Hasegawa Neptune

[Admiral Puff]

A while back there was talk that Hasegawa was going to re-release its 1:72 Lockheed Neptune. I've never actually seen it on the shelves (real or electronic), and was wondering if it ever saw the light of day again, or are we still waiting?

[Scott Hemsley]

I've never seen it re-issued nor heard the rumour that it would be., but I always could use another one if it did re-appear at a price that didn't require a mortgage.

 

Scott

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

The kit was reissued in 2019 in JMSDF markings and shortly after in USN markings. I have one of the USN boxings.

 

Scalemates link

[modelldoc]

Do you know, that this kit is originally from FROG?

 

Here is my adaption to a RB-69:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/21603181@N08/16462430061/in/photolist-r5JfV4

 

modelldoc

 

[Des]

16 minutes ago, modelldoc said:

Do you know, that this kit is originally from FROG?

Frog's original Neptune kit was to 1/173 scale , had around twenty or so parts , embossed markings and was released in the late 1950s.

 

However FROG did release the 1/72 scale Hasegawa parts in their own boxes and with different decal sheets in the early 1970s during a period of cooperation between the two companies which saw quite a few of the Japanese kits released in the UK.

[e8n2]

18 hours ago, Des said:

Frog's original Neptune kit was to 1/173 scale , had around twenty or so parts , embossed markings and was released in the late 1950s.

 

However FROG did release the 1/72 scale Hasegawa parts in their own boxes and with different decal sheets in the early 1970s during a period of cooperation between the two companies which saw quite a few of the Japanese kits released in the UK.

Which just goes to show you how old the molds are!  It is time for Hasegawa to start over on the Neptune and break it down into various assemblies so you could put out several versions of the Neptune from the P2V-1 on up, like what they did with the F-4 Phantom II family in 72nd scale (except for the FG.1 and FGR.2 darn it!).

Later,

Dave

[Des]

5 hours ago, e8n2 said:

It is time for Hasegawa to start over on the Neptune and break it down into various assemblies so you could put out several versions of the Neptune from the P2V-1 on up . . . . . 

Or perhaps some other firm with a bit more imagination than constantly re-issuing pension-age kits with new decal sheets.

 

Very roughly a 1/72 Neptune would not be too dissimilar in size to a 1/48 Do 217 , Ju 88 , A/B-26 etc. so well within the capabilities of a company such as ICM and their proven track record for multi-variant kit families.

[Max Headroom]

On 02/09/2022 at 11:00, Des said:

Frog's original Neptune kit was to 1/173 scale , had around twenty or so parts , embossed markings and was released in the late 1950s.

 

However FROG did release the 1/72 scale Hasegawa parts in their own boxes and with different decal sheets in the early 1970s during a period of cooperation between the two companies which saw quite a few of the Japanese kits released in the UK.

Didn’t it have a Dutch option?

 

Trevor

[modelldoc]

The  Revell rebox this kit too, so you have a Dutch option.

 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/revell-04628-p2-v-7-neptune--133983

 

modelldoc

[Admiral Puff]

Thanks all. Any repop certainly didn't make its way to my part of the planet!

 

Yes, a new all-singing, all-dancing Neppie from someone like ICM would be the dog's whatnots - maybe after Ukraine has dealt with the spoilt child in the Kremlin? In the meantime, I believe there's a 1:48 Neppie in the pipeline somewhere, but I shudder to think of what it might end up costing ...

[e8n2]

18 hours ago, Des said:

Or perhaps some other firm with a bit more imagination than constantly re-issuing pension-age kits with new decal sheets.

 

Very roughly a 1/72 Neptune would not be too dissimilar in size to a 1/48 Do 217 , Ju 88 , A/B-26 etc. so well within the capabilities of a company such as ICM and their proven track record for multi-variant kit families.

For right now the last people I would want doing it would be ICM.  I have been working on a number of their kits lately, including a Standard B Liberty truck, and I am less than impressed.  The instructions leave out important information that you have to skip several steps ahead to find out if you've mucked up or not.  Earlier this year I did the Hasegawa boxing of their MiG-31 kit.  Poor fit, lots of filler, and I doubt if Hasegawa redid more than just the painting instructions that ICM had.  Following those instructions means that there is absolutely no way the kit can be built with the landing gear down.  I have built ship, aircraft, and soft skin armor kits from ICM and they were all a pain in the rear to get done.  I pretty much built the cockpit for the Rareplane AJ-2 Savage from scratch, so it is not necessarily a lack of skills on my part.  Check out the WIP I have on that kit to see what I mean.  I'm nearly done with it.

Later,

Dave

Edited September 4, 2022 by e8n2

[RidgeRunner]

I could always kick a manufacturer into action by declaring that I will be starting my OP-2E soon ;). You can be sure something would then be announced just as I am applying the final varnish coat  

 

Martin

[bentwaters81tfw]

The FROG boxing had Aussie and Dutch decals.. I still have the Dutch decal option in my archive.

I re-furbed mine a few years back, some 40 plus years since I built it. Yes it's not packed with a gazillion bits you will never see, but it's an accurate P2V-7 and goes together without a hitch or filler.

[Finn]

The view from the front end of a Neptune:

 

 

from here:

 

http://images.google.com/hosted/life/76eb42fb95a74bd4.html

 

click on the thumbnails under Related images for more internal views during a patrol.

 

Jari

[Lusitanian]

The 1/72 kit is definitely of Japanese origin, but sold by Frog along with many other Hasegawa kits of that era. I have built it 6 times for Portuguese friends who are former Neptune pilots and crews. 
 

It would be a miracle to have a new Neptune kit, but it seems unlikely.

[Hoppy]

A new Neppie would be great, but in the mean time have to make do with the HARS's organisation keeping 3 at Albion Park including a couple regularly flown. Luckily only an hour or so from home and worth attending their tarmac days and Wings day. I think the only place you can climb through a Catalina, Neptune and Orion in one day, all of which are surprisingly small inside.

 

https://hars.org.au/lockheed-p2h-p2v-7-neptune/

[Julien]

There were a couple in the US reconfigured for Aerial Fire Fighting, dont know if they are still used

 

 

 

[e8n2]

23 hours ago, Julien said:

There were a couple in the US reconfigured for Aerial Fire Fighting, dont know if they are still used

 

 

 

I think they have all been retired by now.  I believe they may be using some early model P-3s.  They are definitely using some ex DC-10s, and the California Air National Guard unit out of Van Nuys (southern California) has a number of C-130s that can  quickly be reconfigured for the fire retardant air drop mission.  They go through it every summer.

Later,

Dave

[Lusitanian]

All Neptune fire fighters are long ago retired.  My American friend Jacob maintained them until they were retired.  I believe it was somewhere around the year 2001.  I do not believe any P-3 Orions are currently used as fire fighters due to certification problems.  C-130, DC-10, and BAE 146 are in use in USA, but strangely, no Canadairs because of arcane rules related to pilot pay (or perhaps this has been resolved recently?).  In addition, several types of helicopters are in use in USA, including Skycrane, Chinook, and Blackhawk.

 

Best wishes!

[Bell209]

On 9/5/2022 at 3:44 PM, Lusitanian said:

It would be a miracle to have a new Neptune kit, but it seems unlikely.

Agree. I'm struggling though one currently but the Eduard and PlusModel additions for it are nice. The detail on it is pretty good, even if it is raised, rather than engraved. The only game in town for the foreseeable future - you can thank me for someone releasing a new kit as soon as I complete my Hasegawa build!

[Thomas Bell]

On 9/4/2022 at 5:43 PM, RidgeRunner said:

I could always kick a manufacturer into action by declaring that I will be starting my OP-2E soon ;). You can be sure something would then be announced just as I am applying the final varnish coat  

 

Martin

I'd like to get my hands on that kit just so I could use this Zotz decal sheet I have for a camo'd OP-2E. It also has markings for the lesser-known gunships, like the AC-119 and AC-47.

TOM

[Hook]

On 9/3/2022 at 1:22 PM, Max Headroom said:

Didn’t it have a Dutch option?

For those looking to build a Dutch Neptune (and why wouldn't you!), there's a very nice DutchDecal sheet.

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[Bell209]

On 9/5/2022 at 4:53 PM, Hoppy said:

Albion Park including a couple regularly flown

Only one - A89-273. The French one has only flown once in the more than 20 years I've been a member and that was from Bankstown to our new home at Albion Park. It is intended to fly it at some point and it inches ever closer to that date. A89-273 should return to the skies this year so she can fly alongside our AP-3C Orion and PBY-6A.

[NAVY870]

Had the "pleasure" of putting oil and fuel into 273 at the 1988 airshow at NAS Nowra.

The feeling of corrosion crackling all along the main spar was the main reason I declined to fly in it.

Having heard from reliable sources that the wing is only good for 70% of its rated strength I'd be staying right away from it, those clowns are going to have an almighty accident one day with their current attitude and practices

My monies on the Neppy