Japanese Airfields, Equipment & more #44 - revised

Modelling 2 
IJNAF pilots and ground crew

This time we start with the 1/72 scale.

First up is the RedBox release with 42 figures in 14 poses!!! Some a bit rough but very correct and in very useful poses. This is the only set I can't tell from experience the quality of all the rest of the sets presented here.

"Beaver Corporation" has released three sets in 1/72. The first here is IJNAF pilots; 20 figures in 10 poses. A bit rough but overall very nice and correct.

The second set is presented as aircraft carrier maintenance crew but could also be used for ground-based units with 22 figures, all in different poses.

The third set by Beaver is ground crew in summer clothing; 18 figures. The upper and the lower body parts do not match nicely and they all look weird but I guess this can be fixed with some surgery. The promotion images where the figures are placed on a "Betty" look nice but they also include figures in short trousers. Not sure if these are included in the set as optional. All in all, not bad but would need some work from the modeller.

Hasegawa has also released a set of flight crew for its "Betty" kit. Quite nice and even separately they could be very useful.

An unnamed company has also released three sets in a characteristic semi-transparent plastic. The first is an aircraft carrier deck crew. It looks nice but the overalls of the mechanics don't look exactly correct. On the positive side you get a good number of figures.

The next set from the same unnamed company is more interesting as it includes a torpedo with its trolley and a few crew members. I like this set and I think it could be useful for ground-based torpedo units.

The third set from the unnamed company is again, aircraft carrier deck crew. Looks good and by removing the gas masks they can be turned into ground-based unit mechanics.

"White Stork Miniatures" has released a set of two IJNAF pilot figures that, from what I can see, are the most beautiful in this scale. WOW!

Moving on to the 1/48 scale, the first set is from "A.B&K" and consists of two sets of IJNAF pilots, one standing one in the cockpit. Not bad at all, I would say.

The next set is from "Orion" and consists of 10 figures in 10 poses. I can see eight pilots and two mechanics, the latter in tropical uniforms. They all very crisp, of high quality and very correct. A set I'd like to purchase.

Next up, is four sets of IJNAF pilots from "Chino Model" I've never heard before. They are all in seated positions and they look absolutely amazing! Very crisp, super high quality and perfectly correct. These are the only sets that offer the option to have the pilots with their goggles on. I'll try to get my hands on these sets very soon and will let you know more.

"Chino Model" has also released a set of six Navy mechanics. Very correct, they would look great with Japan mainland-based fighter units flying "Raiden" or "Shiden-kai" fighters.

"Chino Model" has also released one pilot set in 1/32. I could find only their "vol.1" so either I couldn't find the "vol.2" or it's forthcoming. Again, a very very crisp and beautiful-looking figure.

Which comes with a set of mechanics also in 1/32. Very useful and correct.

"Allarmi" has released an impressive set of one IJNAF pilot whose head could be exchanged to represent Aces Sakai Saburo or Nishizawa Hiroyoshi. Very correct and from, what I can see from the photo, really beautiful.

"Ultracast" has also released one IJNAF pilot. Very very nice and overall correct. A small detail: compare the front of the boots of the Ultracast figure (not exactly accurate) with the Allarmi figure (perfectly correct).

"ProBuiltModel" has released a pre-painted IJNAF pilot figure in 1/32 too and it looks very very nice. The choice of colors is not perfect but fairly close.

In the same scale, "Black Dog" has released two Navy pilots that can be found boxed either separately or together. They look quite nice and correct but weirdly the sculptor opted to leave the pilot goggles out and their heads look bizarre without them.

"Border" has released a set of figures (mechanics, pilots and officers) that goes well with their "Akagi" deck kits which come either separately or with a "Kate" included! The figures look great and very correct.

I also discovered this figure available for 3d printing. No scale is specified but I guess the dimensions can be adjusted to any scale. I like it but the legs are way too long for the average Japanese pilot of the time.

Last but not least let's not forget the Tamiya release in 1/16.