Hasegawa’s Val depicted in the colors of the No. 1 aircraft off the carrier Soryu in the December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor attack. 

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A kit from the late nineties, it still holds up quite well by today’s kit standards. I didn’t weather the aircraft because many aviation historians say the Pearl Harbor attack aircraft were kept in “pristine” condition aboard their carriers during the long voyage to their launching site. The paint colors are Tamiya F-70 Dark Green upper surfaces, Aeromaster Army Gray for the underside, and Tamiya XF-71 Cockpit Green for the cockpit. The red tail surfaces are Model Master Guards Red. The only real problem I had was getting the wheel cover decals to line up and conform to the cover contours. 

All in all, this was a fun kit to build and I am now anxious to move on to Hasegawa’s Kate torpedo bomber. Having built the Nichimo 1/48 Kate in the seventies (which I still have in my collection), I am interested in seeing how Hasegawa’s effort stacks up!

Blair Stewart (Weejun)

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