YS-11 "The First Production"

[Mike]

YS-11 "The First Production"

1:144 Hasegawa

In association with

Produced by the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing company (NAMC), the first example of this government instigated project rolled out in 1962, and is the only successful commercial aircraft to have been made by a Japanese company. Similar to the Vickers Viscount in many ways, the airframe is powered by two Rolls Royce Dart turbo-props, and flew with many carriers until it was gradually phased out in the early part of the new millennium, although some are still in the air outside Japan today.

The kit arrives in an overall white top opening box with a photograph of the real thing on the front. There are 5 sprues of white styrene in the box, as well as a clear smoke sprue containing a stand, a small sprue of poly-caps, three nose-weights a clear sprue for the windscreen, decal sheet and instruction booklet.

Unusually at this scale, there is a cockpit part provided with a pair of seats and little else, against which the three white metal weights attach in a 2-part cradle in order to ensure the nose wheel stays on the ground. A socket for the stand can be inserted before the fuselage is closed up, or left out depending on your choice.

The wings fit into the wing fillets with a large attachment tab, and the engines build up from two halves which sandwich a poly-cap for the prop, and a front face to save the modeller from cleaning up seams at the front of the nacelle. The nacelles then mount under and over the wing, with little fuss, although some seam filling may be needed here, unless you test fit and adjust the join beforehand.

The vertical tail is integral to the fuselage, and the horizontal surfaces glue in with attachment tabs to give them strength. The remaining parts include the landing gear legs, which are commendably slim, separate wheels, and gear bay doors, which have alternative closed parts to aid with alignment. The props push-fit onto the poly caps, and the windscreen fits after the fuselage halves are closed, but again - test fitting before gluing would be advisable. The final few parts are a couple of intakes on the underside of the fuselage behind the wing trailing edges.

The stand is a simple affair made from a main L-shaped part with another strip laid across the base to form a cruciform shape and give the stand stability. If you install it, you will need to open the flashed-over hole in the underside of the fuselage before you close it up.

The decals represent the first flying example, although in a later scheme, and include a full set of window decals (minus the flight deck), doors, JCAB logos and a couple of small hinomarus for the wings. Each prop blade also gets a decal for the black leading edges and the yellow tip, although I can't help thinking it'd be easier to mask these than fiddle with decals. The decals are nicely in register and color density if good. They have Hasegawa's typical slightly thick carrier film, but this should disappear under a few coats of clear.

Conclusion

A good rendition of a slightly left of field subject, which although it would have benefitted from some gear bay detail, has a basic cockpit included, which makes clear glazing sensible, rather than superfluous as is usually the case.

Review sample courtesy of