Reviews : Tamiya Havate Frank

This 1/48 scale kit comes from a very famous Japanese modeling company called Tamiya. Their paints in my opinion are second to none and this kit is very good as well. The pros for this kit are as follows: You have five paint schemes to choose from and the one I did was piloted by Staff Sergeant Joten Naito of the Kurai Unit of the 502nd Temporary Interception Corps (March-May, 1945 Nakatsu Airfield). The other four included are a basic one, 1st Unit of the 104th Air Group (1945 Anshan Airfield in South Manchuria), 58th Shimbu Unit of the Special Attack Corps (Miyakonojo Airfield in Miyazaki Prefecture, Okinawa), and 2nd Squadron of the 11th Air Fleet (1944 the Philippines). It has two sets of instructions, one in English and the other in Japanese. You have an option to have either the landing gear up or down and I chose the latter. You also have an option to have either an open windscreen or a closed one and I chose the latter. The vast majority of the components fit very nicely with minimal sanding, though I did have a little trouble with the landing gear. But I managed to fix them with no problems. The decals slid off the paper very easily and were just as easy to apply to the aircraft. I accidently ripped one of the top wing decals while trying to reposition it. But I managed to fix it by applying some red and white paint. It also comes with a little full color poster showing the left side of the Kurai Unit of the 502nd Temporary Interception Corps and the 1st Unit of the 104th Air Group paint schemes. The cons for this kit are as follows: When it comes to painting the aircraft, there’s no color reference guide telling what company the corresponding paint belongs to. For example; the antenna is painted flat black but it doesn’t tell you if it’s from Humbrol, Tamiya, Mr. Hobby/Mr. Color, Vallejo, etc. Also for whatever reason, the instructions don’t show you what the right side as well as what the other half of the top and bottom of the aircraft looks like, regardless of paint scheme. In conclusion, I give this kit a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5. Tamiya if you’re reading this it would be nice if you can show us color reference guide for painting purposes on your future kits. Also it wouldn’t hurt if you can show every viewpoint possible for painting as well. Other than that, I had a lot of fun working this kit and I’m sure that other people will like it as well.

This is a beginners kit ; outside of the lack of interest for a young American boy in a Japanese fighter today, I would recommend for that purpose. It is also a very good fitting kit, easy to assemble. It is also a very simple kit, where it might be more detailed. but then it wouldn't be 11.00 or so. Tamiya's pricing scale is the widest I have ever seen; from great values like this, to incredibly expensive Storchs Hard to understand, if you don't have the money for these kits. However there is something striking about this Tamiya kit; the instructions. I have never, ever, seen any better anywhere, anyhow, any way, especially given the kits simplicity. They did not treat the builder as at any level; they just clearly and in painstaking detail explained and illustrated each step. I dearly wish some of the more complex difficult, and detailed kits I have built in the last year were half as good. You are never too old, or experienced, to learn a better way. I will soon enough. go for a more expensive kit on my wish list, to see if they are good in that situation.

This is a simple kit which can be built over a couple of days if one so desires. There are not a lot of parts and construction is fairly straight forward. Fit of the parts is excellent and only a small amount of putty on my kit was required with most of this being in the nose area and directly behind the cockpit along the top. The cockpit is very simple and looks good when this aircraft is all buttoned up. It is a small cockpit and if one includes the pilot which I did very little is to be seen so the sparsity of detail is not important. The decal sheet is superb with plenty of options, 4 different aircraft markings being supplied. If I were to criticize the decals, they may be a bit thick but with careful application they look good. The instruction sheet is a direct translation from Japanese so it may read a bit different but it is very understandable. Overall this kit looks great for the money that one spends. It is a nice model to add to your collection and one that will not break the bank to add to your display shelf. Cheers, Jeff

Tamiya's Havate Frank is a simple, but nice, kit of one of the fastest fighters of WWII. Part count is low and interior detail is a bit simplistic, but the kit builds up into a nice representation for minimal cost. The kit features mostly raised panel lines, with a few engraved lines around the control surfaces. Cleanup was minimal, with only a few ejector pin marks that needed filing. The kit comes with markings for five or six different planes. Some of these are home defense planes, some are foreign occupation planes. Paint schemes range from silver overall, to dark green on top and light blue, or blueish gray underneath. The few decals were on the thick side, and it took several applications of solvaset before they settled down around panel lines. There is a seated pilot as well as a standing pilot, so that was a nice touch. The canopy comes in three pieces and you have the option of leaving it open, or of closing it up. Overall, I would recommend the kit to anyone that is looking for a simple, but fun build with nice quality parts all around.

This is one sweet little kit and one that I greatly enjoyed making. There was very little flash on the parts, and for a very inexpensive kit it was very detailed. Parts fit very well with only minor adjustments. The only putty I used were on the fuselage/wing seams and these seams sanded down very nicely with a sheet of sandpaper and a little concentration. As noted in other reviews, the decals that come with this kit are excellent in their range....also, the decals were extremely easy to apply. All in all, this is one very nice little kit with a great amount of detail, ease of assembly and a great price tag.

Not only i this another example that Tamiya is possibly the tops in the model airplane business, but the decal sheet is the best ive seen for any plane YET! There are enough decals for three different versions, which includes enough red sun decals for three versions! So, when my zero red suns kinda failed on me, I used red suns from the Frank. Then used them on my Frank and STILL have enough leftoveer for another Japnese fighter if anything goes wrong! As for the model itself, its perfect, no gaps, limited scraping and sanding, if any, and paint schemes are great. Pics to come!

This plane assembled perfectly as all Tamiya planes they are not a builders nightmare but the decals they are a bit fragile and need to be carefully slid on or else they can rip easily that's the only downfall of that brand you would think they would improve alittle better on the decals but anyways it's a nice addition to the Pacific war plane collection if your into that or any in general WWII aircraft collection like my self . It's a fun model to build but the decals I think should only get a 2 star rating but other than that not a bad model kit .

I have built many Japanese aircraft models, mostly the Zero and wanted another aircraft in my collection, the Frank made the connection with all the other models. Easily put together and with no parts issues I went through the kit in about a full day of building and painting. The instructions are very clear and there is no dye flash to bother with the overall kit. This is a great addition as are all the kits of Japanese aircraft I have entered on here today.

This beautiful plane was the best japanese fighter of ww2. The kit has very few parts and is very easy for assembly. The detail is a bit lacking but acceptable for its cheap price. The amount of imperfection in the parts of the kit is minimal, so sanding is almost not required. The decals are very good in quality. Overall this is a must for any beginner that wishes to learn and experiment with a cheap plane kit.

I just started work on this model on 5/7 and have just about completed it. This is my second Tamiya kit for this particular aircraft. I really enjoy working Tamiya models, but I have to say I'll never buy another one of this particular model. The first one had missing clear parts. This one has missing parts: nose prop cover, fuel tank.

This was a simple trouble free build that has been a pleasure to relax to. Old yes but still a relatively nice fitting model. Yes you'll sand and use a little putty but it's an old kit. Great kit to start a kid out on. Very low detail. The cockpit is a decal instrument panel, stick, and a seat. Nothing difficult at all.

I enjoyed the build of the 1/48 scale Havate Frank by Tamiya. All parts fit together flawlessly with very little gap filling or part sanding. A lot of fun and detail for the price!

For the price, cannot beat it. Wing fitment to fuselage was not so great and detail was ok, but like I said for the price, outstanding kit. Great build for a weekend.

This is a great product I have 4 plus these two. Go together great I use them in flight against B-24s,B17s and fighters to me the green color is the best

Nice little kit, great subject and good details. It's a great addition to my collection.

A VERY NICE KIT,PARTS FIT WELL.FAIRLY DETAILED NO PROBLEM S WITH ASSEMBLY, WOULD RECCOMEND

REALLY easy build even for a beginner like me. Enjoyable though and came out pretty nice.

Great fit and a nice model to build. Highly recommended! Nice price too!

Pretty simple assembly. Not a lot of detail, but the fit was excellent.

Solid fairly simple to build and accurate for the machine.