The 244^th Sentai (Fighter Group / Fighter Regiment) was formed in 1941 and charged with the defense of Tokyo. As apparent from the options included in this decal set, the unit started flying Nates and later turned in their Ki-27s for Ki-61s & Ki-100s.

There are a handful of Ki-61 Hien kits on the market in 1/48 scale with the most prominent player being Hasegawa. Along with the Hasegawa tool, Arii / Otaki and the RS Models tools were just minor players in the Ki-61 arena. All that changed in the past few months when Tamiya released their brand spankin’ new tool of the Ki-61 in 1/48 scale. From the reviews I’ve read, it’s a very sweet kit. Thankfully Lifelike has come to the rescue with a timely re-release of their 244^th Sentai Part 2 Decal set that will make a nice addition to your Ki-61 no matter which kit you build. The decal set includes two options for the Ki-27 Nate in addition to the Ki-61 decals. A very nice bonus if, like me, you have the Mania / Hasegawa Nate in your stash. Although the Nate tool has been around since the 1970’s, it is still a very nice kit.

As part of this decal set you have six options for the Ki-61 and two options for the Ki-27.

• Ki-27 Type 97 fighter type-Otsu of the 2nd Chutai
• Ki-61 Hien type 1- Tei 4424. Flown by Captain Kobayashi
• Ki-61 Hien type 1- Tei 5262. Reserve aircraft of by Captain Kobayashi.
• Ki-61 Hien type 1- Hei 15 flown by Corporal Suzuki
• Ki-27 Type 97 fighter type-Otsu of the 3rd Chutai
• Ki-61 Hien type 1- Otsu 16. Flown by Corporal Nakano
• Ki-61 Hien type 1- Hei 33. Flown by Corporal Nakano
• Ki-61 Hien type 1- Otsu 73. Flown by Sergeant Itagaki

Taking a close look at the decals themselves, they look nice and thin and in great register. The carrier film does extend past the edge of the decals, but not by very much at all. The opacity appears to be good and it shouldn’t present any problems at all. The decals are printed here in the USA by Mircoscale.

I’m very happy with this set and I want to thank Lifelike Decals for this fantastic set of decals to spiff up my Ki-61 and Ki-27 kits. I want to also thank the IPMS USA review corps for allowing me the honor of reviewing this fine set of decals.