History Brief

The IJN aircraft carrier Junyo was a mighty warship at the outset of WWII. Her fighter groups were made up of Zeros, and they outclassed all other opposing fighter types at that time. The Junyo, however, would suffer heavy damage in the Battle of Guadalcanal and would never again regain her prior reputation. The carrier would repeatedly suffer damage at the hands of the US Navy, thus keeping her out of service for long periods of repairs. Her air crews carried on the fight despite being depleted on more than one occasion. By war’s end, the Junyo was nothing more than a floating derelict with irreparable damage and her aircrews wiped out.

The August issue contains two Fature articles that will certainly attract the attention of “Jet” fans. In Feature 1, World Class modeler Yoav Efrati builds and reviews the Kinetic Kfir C2/C7 in 1/48th scale. The images attest to Yoav’s high level of skill as a painter and modeler, but the article itself is a goldmine for some weathering techniques. Yoav used Van Gogh Oils to weather the Kfir, and the effect is stunning.

The article is followed by a two-page spread of color images of the real deal – Kfirs in flight, on the ground, and with the usual detail shots of landing gear, pods, intakes, and some weathering provided by Mother Nature. Topping it off are two pages of profile drawings showing camo patterns, and with the colors involved being identified with FS numbers.

The SR-71 was the third and final version of what is still quite possibly one of the most famous and recognizable aircraft in the world. Its predecessors, the CIA’s intelligence-gathering A-12 and the Air Force’s interceptor YF-12, were responsible not only for the SR-71’s ultimate success but were also the launch beds for so many other aircraft designs and weapons systems. This success allowed the United States to be the leader in military systems for so long. There are a number of good publications available and a great amount of web-based data available via simple search requests.

I had always wanted to build a model of this epic aircraft and can now say I have. Having the luck to get a Hasegawa kit with the drone was just icing on the cake. When I opened the box, I removed the plastic wrap only to find this kit is much older than I would have expected, and is virtually all raised panel lines. All of that aside, it is still a subject I wanted to build.