[hworth18]

All this talk about new molds, and the Val has been tossed around since the Kate is coming.. I picked a few pics off Jim Lanslides site "J-aircraft" that I think represent a good variety of schemes..
(pics courtesy of J-aircraft.com Main Page)

[Cruver Collecter]

With upcoming release of the HM Kate, it sure would be neat if the Val was also in the works. I have a Marushin Val, but would like to have one in 1/72nd scale. Two choices to go with, have the D3A1or the D3A2. Nice selection of paint schemes with this aircraft. I would not mind seeing the earlier variant being one of the next releases. It could also be a case of how well the Kate does with regards to the Val being an upcoming project. I already have the first two Kates on pre order (plus the third Bf 110 and the next Buffalo.).

[parsig9]

My Hellcats need targets. Val sounds good to me.

I've become more interested in these since, I hate to admit it, the Dogfights series showed them going down in flames.

[Celtic]

If you need to work up your enthusiasm for IJN types, read about the Guadalcanal campaign, including the extensive sea battles of attrition. Vals, Kates, Zeros, and Bettys played extensive rolls in the various toe-to-toe matches, and the IJN planes weren't flown by amateurs. At that time their main opponents were Aeracobras and Wildcats and P-40s, and both sides were still learning-by-experience how to fight carrier battles and island campaigns. A good starter kit would be "A History of United States Naval Operations in WWII, Vol V., The Struggle for Guadalcanal" by Sameul Eliot Morrison. Another great volume with more recent scholarship is "Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle" by Richard B. Frank. Both books are highly recommended, and you'll get an appreciation of these IJN planes in the reading!

[planenutsfrog]

Definitely a much needed aircraft. I'd take 2...

[Cruver Collecter]

Originally Posted by Celtic

If you need to work up your enthusiasm for IJN types, read about the Guadalcanal campaign, including the extensive sea battles of attrition. Vals, Kates, Zeros, and Bettys played extensive rolls in the various toe-to-toe matches, and the IJN planes weren't flown by amateurs. At that time their main opponents were Aeracobras and Wildcats and P-40s, and both sides were still learning-by-experience how to fight carrier battles and island campaigns. A good starter kit would be "A History of United States Naval Operations in WWII, Vol V., The Struggle for Guadalcanal" by Sameul Eliot Morrison. Another great volume with more recent scholarship is "Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle" by Richard B. Frank. Both books are highly recommended, and you'll get an appreciation of these IJN planes in the reading!

Fist From The Sky by Peter Smith is another good book.The book is about Takashige Egusa, Japans premier dive bomber pilot. Some pretty interesting reading about the IJN dive bombers.

[skysurfer808]

Originally Posted by Cruver Collecter

Fist From The Sky by Peter Smith is another good book.The book is about Takashige Egusa, Japans premier dive bomber pilot. Some pretty interesting reading about the IJN dive bombers.

Another great history, probably the best of that battle from the USN perspective, is John Lundstrom's "The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign." The original First Team book really set the standard for history when it came to Pacific Theatre Naval Air Engagements, and the First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign is an excellent sequal.

Skysurfer808

[theodore]

Originally Posted by parsig9

My Hellcats need targets. Val sounds good to me.

I've become more interested in these since, I hate to admit it, the Dogfights series showed them going down in flames.

The US Navy took a serious pounding off of Guadalcanal; 2 aircraft carriers, 8 cruisers, 14 destroyers, 2 minesweepers, a troop transport, and 11 merchant ships joined Japanese capital and merchant vessels on the ocean floor of 'Ironbottom Sound'. The majority of these were sunk by Vals and Kates. I think a Val would be an important diecast aircraft for the serious WW2 history 'buff' in the Pacific theatre of combat.

[STARMAN 352ND]

I would like to see HM make a "Val" or any other Japanese aircraft since few are made.
These would look great in my Pacific war collection..
JP

[Ara1]

I like the Pearl and pre Pearl liveries, and in the generous 1/48 size. Post 1942 Vals are dead to me.