The Japanese F-2A fighter is loosely based on the General Dynamics F-16, and if one did not know any better, you would think that is what you were seeing. The F-2A is the single seat fighter of the Japanese Air Self Defense Force (JASDF).

This sheet is in Platz’s NBM21 Decal line – “Natural Born Modellers” and arrives in a clear plastic package slightly larger than the standard decal sheet we have come to expect.

This great set of decals shows the 50th Anniversary scheme of the F-2A from Tsuiki Airbase 8WG 6SQ in 1/72 scale. The decals were printed in Italy by Cartograf and are in perfect registration, and seemingly contain every stencil mark on the real aircraft! I am not joking here, folks – there are a ton of decals on this 6x9 inch decal sheet!

This kit is molded in light blue, black and chrome parts. It has 59 parts and is being marketed as “snap tite.” The kit has no engine, but the oil pan and the transmission are present.

The fit is good for the most part. I only had trouble with the chrome parts fits. I was not able to get them to snap, and some of the chrome parts (like the tanks) have sizable gaps.

I put together the chassis and wheels, then checked for misalignments. I only had to add a small shim to one of the suspension parts to get all the tires to touch the ground. I painted the chassis/wheels assembly flat black and the cab in “true blue.”

This is a good kit for a kid getting into the hobby, or a grown-up who just wants a break from more complex builds. I had fun putting this kit together and it was a great break from other projects. The only downside is that some of the chrome parts didn’t fit well, but it is nothing that some modeling skills couldn’t overcome.

It seems that when a new kit hits the market, it quickly is followed by a flood of aftermarket detail sets. Fortunately, Aires understands that kits purchased today may not reach the workbench for some time, so they also continue to release aftermarket sets for kits that many of us have in our stash (or that we have not yet added to that inventory). Set #2158 is a glowing example of that. Trumpeter’s 1/32 MiG 3 kit has been on the market for a few years now, and Aires recently released a highly detailed mixed-media cockpit set to add considerable detail to that kit. The detail in this set’s resin components, as is normal with Aires sets, is crisp, delicate and complex enough to make the MiG’s cockpit quite convincing. Those parts are cast in Aires’ typical gray resin and, as usual, there are no pinholes or excessive flash to worry about (just a thin sliver of flash here and there that comes off easily).