NEW RELEASE!!!

Ten years after the publication of the first volume of "Baron Miyahara and his World of Aircraft" (now out-of-print), the Japan Aeronautic Association Aviation Heritage Archive has just released a brand new book and is HUGE! 

The title is: J-BIRD: Japanese Aircraft Register 1921-1945

 

  

It is a list with information of all the known Japanese civilian registers (J-XXXX) including gliders, plus the civilian registers of Manchukuo and the China Airways. It's 438 pages long and features no less than 915 photos!!! A tremendous effort, some of the authors I know have been working on it for more than 20 years. Most of the photos are of very high quality with many civilian aircraft seen for the very first time in print and dozens of extremely interesting paint schemes and markings. Apart from the photos the book features articles regarding the way the civilian markings were applied, the complex registration process that changed through time and more. The book is similar to Model Art #327, all in Japanese, with no colour pages or artwork. Nevertheless it is a truly amazing book and essential for every fan of Japanese aviation as it covers to a large degree the much ignored (not by Arawasi though as our readers know well) Civilian Aviation of Japan. 

It is an absolute must and highly recommended without any reservations.

 

The book is available from Arawasi, HERE. Price is $US50, postage not included, and keep in mind that it is more than 1kg heavy and worth the price.

 

 

Collector's Items

Vintage and extremely rare kits recently on sale on the Japanese Ebay.
Do you have any information about them?


Starfix, Mitsubishi A6M5 "Zero-sen", 1:72

Calin Ungureanu sent the following information about the Starfix Zero kit:
It was on sale in bookshops in Romania in the '90s. It's not 1/72 but not 1/48 either. In fact it's hardly a Zero. Somehow the molds where from Israel and this one and several other kits (Me109, Aichi Val and some Russian bombers of the '50s in 144 scale maybe) where injected in Romania, perhaps at a nearly out of busyness plastic factory. Everybody in the modeling branch started to buy them because of the very low price, but soon find out that it was just scrap plastic because you can't build them into credible models. Most of them ended up at kids as "make and take" modeling seminars.
I try to build a 1/48 Me109 for a veteran Romanian pilot and even finished it but it looked more like a crossbreed between an E and a F series.
The plastic was silver-gray for all the series, with Sci-Fi positive details.

Thank you very much Calin.

Fairy Kikaku, Mitsubishi 1MT1N, 1:72

Aoshima, Mitsubishi A7M "Reppu", 1:72 

Aoshima, Mitsubishi A6M5 "Zero-sen", 1:60
Sold at about $US500!!!

Hasegawa, Mitsubishi A6M5 "Zero-sen", 1:75
Clear model, sold at about $US200!!!

Marusan, Nakajima Ki-43 "Hayabusa", 1:50

Sankyo Peanuts, Kawanishi H6K "Mavis", 1:150 

Monochrome, Kawasaki Ki-61 II Kai "Hien", 1:48
For the Hasegawa kit.

Otaki, Mitsubishi J2M "Raiden", ?

Sharp, Kawasaki Ki-61 "Hien", 1:72

Sharp, Nakajima Ki-44 "Shoki", 1:72

Sanwa Tokyo Plamo, Kawasaki Ki-61 "Hien", 1:100

Sankyo, Mitsubishi A6M "Zero", ?
"Plastic solid model" sold at $US200!!!

Nitto, Nakajima B5N "Kate", 1:72

Nakajima Ki-84 "Hayate" & Ki-44-II Otsu "Shoki" by Michael Williams

Below are photos of two models finished-off with Flying Papa’s decals. Both base models are from Hasegawa’s 1:48 scale range, the Nakajima Ki-84-I Ko "Hayate" now finished off from the 57th Shimbu-tai suicide attack unit, and Nakajima Ki-44-II Otsu "Shoki" from the 47th Sentai.

The Flying Papa’s decals were perfect in all respects and resulted in very enjoyable builds with excellent final display results.

Michael Williams - Edinburgh, United Kingdom