JASDF Aircraft Weapons 1 (JASDF Missiles and Launcher Set)
kit no. X72-010 / 35010
Review by Al Magnus - one72guy(at)gmail(dot)com

The kit

Inside the box there are three sprues, each containing 33 parts in hard light grey injected plastic.

Four missiles are available. They are:

 Missile   No. of 
Copies 		  No. of Parts 
per MIssile 		  Kit Part 
No.s 
 ASM-1   1 to 3   11   A11, A13, A14, A15(x4), A12(x4) 
 ASM-2   1 to 3   12   A10, A11, A13, A14, A15(x4), A12(x4) 
 AAM-3   6   3   A2, A3(x2) 
 AAM-4   6   1   A1 


Also included are parts for the JM-117 bomb (parts A4, A5), Mark 82 bomb (parts A6, A7), LAMPS-4 launch rail (part A8) and Triple Ejector Rack (part A9).

This is one of Hasegawa's newer releases. The parts are excellently molded with fine engraved detail, minimal mold seams and no flash. The only down side concerns the cross section of the AAM-3 and AAM-4 missiles, which is more of an oval shape than round. This can be partially corrected with some sanding and scraping but you will most likely loose the finely engraved lines.

The ASM missiles share parts for up to three missiles in total - three ASM-1s, or three ASM-2s, or a combination thereof.

The fins are excellent and feature the faceted surfaces on them. The body halves are hollow so you don't have to go through the trouble of drilling out the exhaust, but you will have to blank off the interior so you can't see completely through the inside of the missile.

A few ejector pin sink marks are visible on the bodies of the AAM missiles, and there is another one located on the electrical conduit (part A11) for the ASM missiles.

There are three small decal sheets containing the various lines and stencils for the missiles. The decal film is a bit thick as is common with Hasegawa kits, but the images respond to Microsol very well and snug down tight. The images are opaque, clear and well printed.

The instruction sheet contains colouring and marking info. Paint numbers are for Gunze Sangyo Aqueous and Gunze Sangyo Mr. Color paints. US FS numbers are included where applicable.



Conclusion

All in all, an excellent value for the money and definitely the kit to use if you need modern Japanese missiles and stand-off weapons.


Review Last Updated: 11 April 2020

© AC Magnus 2007