The Mitsubishi T-2 was a supersonic trainer for the Japanese Air Self Defense Force (JASDF). Like the T-38 and F-5 in the US, it was used as an aggressor aircraft and demonstration team mount as well as the original trainer mission. The T-2 used the same engine as the SEPECAT Jaguar, the Rolls Royce Turbomeca Adour, built in Japan by Ishikawajima – Harima Heavy Industries. The Jaguar T.2 and the Mitsubishi T-2 look similar, but they’re definitely not the same aircraft. It’s a case of engineers with the same problem coming up with similar solutions.

The Hasegawa kit of the T-2 was originally released with decals for the “Blue Impulse” demonstration team. It has been recently re-released with new decals for JASDF aggressors. I bought a Blue Impulse kit at a swap meet, and thought one of the canopies was missing. Also, the decals had been cut up and several were missing. So I went out and bought one of the aggressor kits to get the needed canopy and decals. Later the missing canopy part turned up, so I now have one built and one in the stash.

The PE and instructions are from Eduard, with the non-pictorial instructions printed in Japanese. The PE set upgrades the cockpit with new consoles which include throttles, panels with handles, seat belts, canopy details, and additions/corrections for the ejection seats. There are also detail parts for the landing gear and antennas.

Cockpit

The Hasegawa kit has OK decals for the panels and consoles. The PE is much more colorful and attractive. The kit seats are under-detailed, but the kit included pilot figures which would cover this deficiency. With the addition of the seat belts and other detailing, the seats are really eye-catching.

The Exterior

After assembling the cockpit and putting it inside the fuselage, I noted that there is a seam that runs under the nose. And there are 4 antennas which make it a real chore to clean up this seam. The PE replacement antennas make this far easier, as you just cut off the kit parts, which are way too thick anyway, and when the painting is done, add the PE items. Since the aggressor I built had a false canopy under the nose, it was fairly easy to add the PE items, but pretty hard to see.

Canopies

The addition of detail inside the canopies also adds a lot to the kit. The canopy latch is shown here. There’s also a pair of mirrors on each canopy plus a grab handle between the mirrors. Great stuff.

Landing Gear

Probably the best addition to the landing gear is the new PE front nose gear door, which can be seen in the antenna picture. It goes with a new PE actuator arm. The main gear has door actuators added for both doors which aren’t on the base kit.

Overall Evaluation

Recommended. This is a really nicely done add-on / correction for an older kit. The Hasegawa kit is not expensive, especially by today’s standards, and this add-on brings a so-so kit into the 21st Century.