Hasegawa 1/48 B6N2 Type 12 Tenzan Carrier Attack Bomber (Jill) Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

Nakajima developed an updated carrier-based torpedo attack bomber designated B6N (Allied codename Jill) which was faster and had greater range than its predecessor, the B5N Kate. While development started in 1941, the B6N1 entered service in 1943 in limited numbers giving way to the more robust B6N2. By the time the B6N did enter service, the allies had achieved air superiority with the introduction of the F6F Hellcat and the Jill never had the opportunity to prove its capabilities due to its high attrition.

The Hasegawa 1/48 B6N Tenzan kits were first released in the 1990s and remain part of Hasegawa's limited edition subjects. This kit is molded in light gray styrene and presented on 11 parts trees plus one tree of clear parts. The surface details are finely scribed and there is no sign of flash on the kit parts. While this kit is not over-engineered so it can be easily built, it doesn't sacrifice details in the cockpit or with some of the interesting options. I don't know if this kit was originally tooled to use poly caps but they're making good use of them here. Let's take a look:

Among the features and options in this kit:

• Nicely detailed cockpits
• Positionable canopies
• Repositionable outer wings
• Positionable Fowler flaps
• Repositionable lower firing position

The repositionable outer wings use poly caps on the inboard and outboard wing folds to allow the modeler to change the position of the wing fold (right wing higher or lower than left) or replace with extended adaptor. I don't know how strong this would be but the idea is nice, especially when packing the model for a trip to a local show. The repositionable lower firing position is simply hinged so you can leave it movable or glue it into the desired position.

The kit provides two external load options for the centerline station, your choice of torpedo or two bombs on an inline rack. Both the torpedo and rack are set up to use the ventral poly caps in the centerline so you can change the external loads as desired.

Markings are provided for three examples:

• B6N2, 601-312, 601 Naval Flying Group, aircraft carrier Amagi, 1945
• B6N2, 601-76, 601 Naval Flying Group, Katori AB, 1943
• B6N2, 601-35, 601 Naval Flying Group, Katori AB, 1943

This is a nice kit with some nice detailing without being overengineered with tiny parts to make assembly difficult. The option of folding wings is also nice for parking your model on the shelf without taking too much space. Grab an interesting piece of history!

My sincere thanks to Hasegawa USA for this review sample!