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In-box review of Skyly J2 from “Sky Crawlers�


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After the review of the 1/48 SANKA MK.B here is the review of its adversary, the 1/72 Skyly J2 by Bandai EX-Model.

For the background of the film, I’ll shamelessly copy what I wrote earlier. :thumbsup:

“The Sky Crawlers†is an anime by director Mamuro Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, among others) that came to Japanese screens in early August of 2008. For the details, I’ll refer you to the WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE. I’ve read elsewhere that they wanted the aircraft to look like the pinnacle of prop-driven fighter design. Looking at the design of the planes, I think they succeeded.

While the Sanka seems to be a pretty straight-forward evolution of the Kyushu J7W1 Shinden, the Skyly’s ancestors are harder to trace. It seems like a wonderful kit-bash of a Fw 190D, a P-51D, an F4U Corsair and the turbocharger of a P-38 Lightning. Some of the finest fighters of WWII remixed to an impressive-looking heavy fighter. Looking from above the horizontal stabilizers remind of the Zero while the wing plan form look a bit like a gull-winged P-40.

Box-art:

SD530601.jpg

Sprue A,

containing the wings, parts of the undercarriage and the standing crew figure:

SD530605.jpg

Sprue B,

containing the fuselage parts and the vertical stabilizer:

SD530608.jpg

Sprue C,

containing the cockpit, propellers, engine parts and the gears for the counter-rotating props:

SD530609.jpg

Sprue D,

containing the transparent discs replicating the spinning props.

SD530613.jpg

They’re shaped and not just simple flat discs. The pic below is one of the discs from the Sanka Mk. B kit.

SD530645.jpg

Sprue E,

the tinted transparencies that are nicely thin.

SD530612.jpg

The decals:

SD530616.jpg

Markings are supplied for one plane. The instructions are in Japanese only, so I can’t make any further comments on what plane is displayed. But as far as I know, this is the adversary in the film.

The coloured painting instructions, also containing some stills from the film:

SD530604.jpg

The colours are also given in Japanese only. Thankfully, the coloured three-view instructions help a bit.

The cockpit:

SD530622.jpg

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A detail shot of the nicely recessed panel lines and the detailed main landing gear wells.

SD530619.jpg

An example of the instructions. As you can see in the drawing below and the pic above, the locator pins look like this is actually a snap-tite kit. As “joncarfarelly” on whatifmodelers.com noted, the Bandai kits fit exceptionally well. It can be hard to take apart the parts after dry-fitting. There’s a good chance to damage the parts. So watch out when dry-fitting the parts. A solution could be to sand down the thickness of the male locator bits for a less tight fit.

SD530617.jpg

Overall, this looks like a very nice kit. The panel lines are finely engraved. The moulding is perfect – no visible flash, sink holes or ejector pin marks in places visible after assembly. The crew figure is a nice touch, although a seated figure would have been nice as well. The working counter-rotating props are great. And to include shaped discs to replicate the spinning prop for a wheels-up model is fantastic. :worship:

Last but not least, I think the design of the plane is absolutely awesome. :thumbsup::woo:

May have to get another kit for an USAAF WWII project, with drop-tanks and HVARs. :salute:

I got my copy of the kit at HOBBY LINK JAPAN.

Edited by ChernayaAkula
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Thanks, guys! :lol:

I also like this design better. It just screams "heavy fighter". Should look great with a load of HVARs and some bombs or drop tanks. Fitting the HVARs to the outboard wings should be no big deal, but the design of the MLG bays and the wing cannons make fitting further hard-points a bit tough.

OD top and grey bottom with invasion stripes or natural metal with invasion stripes? Probably both. :woo: With some cool nose-art!

This looks like it was tailor made for the Skyly! :D

p47elsieartworkng_1.jpg

Found HERE on HyperScale

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