The kit's contents

The kit comes in the same usual small cardboard box Eduard already used for their Luftwaffe and USAAF sets (picture 1). It is composed of two sprues of tan colored plastic (picture 2), a small photo etched fret (picture 3) and instructions.

The Set

There are 6 figures included 2 pilots, 1 officer and 3 mechanics. The figures are all separated into various parts: head, torso, legs and arms. I don't think it will be possible to change the position of the legs (there are small locators pins), but minimal variations are possible with the arms.

The moldings, apart from small sink marks on the back of some figures are nicely done and the overall quality seems to have improved a little when compared to Eduard's first efforts (picture 4). The heads have fine details and all have an Asian type face. It is noticeable even in such a small scale. It may not seem important, but I found Japanese figures in kits, which didn't look Asian at all!

A nice addition is a small bicycle composed of injected parts (picture 5) as well as PE parts (picture 3). The plastic parts are nicely done considering the scale. The frame and the tires look very convincing and the overall detail is great. There is even a small pump, a toolbox and brakes!

A Japanese sabre and a small book are also provided, as well as a separate parachute, which can be placed on the wing root of a Japanese fighter for example.
The instructions are very precise with a detailed picture of all the figures. There is also an appropriate color references chart for Gunze (Aqueous and Mr. Color), Tamiya, Humbrol, Revell and Testors! (picture 6). A small step-by-step building instruction segment is provided for the bicycle (picture 7). Good job on that Eduard!

Conclusion

Eduard's new Japanese Army AF set fills a huge gap in the 1/48 injected figure range. It was possible to find Japanese figures in the past, but you had to dig them out of some older kits or buy expensive resin or white metal stuff. The situation is much easier now and it's funny that a Czech manufacturer was able to design such a set, knowing that Tamiya or Hasegawa didn't, mainly because they focused almost only on Luftwaffe subjects! Anyway, this set is recommended to every WWII aircraft modeler wanting to make a small diorama of a Japanese land based plane.

Now how about an Imperial Japanese Navy set... or an Italian or French one? Please Mr. Eduard!

Thank you to Eduard for kindly supplying the review sample.

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