Nichimo B5N2 Kate Review - Still Worth Building?
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- čas přidán 24. 07. 2024
- In this in-box review video, I am looking at Nichimo's 1:48 scale Nakajima B5N2 Kate. This kit dates back to the late 1970s. Is it still worth building or has it been "put on the shelf" by Hasegawa's newer kit? Let's find out together!
- Auta a dopravní prostředky
My parents gave me this awesome Nichimo's Nakajima B5N2 Kate model kit back in the latest 70s. Enjoyed and learned a lot about this unique Imperial Japanese Carrier torpedo bomber ever. Thanks for this happy memories. The colorful artwork on the front box is simply amazing.
So cool! Making a model is a great way to learn about the subject. I agree with you about the box art. I have bought many kits based on the beautiful box art. Cheers!
I built so many of these kits. They were awsome. No pho etch or resin, which is not needed.
Brings back memories of when the hobby was fun and affordable.
If you shop around, the hobby can still be fun and affordable (I purchased this kit for under $10 second-hand).🙂
First time seeing this
June 1st 2023…
I just bought this kit at a TOY FAIR… payed $20.00 for it…
I think it’s a great kit, I have a great reference book on Japanese camouflage and marking’s…
Will be looking for aftermarket products for it…
Great review…
Thanks for putting this together…
CHRIS from OHIO 🇺🇸
You're welcome Chris! I lived near Akron many years back.
Excellent video, I love building old kits from when I was younger, keep up the great work, as I say at the end of my videos, a little bit of effort, you can get a good result from a old kit.
Thanks Matt. I love the older kits myself. It's always a fun challenge to turn them out well.
Very good kit...perfect in my way of what a fun build should be...
Right on!
That is really nice box art!
Right on!
The advantage of older kits is the plastic tended to be on the heavy side so you had material to work with if you wanted to improve any accuracy, as well as fewer parts overall so you could be done before the next weekend/holiday.
And unlike the "limited run" kits, they had good locating pins and slots for alignment and support of the wings and tail planes while the glue is setting up.
Good points Tom!
As a brush painter the overdone rivets suit me fine. This kit was done when almost every modeller used a brush.Well tidy review.
Right on Kenneth! Thank you.
Looks alright👍..I learnt today the Kate planes were used in the bombing of Darwin, Australia in WW2.. thanks from NZ 🇳🇿
Right on! Yeah, the Kates were used in most (if not all) of the Japanese campaigns in the Pacific. They were quite effective in the early days of the war.
Just built this kit came out really nice
Nice William, that's good to know! I look forward to building mine.
With a bit of super-detailing is a lovely reproduction.
Thanks Pietro, I'm looking forward to building it.
I have never built this particular kit but it does remind me of the earlier Otaki kits. I don't mind the heavier surface details. They will work on dry-brushing to highlight and weathering if needed. If painted in aluminium either leave them alone or use a dark wash and clean up to get the results you want. Back to the original question, yes I would built this kit and enjoy it.
I would agree that it's similar to the Otaki kits of that era. It should be a fun build that turns out nicely.
This is still a good kit after all these years. The Hasegawa kit is more modern and has better detail.
The real problem is research on these to decide what aircraft you want to model. The best reference are Japanese, but then translation becomes an issue. The Pearl Harbor Kates, are another thing altogether. A number of references I have seen are wrong including aftermarket decals. The Kates were armed with a torpedo or 1x 800 kg bombs or 6x smaller bombs (200 kg?). The paint schemes varied from carrier to carrier. All of the Torpedo aircraft were in the first wave from Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu and Soryu. There were about 40 of them. There were also Kates carrying bombs. All of the Kate’s in the 2nd wave were bombers. Have fun!
Right on! Thanks for the information 👍🏻
Just my thought but the overdone details allow you to put a thick layer of paint on the plane without the risk of hiding those details.
That's very true. It also shows up well under a dark color like IJN green.
The kit looks fine to me. I built an old Kate so long ago that I don't remember what manufacture made it. I believe it was 1/72 scale Airfix. Anyway it's been hanging from the ceiling being chased by a wildcat. i'm sure you could make your kit look great. And hang it from the ceiling if the detailing looks too overdone to you.
That's true, James. I do enjoy building these older kits and the challenge of turning them out well.🙂
This may have already been mentioned but when you talked about dipping the canopy in “future” to clear it up, what product are you referencing? Very new to the hobby and that sounds nice to have.
Great question Jesse. It used to be called Future floor polish. Now it's marketed as Pledge Floor Care. I use it as a clear coat sprayed directly with my airbrush. I also dip the canopies in it to improve their clarity if needed.
Thanks a lot for the information, I’ll have to give it a try. Looking forward to seeing how you end up completing these nichimo kits one day.
@Jesse Naylor You're welcome Jesse. Good luck!
And that one, too...
Right on!