On the 70th anniversary of the Hawaiian Operation (as the Imperial Japanese Navy called it), Model Art Winter quarterly is all about Kido Butai, the Japanese fleet that attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Most of this issue is devoted to building detailed 1/700 models of the major Japanese warships (light cruisers and larger) and the submarines that attacked Pearl Harbor. Thus, this issue is strictly for IJN buffs.

Model Art quarterly issues are a larger format than their monthly issues. As usual, almost the entire text is in Japanese, but the pictures tell a thousand words. Page 1 has the usual four postcards of IJN warship paintings by Yukio Mizuno. Pages 3-7 are the Table of Contents and ads. Pages 8-15 are a new kit review of Hasegawa’s 1/350 Hikawa Maru liner.

The Japanese were among many nations during WWII to try and develop an amphibious tank. The Ka-Mi was the results of their efforts. My Japanese armor references are somewhat lacking, but the internet tells me that there were 184 of these floating tanks build during the war. Dragon has issued this great little kit in their 1/35 ’39-’45 series. Kit #6678 of the Imperial Japanese Navy Type 2 (Ka-Mi) Amphibious Tank Combat Version.

“Combat Version” means this kit does NOT come with the distinctive floats/pontoons that give the tank its unique look. Don’t let that put you off, as the kit itself is of exceptional quality, molded in the standard grey. The kit includes a great level of detail on all the parts, and comes with DS track, a small PE set, and a small sprue of clear parts. (Dragon has announced a release of the “full” kit with the pontoons which should be on store shelves soon.)

History

The Douglas DC-3, with its numerous aliases, was probably the most famous and influential transport airplane ever made, and a case can be made for even more praise than that. First appearing in the mid-thirties, it became standard equipment for nearly all major airlines until the outbreak of World War II, and then the plane was mass-produced in very large numbers as a military transport. It was also produced in the Soviet Union and in Japan. DC-3s were very common sights at airports postwar as they continued in airline and corporate service for many years, and many are still flying throughout the world. A current aviation enthusiast who is unfamiliar with the DC-3 has to be a rare breed, as the plane is still famous today.