I recently did an in-box review of this kit for iModeler…here is the finished product.

The kit is engineered very well, as one would expect from Tamiya. Interestingly, I found the plastic to be slightly softer than what I am used to from them. I would describe it as “Italeri-like” in it’s composition. This will serve the modeler well, as only some light sanding is all that is required for seams to vanish.

Assembly was very enjoyable. Overall fit is problem-free, with the exception of a slight gap at the aft wing roots. However, that may have been operator error. The decals performed well. Despite Tamiya not including canopy masks, as in their 1/48 version, masking was not an issue. The window frames are well-defined, and make masking and trimming very easy. I had all three sections ready for paint in under an hour.

Tamiya acrylic paints were used throughout, and the antennae wire is stretched sprue.

21 additional images. Click to enlarge.