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THINGS

Sweet Little

T

he Mitsubishi A5M4 Type

96 carrier fighter (given

the reporting name Claude)

was the Japanese Navy’s frontline

fighter between 1937 and 1940,

until the introduction of the

A6M (more famously known as

the Zero). Though its front line

career was quite short, it did see

a lot of service, starting with the

Sino-Japanese war, which saw

it fighting against nationalist

P-26 Peashooter, Curtiss

Hawks, and Polikarpov I-16s.

The type left front line service in

1942, but it was used in operations

against the Americans, shooting

down several SBD’s during air

raids at the Gilbert Islands as well

as at the Battle of the Coral Sea.

The type continued as a training

aircraft and many were converted

for use as a Kamikaze aircraft

during the final days of the war.

THE KIT

Sweet models have a reputation

for producing some beautiful

single-engine fighters in 1/144

scale. Sweet also have a reputation

for producing box art that does

not really do the contents justice.

This is true of the Type 96 box lid,

which has a typically Japanese

cartoon look. On the rear you

have details of the three marking

options, and these hint at how good

the kit in the box is going to be.

Inside we find two light grey

sprues that contain the parts to

construct two Claudes, which

considering how attractive the

colour schemes are is just as

well. The parts are beautifully

moulded with fine engraved

panel lines, though of course

these are really overscale.

The decal sheet is superb

and supplies all you need to

complete the three schemes,

and that includes all the various

colour bands and wheel trims,

something I was very grateful for.

The kit supplies the following

three options, all of which

are in a natural metal finish

with a black engine cowling

and red tail surfaces.

• Mitsubushi A5M4, VII-111, Soryu
  Fighter Group, Kasanohara
  AB, Japan, Early 1941.


• Mitsubushi A5M4, W-107,
  Squadron Leader Soryu Fighter
  Group, Oct-Dec 1940.


• Mitsubushi A5M4, VII-119, Soryu
  Fighter Group, Kasanohara
  AB, Japan, Early 1941.

Building Sweet’s 1/144 Scale

Mitsubishi Type 96 Carrier Fighter

(Claude) by David Francis

64 • JULY 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

BY SACCO DE VRIES

MITSUBISHI TYPE 96

BY DAVID FRANCIS

1/144

SPONSORED BY

SPONSORED BY

064-67-HLJ-Mitsubishi-0718.indd 64 11/06/2018 14:02