Model Art Issue 922 is typical of other Model Art magazines in that it is written entirely in Japanese, with occasional English words, usually in article titles or in captions. This issue shows a large photo spread of the result of a conversion of the 1/350 Tamiya Yamato to the Musashi, specifically as she currently is, lying on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Also, there’s a pretty good review of the Wolfpack release of the US Navy T-2 Buckeye training jet. Plus, there are lots of advertisements showing what is available and new, always useful for building up that wish list.

The article on the conversion of the Musashi is actually pretty incredible, considering the Musashi has only recently been found. The article includes many of the available pictures of the ship taken by the submersible used during the initial discovery. The build the author did shows fantastic work showing the sediment and corrosion that has occurred in the intervening seventy-odd years since Musashi was sunk. The T-2 Buckeye build-up shows a nice kit that seems to go together well, resulting in a neat-looking, reasonably well detailed model. This is followed by similar articles on the 1/72 Trumpeter Be-6 Madge and the Aoshima 1/72 N1K3-J and N1K3-Ja Shidenkai kits, the Tiger Model 1/72 SCUD B and Launcher, the ICM 1/35 T-34/76, and the Airfix 1/72 Do17..

I find the Model Art magazines useful, even though I don’t read Japanese. The pictures of the built up models, articles showing the build process, painting features, and historical photography all provide useful information.

Model Art magazines are available from Dragon Models USA’s many retailers, on Amazon, and from various overseas retailers, such as Hobby Link Japan, Hobby Search 1999 Models, and Lucky Model.

Thanks to Model Art and to IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review this magazine.