1/144 Pre-finished Aircraft Models
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Overview
Last month, we examined a couple of the mainstream producers of 1/144 pre-finished armor models. This month, the scale remains the same, but this time, we’ll take a look at aircraft kits. Now, 1/144 has been a popular scale for aircraft modelers, especially in airliners and large-sized aircraft such as the C-5 and C-17. Over the years, some manufacturers have produced other subjects, including Otaki (some good and not so good jet aircraft), Crown (a good collection of WW2 aircraft), Arii (some great subjects, such as the P-3 and SR-71), Dragon (a growing collection of improving quality; their recent F-18 is outstanding), and Revell (their E-2 rivals larger scale renditions). Even with all of these manufacturers producing kits, there are still quite a few glaring holes in the available kit selection, and in the case of the older companies, finding some of these releases is challenging at best.
Enter the Prefinished Models
While prefinished aircraft models have tended towards the larger scales, there is a growing interest in the 1/144 size. There are two main forms of these kits: the style similar to those seen in the 1/144 armor, where you get a box that shows what’s inside, and the gashapon type. Gashapon is a compound Japanese word, with "gacha" representing the sound of turning a crank on a toy vending machine, and "pon" representing the sound of the toy capsule dropping into the receptacle. Originally referencing those capsule toys seen in vending machines around the world, in this sense it is referring to a series of collectible toys in sealed boxes. Each series provides a certain number of known items, along with a couple of ‘secret’ items. This can make it fun to build a complete collection, as well as a bit frustrating (you might end up with a dozen of one item, and never get that last one you need to finish the collection).
The 21st Century Toys 1/144 aircraft collection is one that is growing on a regular basis, with some great subjects presented. Currently, their lineup consists of only WWII aircraft, but perhaps this will change in the future (World War One aircraft and Korean War jets would be two areas well worth exploring, in my opinion). Their current lineup includes the P-51D Mustang, F6F Hellcat, Ki-84 Hayate, Me 262A, Fw 190A, Spitfire Mk IX, and P-47D Thunderbolt (both razorback and bubbletop). These are packaged two to a box, and come with a clear plastic display case with a labeled base. There are currently several marking options for each of these aircraft, and this will undoubtedly grow in the future.
Examining these aircraft a bit more closely, we can see that, on average, these are fairly well detailed models. The scribed panel lines might be a bit heavy-handed, but the overall shape and detail is more than adequate in this scale. The cockpits, small as they are, include some detail (at least in the Fw 190; the Spitfire’s canopy is a bit too distorted for me to see clearly inside). While on the subject of the Fw 190, this model does not include the swastikas on the tail, so to finish this model accurately, you will need to add those from outside sources.
Both models come screwed to their base, and upon removing them from the base, there is a rather large hole on the underside. This would be simple enough to fill in, though. The propellers are made to spin, and all the markings are pretty accurate in terms of color and design. The Sky markings on the Spitfire, for example, are quite accurate to the color chips I have, and the unit emblem on the Fw 190 matches the drawings I have precisely. Overall, these are excellent little models straight from the box, and will lend themselves beautifully to refinishing.
For the gashapon style of models, the choices are even greater. The number of companies producing these kits is growing, and their product lines are always expanding. The range of subjects spans everything from WWI fighters to modern interceptors, although most seem to be post-WW2 aircraft. While at the local hobby shop, I took the plunge and purchased two of the Café Reo J-Wings Military Aircraft Series 3 boxes. The possible aircraft in these boxes are the F-8E Crusader, A-6A Intruder, MiG-21PF/PFM, F-5A Freedom Fighter, and the F-105G Thunderchief. Plus the secret item, which in this series is the F-4D. I was hoping for a MiG-21 and an F-8 from my two boxes, and upon opening them, I got half my wish: a MiG-21 and an A-6.
These pre-finished models differ from the 21st Century Toys kits in that there is some assembly required. Using the MiG-21 as an example, while the majority of the assembly is together, there are separate parts for the belly fuel tank and gun pod (these parts are an either/or option, both of which fit in the same slot the stand fits into). On regular sprue pieces are the landing gear, missiles, pylons, and antennae. While these are pre-finished, they are on sprues, so there will be some cutting and gluing required on these kits. Also included is a small decal sheet that provides two sets of nose numbers, increasing the number of options available in this series.
Out of the box, this will make up into an excellent representation of the MiG-21PFM, aside from one small error. This has to do with the canopy, which is a bit too bulbous. This might be easy to fix, though, with some judicious sanding, followed by polishing. Note that the research done on these kits is quite good, as the MiG-21PF release has the correct forward-hinged canopy, while this PFM variant has the side-hinged canopy. I have not seen the PF kit in person (just photos), so I cannot comment completely on the accuracy of its canopy, but it does look better than the PFM canopy.
Conclusion
For both types of 1/144 aircraft, these prefinished models present a great opportunity for the scale modeler, both out of the box and in refinishing. The 21st Century Toys series provides some modern toolings of some classic aircraft, while the gashapon series opens up some interesting new subjects, such as the MiG-21. The price is quite affordable as well (the MiG-21 was only $10, for example), so you could have a quick and inexpensive 1/144 aircraft collection, filling a shelf simply by buying up a handful of these models. Then, as the mood hits, pull one down and refinish it into a completely different marking scheme.