Drew Hatch has a new addition to the stash, the unique looking Draken, new from Hasegawa. I have to admit, I don’t know a lot about the history of this aircraft, though I’ve always thought it to be a pretty darn cool looking machine. Then again, knowledge of a kit’s history isn’t required for assembly! (Though it is part of the fun researching it!)
Hasagawas new J-35F/J Draken has been a long awaited subject in 1/48th. The kit comes with 109 parts molded in Hasagawas usual light gray & clear plastic. Paints are keyed to Gunze Aqueous and Mr. Color enamels. The instructions include a basic history, parts map and finishing guide. The 11 step assembly is fairly straight forward.
The assembly is basic with adequate detail throughout. The nicely recessed panel lines are not overstated. A fairly decent cockpit is present with the option of decals to accent the raised details. A nice addition was the separate mud guard on the nose wheel and is very thin – take care when removing this part from the sprue. Once again, Hasagawa shows where to install missiles then refers the modeler to its “Sold separately weapons set.” Various weapon pylons and drop tanks are included. The separate aft fuselage indicates future variants of this aircraft forthcoming.
Decal options are for two camouflage and one two tone gray bird. The markings are well printed and mine are in good register.
I know there will be several aftermarket set showing up shortly and the super detailer has a great base to start from. This kit is a must have for any fan of cold war era jets. I definitely recommend this kit to all modelers of all skill levels.
Drew Hatch has been an avid modeler since he was a teenager. Taking a modeling hiatus while flying in the Canadian Armed Forces, he picked it up again when he met his wife. They’ve been married ten wonderful years. Drew’s interests are naval and Canadian aviation, with an emphasis on the Pacific War. (Along with the slight detour into N. Africa during WWII.)