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Good day to everyone here, I do hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas. Before the New Year starts off, I would like to show off Border's new B5N2 in the 1/35 scale, seeing as I believe I am one of the first to get my hands on it. (As for why it is in this section, I cannot make a post in the 'Reviews' area - and I will be building this beauty anyway). Starting off with the cardboard package... ..out comes the box top which itself is magnificent, displaying some of the best artwork of any new kit I have seen this year, with B5N2s going for torpedo runs at Pearl Harbour. The sides of the box... And the first look inside - quite jam packed! All of the sprues laid out... And now each of them close-up - in alphabetical order: A, wing top sections and the lower fuselage: B, fuselage sides and elevators: C, lower wing parts and propeller: D, cockpit pieces and upper fuselage: E, engine and cowling: F, undercarriage and assorted details: G, Type 91 modification 2 (special Pearl Harbor version) aerial torpedo: H, Type 91 aerial torpedo: I, canopy and other clear parts: J, the Type 99 No.80 Mk 5 AP bomb used to destroy the Arizona: And K, cockpit details: The decals: The P.E, which amounts to seatbelts and fine details: And finally, the Instructions, with some nice history and part diagrams. As a whole, the kit is very, very comprehensive. The level of detailing on the individual parts is fantastic, the raised riveting is all uniform and the clear parts are perfectly clear and blemish-free. Interestingly, the fuselage is constructed by mating the sides and the the top and bottom, perhaps to mask any gaps that might arise from a traditional joint. The fabric detail on the control surfaces is relatively deep, but looks good. Noteworthy is the lack of an option for the 6 x 60kg bombs or the 1 800kg bomb, but I suspect we might see those in future releases, maybe a B5N1? The detail is especially good on the Type 92 machine gun used by the gunner: And the Sidewall detail for the Cockpit: One of the more notable bits about this kit is the 'stressed skin' effect on the wings and lower fuselage, as shown: It will be interesting to see how this comes out under a coat of paint. The final part are the schemes, which follow: If I am not mistaken, I believe that both of these aircraft are from Akagi, but the decals provided should allow for a 'DIY' approach to the schemes, with enough coding to build a variety of aircraft. Note that the scheme for AI-311 is different on the Box, perhaps a late change. All in all, I would say this kit has definitely been worth the wait. Even though it is slightly odd in scale compared to the rest of the 1/32 riffraff, it still looks like it will build up magnificently out of the box. I understand that my camera and photography skills are lackluster, so if any of you would like some better images of certain bits and bobs than I will be happy to oblige. Sincerely, Hurricaneflyer

Hi comrades! My next build is Hasegawa's fantastic Kate. I will depict the famous Arizona killer - aircraft from Soryu, piloted by Haruo Sato. In all the reference books this machine painted differently, in most of them in two color camo. I compared the number of sources and after reading the long discussion on j-aircraft.com, decided to paint the model in single color unregular camouflage - like presented in the book by Bert Kinzy (Pearl Harbour). I also decided to rivet the model - so the build will take more time... Aftermarket consists of Eduard brass, Montex masks and spare decals. So far, stabilizers riveted, cockpit done. Next - rivets on wing Thanks for looking!

...just not sure which particular ship yet, but one of those parked at Battleship row. It’s a lovely kit, plenty of ordnance options, 3 variants of canopies and folded or unfolded wings. John has posted details of all sprues here, so rather than reproducing, here’s the link: One thing bugged me. The thick plastic which will be apparent on these side windows. I will start nibbling asap: It has been remarkably difficult to find images of the cockpit. I guess I might try googling in Japanese?

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. It's my next model.

Here is my fourth completed kit of the year, the Airfix Nakajima B5N2 Kate representing E1-311 of Attack Unit 5 flying from the Imperial Japanese Navy carrier Shokaku on 7th December 1941: This is the second Airfix Kate I have built (the last was from the Dogfight Double boxing with the Grumman F4F Wildcat) and I had forgotten what a nicely engineered and beautifuly detailed kit it is. Construction took about two weeks as a sort of 'side-build' to the Mitsubushi Raiden I am currently building mainly because I wanted to test painting the national markings with Maketar masks. I added Eduard etched lap-straps to the seats and used their mask set for the canopy. I also used the leftover 250Kg bomb from my previous Kate build so the aircraft carries 2 x 250kg bombs rather than the 1 x 250kg and 3 x 60kg bombs advised by Airfix for the bomb load, as suggested by Nick Millman here. I replaced the kit pitot with some Albion Alloys brass tube and rod. The model was 'black-based' then painted overall in Colourcoats ACJ17 Nakajima Amber-Grey (Ameiro); the green mottling is ACJ03 IJN D2 Green Black (this may well not be the correct green, Airfix recommend Humbrol 116 US Dark Green) but the correct green is not documented; some Japanese sources say the mottling was green and brown but I'm not sure if conclusive evidence will ever be found now. My mottling may be too dense and too granular, I was only able to find one photograph of the original aircraft and it was a side view which didn't really give much away; also I free-handed it with my Badger 150 and I don't think I could have done it any better even if I had better reference material - as it happens I am quite pleased with the way it looks anyway. The national markings were sprayed (with mixed success) with ACJ20 Hinomaru Red, the white tailband masked and painted with Citadel acrylic Ulthuan Grey which is indistinguishable from white unless you put it next to white but has the benefit of not being brilliant white on your model. The model was then sprayed with Alclad matt varnish, the navigation lights painted in with Tamiya Clear Red and Clear Blue; the final touch was the R/T antenna wire which was added using Infini White Lycra thread (the 70 Denier one). Thanks for your attention if you made it this far Cheers, Stew

Some queries over the Airfix Kate boxings: a. Nice of Airfix to give us a choice of 5 offensive loads but which stores are appropriate to each markings option? I take it from the painting instructions that B1-310 in the Midway dog-fight double is a torpedo carrier but are there documented loadings for E1-311 at Pearl Harbour and 53-305 in 1944? b. I see the kit provides 2 sets of tails for the torpedoes. Both sets of instructions use parts C22 and C23. What is the other tail (parts C24 and C25) for? c. Should I assume lap straps only for Pearl Harbour/Midway era aircraft but 3-point harnesses (2 x lap plus left shoulder) for all 3 seats by 1944? Edited to replace Midway with Pearl Harbour for E1-311 query.