Over a year ago we received this little gem directly from our friends at Hobbico. Pictures of the sprues were presented back then with an overlook of the Hasegawa 1/48 Mitsubishi J2M3 Raiden. The base model kit that is. Hasegawa decided to add the kit to their CREATOR WORKS series as a Limited Edition model. This is the Hasegawa 64742 model kit with the marking for the Shidenkai no Maki Series.
Hasegawa 1/48 Scale “Shidenkai no Maki” Mitsubishi J2M3 Raiden (Jack) Type 21 Plastic Model Kit.
- Highly detailed plastic pieces molded in gray and clear
- Limited edition
- Detailed cockpit with instrument panel
- Illustrated instructions
- Scale: 1/48
- Length: 7.95″ (202mm)
- Width: 8.85″ (225mm)
- Skill level: 3
- Parts: 82
- MSRP: $59.99 USD
- Approximate Street Price: $46.99
- High-Quality Waterslide decals
- MARKING OPTION: Student Pilot: Mikaze Nakayoshi
Months later we received in our studio the larger cousin, the Hasegawa 1/32 Kawasaki Ki-61I Type 3 Fighter Hien (TONY)Â also from the Shidenkai no Maki series. Unlike the ”Tony”, the 1/48th Mitsubishi J2M3 Raiden did not come with the much expected (at least by me) resing figure.
As most of the time with aircraft model kits, building starts from the cockpit. The cockpit is well appointed straight out-of-the-box. Having built the Tamiya version of this kit (see picture below), I can say that the cockpit is better detailed on the Hasegawa. The overall fit is absolutely good. The frames on the windshield are very subtle and a bit hard to mask. I did the masking job in front of a lamp with a 60w fluorescent bulb so I could trace and cut the lines with a fresh #11 exacto blade.
A few weeks ago I came across a fret 1/32 photo etched seatbelt buckles from Verlinden. There are some tiny ones that would be around 1/48. My good friend Pedro Negrón from the IPMS Borinqueneers suggested yogurt foil for the seat belts, so that’s exactly what I used. Not historically accurate, but better than nothing 😉
The wheel wells well detailed as well and the was no issues to align the landing gear proportionately.
There was a time allotted to build and paint this model. The recently released Aotake Blue MMP-113 didn’t make it in time for the wheel wells. Other than that,  all the colors used on this build are from our Premiere Sponsor Mission Models Paints. When they say PREMIUM HOBBY PAINTS, that’s not just a catchy phrase, they actually mean PREMIUM.  I am providing a picture of the Tamiya build next to this one so you can appreciate the difference in color offerings between Tamiya and Mission Models. There is nothing that matches the Mission Models MMP-112 for airbrush on Tamiya’s camp. Something closer to the MM is their AS-21 which is in spray and *personally* an overkill application method for 1/48 models even more for 1/72 Japanese subjects.
