Modelkasten 1/48 JAAF JNAF Aircrew Figures 1930-1945 By Scott Hackney

The Kit

I like figures displayed with a model. It gives the model both perspective and context. I’m always in search of unique figures and the other day I found some good ones. I was prowling through Hobbylink Japan and I found something cool. Five 1/48th JAAF JNAF figures from a company called MODELKASTEN. The picture looks good, the price was reasonable, so I added them to my order. When I got the order my shot in the dark was rewarded. Nice Japanese aircrew figures – made in China.

There are five figures in the set, four aircrew and girl. The four aircrew have interchangeable parts to make them either JAAF, or JNAF. The differences in almost everything between the Japanese Army and Navy are well documented and the kit provides the necessary parts to capture the unique uniform differences of each service. The civilian girl is waving goodbye as her heroes head off into battle.

The color box art that also serves as the directions does not do the figures justice. The detail appears soft on the box art, but that is not the case. The close up of the one of the figures shows the level detail and properly painted these figures will be stunning. I look forward to choosing a subject, and service for these figures for a future project. The tough part will be figuring out how to tell the story of just who the girl is too. Got any ideas? Get a set and start your imagination.