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| The B6N2's predecessor, the B5N2 Kate was a formidable aircraft at its intended role as a bomber. It could carry torpedos or conventional bombs. They played a big role in sinking ships of the U.S. fleet in Pearl Harbour and through the rest of the pacific war, helped try keep the U.S. at bay. |
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| I know I keep going on about Hasegawa kits, but they really are fantastic, beautifully molded, crisp detail, in large amounts, great fit for the parts, a real joy to build and paint! Their B5N2 is no exception!! |
| By now you must be getting used to my poor photography skills so I'll do my best to describe it to you. There are eight grey molded sprues, one clear canopy sprue, one decal sheet and the instruction manual. The kit is as well molded as any other Hasegawa product, but does lack a little detail in the cockpit compared to its younger brother B6N2. |
| The B5N2, being a carrier-borne aircraft, had, to save space on deck, folding wings which hasegawa have left off this kit, which isn't really a problem in my opinion, as the aircraft has beatifully shaped wings which are best left in their locked down "flying" position. The interior cockpit area is still very detailed but perhaps not as much as the B6N2. With Tamiya's IJN cockpit green (XF-71) and flat black you should be able to turn it into a very respectable looking cockpit, bearing in mind when both fuselage halves are put together little can be seen inside. With this one you get options for closed cockpit, one piece clear canopy, or open, seven pieces. Yes you guessed it, they are all beatifully molded too! |
| The Decals are very nicely done, with two options for the cockpit controls if you want (though with all the raised detail I would suggest painting still) and all the roundells and external markings for the aircraft. The Instruction Manual is, as we have come to expect with Hasegawa, very straight forward and consice. Every step of the construction is well drawn out and the labeling is very good. The painting instructions are again easy to follow. The usual IJA green on the upper surfaces and IJA grey on the lower. |
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| The flaps are seperately molded from the wings, which gifts the option to have the flaps up or down. The wheels have a small sag to give the impression of weight, but the whole undercarriage assembly looks very good! We are given two options for the type of propeller used, one using a nose cone, the other can be seen on the box art. |
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| The rear stabilising fins will interlock to give support to the rear of the fuselage when all put together. The engine builds up into a nice little sub-assembly, I recommend test fitting just so you can see how much will be visible at the end. Only one type of external stores is supplied, two 250Kg bombs, which is surprising, since it was mainly a torpedo bomber. |
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