[William]

Hi,

A few preview of the "Kate" second wave attack.

The pilots will fit better inside the canopy.

[Gary Kennedy]

Looks good - can I ask, does this mean that future releases will come with crew figures as standard?

Gary

[William]

Originally Posted by Gary Kennedy

Looks good - can I ask, does this mean that future releases will come with crew figures as standard?

Gary

Yes, they will.

[majorfatal]

great! Hope the camo will be a little more smooth on the edge.

Anyway I'll preordered this one!

[Gary Kennedy]

Originally Posted by William

Yes, they will.

Good news! I picked up the P-39 and the Hellcat with pilot figures earlier this year and am very pleased with them. I'll probably get both Beaufighters regardless but if they have crew as well that's great!

[Jim Lansdale]

Hi Fellows

This model, by all standards I am aware of for the die-cast genre, appears to be an excellent addition to any collection. However, having said this, I also need to point out two critical areas in the appearance of the model which also deserved better attention by the research folks for the maufacturer.

1) The Nakajima Type 97 Carrier Attack Bomber ("KanKo", later code-named "Kate") numbered [E11-307] only carried one large bomb ... not two!

2) While black and white photography lends itself to a vast range of color interpretation by any observer, souvenired remains from several of five KanKo brought down over Pearl Harbor, demonstarte that these birds were either painted aluminum or light olive-gray on all surfaces. Most, if not all KanKo, had their upper surfaces painted dark-green to varying degrees (all-over or mottled). This scheme produced the dark, upper-surface appearance seen on most KanKo photographed during or after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

There has never been any documented proof that "brown" paint was used on these upper surfaces, only much speculation based on such black and white photography... not the physical evidence which remains displayed in museums or in private collections of such aircraft.

The model which appears in the color photography above is very pleasing ... unfortunately it could have been made more historically correct if based on documented research not on artistic interpretaion in color profiles or hearsay.

I did not go into the more esoteric controversy regarding whether or not the tail of [E11-307] should have been red or "brown" ... for now, I would agree that if the tail was actually any other color than a shade of "green," it would more-likely have been red, as portrayed, rather that "brown" (which makes absolutely no sense to me ... but what do I really know? I am still surprised every day! (;>)

Best regards to all here.

Jim Lansdale,
Owner & Team Leader,
J-aircraft.com Main Page

[lanslide]

Thanks Dad, for your review. I am VERY happy to see the IJN light olive gray color FINALLY rendered accurately on a production model of an IJN aircraft (just make it semi-gloss)! Make the upper surfaces all over dark green by removing the brown areas and the model will be painted as historically accurate as possible (William, please post the black and white photo that "the Japan side expert" used to specify brown when you get a chance). IJN aircraft camouflage was not that colorful I'm afraid. Does that small amount of brown patch only on the fuselage really make any sense to effectively camouflage anything? Why would the IJN stop at the fuselage and not include the wings if they really painted it this way? Don't forget to lose that extra bomb that this aircraft could never have carried. Shouldn't the wheel wells be aluminum or aotake (metallic greenish blue)? And...nice stencil work on the port side of the cowling shown on the underside photo! There was usually one on the port side on the rear of the fuselage in front of the horizontal stabilizer too. Thanks William and HM!

GO TO:
Another PEARL HARBOR Attack Type 99 KanBaku Artifact Discovered! *PICS*

[Louie]

Great William, thanks for the preview.

I'll have on of those!

I'm sure the final product will be fantastic!

[hworth18]

Originally Posted by Louie

Great William, thanks for the preview.

I'll have on of those!

I'm sure the final product will be fantastic!

Agreed, I have been very pleased with the initial release and plan to buy one or two more.

[William]

Originally Posted by Jim Lansdale

Hi Fellows

This model, by all standards I am aware of for the die-cast genre, appears to be an excellent addition to any collection. However, having said this, I also need to point out two critical areas in the appearance of the model which also deserved better attention by the research folks for the maufacturer.

1) The Nakajima Type 97 Carrier Attack Bomber ("KanKo", later code-named "Kate") numbered [E11-307] only carried one large bomb ... not two!

2) While black and white photography lends itself to a vast range of color interpretation by any observer, souvenired remains from several of five KanKo brought down over Pearl Harbor, demonstarte that these birds were either painted aluminum or light olive-gray on all surfaces. Most, if not all KanKo, had their upper surfaces painted dark-green to varying degrees (all-over or mottled). This scheme produced the dark, upper-surface appearance seen on most KanKo photographed during or after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

There has never been any documented proof that "brown" paint was used on these upper surfaces, only much speculation based on such black and white photography... not the physical evidence which remains displayed in museums or in private collections of such aircraft.

The model which appears in the color photography above is very pleasing ... unfortunately it could have been made more historically correct if based on documented research not on artistic interpretaion in color profiles or hearsay.

I did not go into the more esoteric controversy regarding whether or not the tail of [E11-307] should have been red or "brown" ... for now, I would agree that if the tail was actually any other color than a shade of "green," it would more-likely have been red, as portrayed, rather that "brown" (which makes absolutely no sense to me ... but what do I really know? I am still surprised every day! (;>)

Best regards to all here.

Jim Lansdale,
Owner & Team Leader,
J-aircraft.com Main Page

Hi Jim and Chris,

Thank you for the most professional input.

Again, we have consulted our Japan side expert on this color scheme. They sent us a B/W showing the exact aircraft stating that it is a very famous and well known aircraft in Japan. I will try to get the photo again from them though. Please understand that by no means that I don't trust you.

For the bomb question, we will include the present 2 smaller bombs and the large bomb together. The wheel bay will be painted blue green for production version.

William