1/72 Mitsubishi A5M2a Type 96 Fighter (Claude) "Hanko A

A somewhat surprising all-new release from Fujimi. Superb, crisp tooling. The Claude was the mainstay fighter of the IJN during the early fighting in China. Designed by Jiro Horikoshi -- Japan's foremost aircraft designer of the period -- the Claude, though a fixed-gear, open cockpit design, was an excellent plane for its day, literally flying circles around anything the Chinese or Russians could throw at it. Replaced by the Zero in 1940.

Kit includes markings for the 13th Hikotai planes as marked during the Feb. 1938 attack on Hanko, China, as well as for a Kaga-borne aircraft in 1937.