too much about the accuracy of the finished article. That said, the possibility of using this model as part of a larger diorama with a bomber aircraft is rather enticing indeed, that might be how mine ends up. Overall, Meng have delivered a really nice kit that, with the exception of the odd turbine faces aside, ticks all the right boxes. Recommended.

Review sample courtesy of