History Brief

Designed in 1944 by Kawasaki, the Ki-148 was a World War II Japanese guided air-to-surface missile. In a nutshell, it was a radio-controlled bomb powered by a rocket engine capable producing 330lbs of thrust for up to 80 seconds. Approximately 180 were built. Luckily, none saw service by war’s end.

The Product

My sample arrived in a somewhat flimsy box. The box top featured a helpful rendering of the missile. On the reverse side, three decal options were presented, with the latter two being what-ifs. The plastic is a short run offering and lacks the finesse of standard production run kits. The kit includes plastic for one missile and one trolley cart. Also included are one small photo-etch fret, an instruction sheet, and a small decal sheet.

Volume 103 in Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces series details the interesting story of the Nakajima’s Ki-27 and the pilots who prevailed while flying the little fighter. The “Nate,” as it became known to most Westerners, contributed to a prevailing myth among aviation experts during the early years of WWII that Japanese aircraft were almost impossible to best in a dogfight. The nimble aircraft was fast enough and agile enough to give well-trained Japanese pilots the edge over almost any adversary as quickly as the fighter could be supplied to the Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF).

Aires continues its rich tradition of detailed aftermarket parts with a wheel set for the Kinetic S-2 Tracker. This set contains two front wheels and two main wheels as well as a masking set for the wheels to help painting. The set is cast in Aires’ usual gray resin and has no defects or issues.

The set is simple to use. The wheels can be trimmed from the pour stubs. One thing you will need to do is to sand the mold seam off and rescribe the wheel treads. Total prep time is maybe 5-10 minutes. You will also need to drill the hole slightly deeper to allow the axle to slide fully into the wheel.

The kit wheel has a separate hub and a two-part wheel. To build it, you paint the hub and glue the two wheel parts over it. This leaves a seam that needs sanded down and then painted. The Aires set wheel is a single piece with better detail. It also has a masking set, allowing the wheel to be painted and then masked and the hub painted.