The Japanese have always had a need for long range reconnaissance and this was particularly true of the Navy. Though carrier commanders had been using bombers for this task, it just wasn't as good as a dedicated recce bird. So a proposal was put out for a carrier-borne reconnaissance aircraft with a max range of 2,500 nautical miles and a maximum speed of 350 knots. That would make it long ranged enough to do a credible job and fast enough to get away from enemy fighters.

To obtain these specs required a very sleek design, yet it had to be able to fit on the standard carrier elevator. This was a daunting task for the designers. They couldn't make it too long or too heavy and it had to be able to have a slow enough landing speed to be able to land on a carrier.

The resulting design was powered by an 1,800 hp Homare engine and first flew in May of 1943. It was a pleasant handling aircraft, but the troublesome Homare engine kept speed down to 345 knots (around 400 mph). Despite the inability to meet the required specs, it was much better than the Judy which was being used at the time so it was put into production. Improvements were made throughout the production history of the plane and it was developed into several other variants including a night fighter. 

First used in the Marianas campaign of mid-1944, it was flown with a drop tank that increased range to over 3,000 miles. It was able to successfully shadow the US Fleet and its speed made it practically immune to interception. 

Fujimi has this love/hate relationship with modelers. You either like them or you hate them and it all depends on which kits you buy. Some of their later releases like the A-7, A-4 and Brit Phantoms in 1/72 are still the finest kits of the type around in that scale, despite being over a decade old. Others, like this particular kit, have been chastised for poor fit and high prices. The price thing is mostly due to the US importer, MRC, who have always really jacked up prices on the kits it imports. The late lamented Military Modeling Preview really dumped on this kit for the fit problems they encountered while building it. This was only exacerbated by the high cost of the kit. Guess I'll find out if they were right.

Anyway, it is a 'typical' WW2 Japanese kit from Fujimi. Everything is there, but the interior detail is a bit weak, offering decals in place of engraved detailing on the side consoles. There is detail on the instrument panels, though the decal will undoubtedly be used as it is easier than painting it. Detailing is finely engraved panel lines. No obvious sink marks though there are ejector pin marks on the inside of the gear doors and on the wheels. The wheels are slightly 'flattened', which is a nice touch. The only option is the drop tank.

The decals offer five different options, four of them from the 762nd Kokutai and one from the 801st Kokutai. Since JNAF units at this time of the war had very boring markings (just tail number differences) you could undoubtedly do a 132nd, 343rd, or 653rd Kokutai plane if you had a picture of one. There seems to be enough numbers to let you do so. The decals are again very typical in that they are thick and will work rather well as long as you keep the decal solvent away from them! There is also a 'Grade Up Metal Parts' in with the kit. This is a small piece of tubing and a thin wire to make a pitot tube!

Other than the horrendous Aoshima kit of the modeling dark ages of the 1960's this is the only Myrt in 1/72. The 1/50 Tamiya version is around, complete with clear fuselage, but commands generally around $50 if you can find one!

Review kit courtesy of me and my wallet!

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