Hasegawa 1/48
Typhoon IB w/Four Blade Propeller

The Kit

As I reported in early 2000, Hasegawa has indeed pulled the bulk of their 1/48 scale aircraft kits off the market. Instead, they have fired a number of limited editions into the marketplace - same kits, new markings, limited production run. Such is the case with their Typhoon kit. Only released last year, the Typhoon is gone again. This special edition is their teardrop canopy version with some new parts and the new decals.

The kit does not have the original three-bladed propeller and spinner in the kit, so you won't have the option of building the earlier Typhoon IB out of this box. The new prop and spinner are provided on their own sprue tree, as are a pair of optional bombs. The supplementary instructions give you the option of arming this bird with the same rockets provided in the stock kit, or the pair of bombs. This kit also provides for your choice of two different styles of exhaust stacks. Interestingly enough, the optional exhaust stacks and the bomb pylons were included in the original kit, they were just marked as "Parts not for Use."

Your choice of markings in this release are:

• EL-F, SW494, 181 Sqn RAF
• TP-Q, unknown, 198 Sqn RAF (w/post D-Day markings)

Conclusion

While it is unfortunate that Hasegawa has adopted a similar limited release program as some other manufacturers, it is also giving us a little more variety on markings and detail options that we would not otherwise see in a standard kit. The moral of the story here is, if you see it, you'd better buy it or it will be gone!