Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate
Expert Set

Arma Hobby, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by John Miller

Introduction:

The Hayate is a pretty airplane. Like many of WWII’s successful single-seat fighters, the Ki-84 was imbued with svelte lines, a powerful engine, and formidable armament. I’ve been looking forward to this new-mold Ki-84 from ARMA and wasn’t let down. As with their Yak-1, Hawker Hurricane, FM-2, and P-51B, the inscribed surface details are beautifully rendered, and once again, the folks at ARMA managed to fit a 48th scale cockpit into a 1/72 scale model; awesome. This is a beautiful kit that comes together surprisingly fast. I can say the from experience as I couldn’t help but starting the hummer while doing this review. More on that later :) Man, keep ‘em coming ARMA!

Background:

The Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (“Gale") is a single-seat fighter flown by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service in the last two years of WWII. The Allied reporting name was "Frank.” The Japanese Army designation was Army Type 4 Fighter. The Ki-84 is generally considered the best Japanese fighter to operate in large numbers during the conflict. The aircraft boasted high speeds and excellent maneuverability with an armament (up to two 30 mm and two 20 mm cannon) that gave it formidable firepower.

The Ki-84's performance matched that of any single-engine Allied fighter it faced, and its operational ceiling enabled it to intercept high-flying B-29 Superfortress bombers. Pilots and crews in the field learned to take care with the plane's high-maintenance Nakajima Homare engine and a landing gear prone to buckling. The difficulties of Japan’s situation late in the war took a toll on the aircraft's field performance as manufacturing defects multiplied, quality fuel proved difficult to procure, and experienced pilots grew scarce. Nevertheless, a well-maintained Ki-84 was Japan's fastest fighter with a total of 3,514 built.

(Edited from Wikipedia)

In a nicely decorated, end-opening box typical of this manufacturer are two sprues of grey plastic (one large and one small), one clear sprue, a small PE fret, masks, and one decal sheet with markings for 6 airframes.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 

Thumbnail panels:

Surface details, inscribed and in relief, are abundant and beautifully rendered. There is very little flash with which to contend so parts clean-up is quite fast.

Parts layout and engineering are conventional. Construction begins with the cockpit where, amazingly, the ARMA folks crammed a 1/48th scale cockpit in there:) The detail here is crisp and abundant, and will be on good display with the canopy posed open should you so desire.

The Nakajima Ha-45 Homare radial engine is beautifully molded with separate push-rod tubes and a very well done photo-etch ignition harness. The completed assembly looks quite convincing.

Once the cockpit, radial, and tail wheel are trapped between the fuselage halves, one of two different upper fuselage parts are added allowing the canopy to be posed open or closed; very nice. The fuselage is completed  the addition of three nose cowl pieces, which like everything else, fit darn near perfectly.

Moving on to the wing, which is composed of snugly-fitting, full-span upper and lower halves. Care will have to be taken to avoid destroying the fine, inscribed details at the leading edge of the wings during assembly. This comes from experience. The fit of the assembled wing to the fuselage is flawless requiring no putty. With the addition of the single-piece horizontal stabilizer-elevators, the airframe is largely assembled.

The main gear legs and wheel well doors (inner and outer) are nicely molded with scale-appropriate inscribing. The addition of the nicely molded exhaust stubs and cowl flaps completes the model.

For those wanting something to hang from the wing hard points, two different sized bombs (100 and 250Kg) as well as drop tanks are provided. Of note, the wing tanks are augmented with 3 decals on each.   

The canopy parts are crystal clear with scale-appropriate framing that will great under paint.

Marking Options

The decals, printed by Techmod, are crisply printed with good color density and hue.

Markings for six colorful airframes are provided as follows:

• Ki-84 Otsu (4x20mm cannon) 104 Sentai, Ota Airbase, Japan. 1945.

• Ki-84 Ko, Serial No. 1446, 2 Chutai, 11 Sentai, Philippines, 1944/5.

• Ki-84 Ko, 10 Rensei Hikotai (Operational Training Unit), Lake Takata, Japan, Spring, 1945.

• Ki-84 Ko,  3 Chutai, 47 Sentai, Japanese Home Defense Forces (Hondo Boei Butai), Captain Hatano, Narimasu Airfield, Japan, February, 1945.

• Ki-84 Ko, 57 Shimbu-Tai, Mijokonojo, Air Base, Kyushu, Japan, Battle of Okinawa, May, 1945.

• Ki-84 Ko, 2 Yuso Hikotai (ferry formation), Ferry Pilot: Lt. Shuho Yamana, Saigon, 1944.

The engineering is simple, the details are abundant and well done, the crystal-clear canopy parts can be posed open or closed, and the decal sheet provides markings for six very attractive airframes. What’s not to like? This is a beautiful kit that comes together quickly with very little fuss. A full build article is forthcoming so stay tuned. Highly recommended !

Now go paint something!

—J
 
For more on this review visit Modelpaintsolutions.com.

Thanks to Arma Hobby for the sample (nope, didn’t buy this one——for a change :)

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2022 by Model Paint Solutions
Page Created 23 June, 2022
Last updated 23 June, 2022

Back to HyperScale Main Page

Back to Reviews Page