Items Reviewed

• Aires, #4605 (Gun bay), $16.50
• Aires, #4606 (Speed brakes), $16.50
• Quickboost, #48558 (Gun muzzles), $5.00
• Quickboost, #48566 (Antennas), $6.50

These upgrades ramp-up the level of detail for the Kittyhawk Jaguar 1. Quickboost is a subdivision of Aires, so it’s the same manufacturer with the idea of simple, lower cost additions to upgrade things not requiring a major aftermarket effort… such as antennas.

Built on the principle of more is better, the Fokker E. IV was an attempt to improve on the legendary aircraft responsible for the “Fokker scourge” of 1915. First was the addition of a twin row 14 cylinder Oberursel engine which developed 160 hp. Then, at least in the prototype, three IMG machine guns were installed on the upper cowl firing through the propeller arc via an interrupter gear (which didn’t always work). These improvements seemed better in theory but combat revealed some shortcomings. The guns were reduced to two Spandaus since three machine guns which were prone to failures overloaded pilots. In addition, the weight of guns/ammo combined with a spinning mass of engine up front proved a handful. The allies by this time were producing very maneuverable aircraft that a wing warping design simply couldn’t match. The Fokker Einedeckers domination of the skies over the front was over by December of 1916.

NOTE: The Concept Notes have MSRP of $22.00

Part 1: Overview

The fifth Super Wing Series kit from Zoukei-Mura (ZM) is the Mitsubishi J2M3 Raiden (Allied code name ‘Jack’). I have the Hasegawa kit of the same aircraft in my stash, but when ZM kit arrived, I was very surprised at the size of the box. The kit box is substantially larger than the Hasegawa box, and it is full of plastic. Lots and lots of plastic. The lift-off box top is beautifully rendered in glossy artwork featuring the J2M3 of Lt. JG Yoshihiro Aoki, with views of the actual model on the sides.

Inside there are nine individually wrapped sprues of light gray plastic and two sprues of clear, with a total of 247 parts. There is a single decal sheet, a small sheet of paint masks, and the most comprehensive instruction manual I’ve ever seen (more on that in a minute). Also included with the review was the ZM Concept Notes.