Meng 1/72 Mansyu Ki-98
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Overview
To summarize from the instructions the Ki-98 was a Japanese ground attack aircraft designed towards the end of the Second World War. The twin-boom design resembled the P-38, while the fuselage was reminiscent of the Japanese Navy Shinden. It was fitted with tricycle landing gear and a radial engine, and was to be armed with a single 37mm and two 20mm cannons.
The Kit
This is Meng's second 1/72 aircraft kit, and like the first it is very nicely done. Molded in gray plastic, the kit features finely recessed panel lines and good detailing throughout. Parts breakdown is fairly conventional for an unconventional design, and the decal sheet offers a trio of interesting color schemes.
Starting with the interior, this is quite well done, with a separate instrument panel, seat, control stick, and rear bulkhead all fitting in and around the one-piece tub. The cockpit features raised detailing, and about the only thing left to add would be some seat belts for the seat. The finished cockpit then fits on top of the nose wheel bay, which is itself made up from three separate pieces.
With the interior done, the next step is assembling the fuselage. Simply trap the cockpit between the two halves and you're just about done. The nose cone and upper forward fuselage are separate, which means that you can get most of the model together before adding nose weight. The instructions indicate that you will need to add weight, but do not say how much. I would recommend assembling as much as possible before adding the weight, to get the right amount in there.
Moving on to the rest of the airframe, the odd arrangement means that there will be lots of sections to align. The twin booms are split into right and left halves, with a separate insert for the main wheel well. The wing is made up of five pieces: a lower center section that attaches to the fuselage, separate upper full-span wing panels, and separate lower outer wing panels. This arrangement will result in a very strong assembly that should mitigate any alignment issues with the fuselage and booms. With the booms in place and the rear stabilizer sandwiched between, the rest of the assembly is just the detail bits.
Detail bits include a lower fuselage air scoop, front end caps for the booms, and a wing pitot tube. The landing gear is fairly simple, with the struts molded as one piece. This will help with the sturdiness, but they could probably use some extra enhancements to add to the realism. The wheels are all separate, and the gear doors have solid mounting arms. With all that in place, it's time to turn attention to markings.
As this aircraft didn't get very far in reality, all three schemes are conjectural. The first is a Japanese Army scheme consisting of dark green over natural metal, with white bands and hinomarus around the wings and booms. The tail marking consists of a yellow design. The second option is an overall natural metal example from the Manchukuo Air Force, and it features the unique five-color roundel of that air force on the wings, and a white design on the tail. Finally, we have a camouflaged example from the Royal Thai Air Force, finished in brown with dark green squiggles on top and a light gray green on the bottom. This scheme features the Thai elephant national markings on the wings and tail. The decals look to be quite nice and should go down without too much effort.
Conclusion
While not a production aircraft, this plane nonetheless is an interesting one, and it does open up some fun options for those who like to branch out into the what if category. My thanks to Stevens International for the review sample.