Lifelike Decals out of Japan has issued a new sheet for the Ki-61 which states it’s for the Hasegawa kit. This also coincides with the release of Tamiya’s new Ki-61 kit also. Looking in the package, there are three color sheets. Once with the overall schemes, one with detailed information about the four included schemes and one for stencil placement. The decal sheet is very well printed and contains markings for two planes except for the wing walks. Also included is a small insert sheet to complete one of the planes. Decals are printed by Microscale.

The markings included represent the following planes:

The Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien ("flying swallow") is a Japanese World War II fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service. The Japanese Army designation was "Army Type 3 Fighter" Allied pilots initially believed Ki-61s were Messerschmitt Bf 109’s and later an Italian aircraft, which led to the Allied reporting name of "Tony", assigned by the United States War Department. It was the only mass-produced Japanese fighter of the war to use a liquid-cooled inline V engine. Over 3,000 Ki-61s were produced. Initial prototypes saw action over Yokohama during the Doolittle Raid on 18 April 1942, and continued to fly combat missions throughout the war.

Development of the F-86 actually started before the end of WWII, initiated by North American Aviation. Using captured data from the design of the ME-262 showed that a swept wing was the only way to fulfill an Army Air Force requirement for a 600 mph speed for the new design. Progressive modifications led to the fighter that effectively countered the threat of the Mig-15 during the Korean War.

The kit comes as three sprues of light gray plastic, along with one clear sprue. Parts are cleanly molded, with engraved panel lines and no flash. Cockpit detail consists of raised details on the instrument panel and side consoles, a three piece pilot seat, and a control stick. There is nice detail on the wheels, wheel well interior, and the inside of the speed brake wells. The interior of the wheel well covers and speed brakes themselves also have well detailed surfaces. Rounding out the details are several pieces that complete the interior at the rear of the canopy.