Hasegawa 1/48 Kawasaki T-4 'Komatsu 306SQ Flying Dolphin'

The Kawasaki T-4 is a Japanese subsonic intermediate jet trainer aircraft developed and manufactured by the commercial conglomerate Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Its sole operator is the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), in part due to historic restrictions on the exporting of military hardware. In addition to its primary training mission, the T-4 has been used by the JASDF's Blue Impulse aerobatic team as well as liaison duties with most fighter units. The first XT-4 prototype flew on 29 July 1985, while the first production aircraft was delivered during September 1988. Most Japanese fighter squadrons have one or two of these for liaison and other tasks.

This is one of a very few limited releases of Hasegawa's T-4 kit. This is a subject that sees very little interest outside of Japan. Part of that reason is the lack of foreign sales. The aircraft did replace the very long use of the F-86F-40 in the national display team 'Blue Impulse', but rarely does that team perform outside of Japan.

The kit includes a well appointed cockpit that uses decals for the instrument panels and the side consoles. There is raised detail if you wish to paint these areas. The two ejection seats are well done and you are provided a pair of crewmen to fill the seats. The engine intakes are provided to the first compressor stage and are incorporated into the separate intake pieces. Exhaust sections are short, but extend from the last compressor stage.

There are polycaps that are used to hold in the horizontal stabilizers and the nose gear leg. Typical of this sort of engine arrangement, there is a lower fuselage insert to deal with the fairly complex shape of the underside; like what is done with the Jaguar.

Wings are upper and lower halves on each side and the wing flaps are molded to be in the lowered position. Changing that will be difficult as there are no optional flap hinges. The landing dear is somewhat complex, but well done so one has to take one's time when constructing this area. The windscreen and canopy are separate so the canopy can be posed open. A clear blast screen is provided to go into the canopy in the same manner as a Bae Hawk.

Instructions provide the usual Gunze paint references. The sheet is old school with off-white whites. Most of the special scheme's blue and white areas will need to be masked and painted, which will be a challenge for most builder. The decal sheet does include the da-glo markings for the tips of the flight surfaces, but it would be best to paint these. As a note, from what I can tell, there are no aftermarket decals available for this kit.

Should you be seeking something a bit different, this would be a good choice. Hasegawa kits build well and other than the painting, it should be a fairly quick build. As a note, the kit does include the fuel tanks and pylons normally associated with the plane if you wish to go that route.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawasaki_T-4

June 2025

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