From
what I can gather from the kit number (CW-01), this is Hasegawa's
initial offering in their Creator Works line of kits that are geared
towards Japanese anime subjects. In this case, it is the Space Wolf
SW-190. According to the instructions, this is a space fighter
carried aboard the Arcadia and can operate in both space and
atmosphere. It is armed with a pair of pulse laser canon in the nose
and Vulcan cannon in the wing.
There is really a lot of plastic with this kit, though some of it is
for the display stand. It has a cockpit tub with decals for the side
consoles and the instrument panel. The seat is nothing like the real
thing and is pretty much a convenient shape on which to mount the
four piece pilot figure. The side control stick is molded into the
right hand.
The nose gear and cockpit assembly slot into the two fuselage
halves. There is an upper nose cowling section and while there is no
indication of any nose weight, it would be helpful to load up if you
plan on displaying the model on its landing gear. Wings are in upper
and lower halves with two piece intake and two piece exhaust
assemblies that are trapped between the wing halves. As a note,
Hasegawa provides clear light lenses for the wing tips and fin tip
so to use those the solid ones will need to be clipped off.
A separate nose cap with intake is provided as are canards. The
cockpit cover has a separate windscreen and canopy that are somewhat
reminiscent of that used on an FW-190. On the leading edge of the
wings are inserts for the wing guns. A large ventral intake is
provided that apparently snaps to the bottom of the fuselage with
polycaps.
The landing gear and nicely done with separate wheels and gear
doors. Conversely, closed doors are provided for an in-flight
display. For things under wings, you
have
two drop tanks that fit onto pylons that are already molded into the
lower wing sections. A large, articulated display stand is provided
and it apparently just clips onto the ventral intake.
Instructions are well done and provide the usual Gunze paint
references. There is some English included to help out in some
areas. Markings are quite extensive and are based on three basic
paint schemes. One is the box art scheme of RLM 82 light green over
dark grey. These schemes have a definite WWII Luftwaffe look about
them. Next is a white airframe with RLM 65 and maroon trim. The
final options are in FS 36320 grey over 36495 grey with 35237 bluish
grey trim. The large decal sheet gives a ton of markings and lots of
numbers so you can produce a variety of craft.
This is another interesting subject for those who like sci-fi
subjects and are not hard wired into Star Trek and Star Wars as
being the only viable sci-fi options. Frankly, I had never heard
of the series before stumbling across this kit on Amazon and at
such a low price (free shipping), I thought it would be worth
picking up to see what it was like. I am impressed by how nicely
done it is and I'm sure you will as well. Give it a go.