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Arii's old J2M3 - Out of Box Reviews


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I love eclectic subject matter; whether it’s cars, planes tanks or robots, a model of something out of the ordinary usually gets my immediate attention, not to mention my money and time. However, there are some “famous” and “mainstream” subjects that are just too  cool to turn away from. For me, one of those is the somewhat-famous J2M Raiden, known as “Jack” to the Allies in WWII.

I usually prefer Japanese multi-seat or multi-engined planes; most of their single-seaters don’t do much for me. However, the Jack, whick looks almost as much like an air racer as an interceptor has always  been a favourite of mine. The problem is, there are almost no good kits of it in 1/72, and I’m not willing to pay what they want for the few that do exist. However, since the Jack is so small, even in 1/48 it’s not a lot bigger than some 1/72 WWII twin-engined planes.

 

Thus, I was able to finally add a Jack to my collection recently by picking up the old Arii second-hand. I have to say, give the age, it’s a good looking kit. Sure, it’s not as detailed as some more modern ones, perhaps, but for what I paid (and how horrified I was with the Arii Wirbelwind I got was) I was very pleasantly surprised.

 

Check out my out of box review for this likely mostly-forgotten example of Japan’s pudgy interceptor at the link below! Anyone built this guy?

 

https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/arii-148-mitsubishi-j2m3-model-21-raiden-jack-oob/

 

raiden-oob-001.jpg?w=400

Edited by Faust
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Not a bad kit at all. When I built mine, I even used the original (1970s) decals and all except for one Hinomaru, they worked very well. It is lacking in detail compared to today's modern kits, but it's a good one for sitting on the shelf, for sure.

 

IMG_0283.jpg

 

 

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Those old Arii kits weren't too bad back in the day and even today, with a little love, they can look quite nice. I have built a number of them over the years and don't remember too many hassles. Simple kits and great for beginners.

 

Thanks for bringing back good memories.

 

Cheers!

Don

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nice review of a good kit.

I don't have this kit but have the old (1974?) Tamiya kit of the J2M3 that I like and want to pick up another.

recently I built the ARII F6F-3 and Spitfire Mk VIII and I think those are probably ARII's best offerings , or at least the best I have built.

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That's good to know that some of their other stuff is good too. I found out that this was originally an Otaki, so it makes sense it's good. I've got an old 1/144 Thud  by Otaki, and it's nice, too.

 

That one looks good, Don!

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Yes AMT released the P-47, P-51, P-40, Spitfire, Zero, Bf-109, and FW-190, and Corsair.

Airfix also released a couple of the old Otaki kits as well. I'm not sure as to which ones though.

Max Bryant 

Edited by mightymax
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I reached way back in the cabinet and grabbed this old build (yikes... oh my!). I built this Arii/Otaki 1/48 Spitfire Mk. VIII 15+ years ago (probably longer):

IMG_20170827_145047.jpg

 

IMG_20170827_144948.jpg

She's done up in Clive Caldwell's markings. Caldwell was the leading Australian Ace of World War II with 28.5 kills. From what I remember the kit itself was easy and hassle free. No filler or trouble spots. The canopy never looked quite right to me and the area of the wing to fuselage isn't entirely accurate. But I had fun putting it together and it looks like a Spitfire to me... and it was dirt cheap even back then. Good memories.

Cheers!

Don.

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Well, there might be a few shape issues, but I agree, Don. That VIII looks plenty like a Spitfire to me!  Nice work, too. 

 

See, that's the thing with me. I don't care if there are a few inaccuracies... so long as the finished product looks pretty close to what it's supposed to be, then I'm good. I mean, I build Frogs and Hellers from the '60s and '70s (don't forget the Farpros, either), so "rough" has a different meaning for me. 

 

I don't like to obsess on perfection of kit; I'd rather focus on making it as good as possible with what they've given me!

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I agree. I grew up building Frog, Aurora, old Airfix (remember those rivets!), old KP, old Fujimi, old Hasegawa (oh my those old Hasegawa kits from the 70's bear no resemblance to the Hasegawa of today), Monogram and Revell (when they were both separate companies). Heck I even did Astra vacuform because there was no Cf-100 or Avro Arrow kits made back then. Raised panel lines don't bother me nor do a few inaccuracies here and there. Personally I just want to have fun and see what I can make from some of these old kits. Its amazing what a little scratching building can do. There are bags of great older kits out there and many for sale for cheap because nobody wants them. I love these nostalgic threads. As I posted earlier... good memories!

 

Cheers!

 

Don.

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Nice Spit, and the Jack rocks too!

For old 70's kits these still are really nice kits. You can build several to use as palettes for markings and not break the bank using the latest uber kit for shelf display pieces. The fact that otaki used recessed panel lines way back in the seventies made these cutting-edge kits back in the day and as stated still good today as well, imho

 

Max Bryant 

Edited by mightymax
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On 8/27/2017 at 0:44 PM, mightymax said:

Yes AMT released the P-47, P-51, P-40, Spitfire, Zero, Bf-109, and FW-190, and Corsair.

Airfix also released a couple of the old Otaki kits as well. I'm not sure as to which ones though.

Max Bryant 

Airfix re-issued the P-40E , P-51D and Corsair F4U-1A  ; I do not know it there might be others .

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