The Little World

If you are scandalised by the use of Allied code-names for Japanese aircraft of WW2, make sure you check back later when I use NATO reporting names for Soviet planes.

This is officially the E15K1 but not again in this column. It is a Norm. A very special plane and welcome in the collection. I encountered it on the swap table at the Big Local Scale Model Exhibition where it was being ignored by everyone else, including the seller. The depth to which it had sunk in his regard was $ 10…a number which recommended it to me. A slightly damaged box was irrelevant -all the goods were sealed inside in a plastic bag.

And good they are – RS makes a decent short-run kit if you keep your wits about you. No resin, no brass, and only one canopy – all the rest in decent soft grey plastic. Little flash, and no sink.

The Japanese decals are fine – not a complex scheme in any case. The suggested colour scheme of the prototype aircraft – the yellow of the training squadrons – may not be accurate. Sources suggest that it might have been silver at first. However, the box illustration and printed call-out on the back show such a pretty aircraft that I want no more encouragement to reach for the yellow bottle. I have a Mitsubishi Dinah for which it will form a perfect display companion.