Platz 1/300 US-2/US-1/1A, previewed by Scott Van Aken

In 1960, Shin Meiwa demonstrated a prototype flying boat, the UF-XS, a highly modified HU-16, that featured a novel boundary layer control system to provide enhanced STOL performance. The company also built upon its wartime experience (as Kawanishi) to refine the Grumman Albatross hull that the aircraft was based on. In 1966, the JMSDF awarded the company a contract to further develop these ideas into an ASW patrol aircraft. Two prototypes were built under the designation PS-X and flight tests began on October 5, 1967, leading to an order for production under the designation PS-1 in 1969.

The PS-1 had not been in service long before the JMSDF requested the development of a search-and-rescue variant. The deletion of the PS-1's military equipment allowed for greater fuel capacity, workable landing gear, and rescue equipment. The new variant, the US-1A, could also quickly be converted for troop-carrying duties. First flown on October 15, 1974, it was accepted into service the following year, and eventually 19 aircraft were purchased. From the seventh aircraft on, an uprated version of the original engine was used, but all aircraft were eventually modified to this US-1A standard. The US-1A's first rescue was from a Greek vessel in 1976. Between that time and 1999, US-1As had been used in over 500 rescues, saving 550 lives.

One PS-1 was experimentally modified for aerial firefighling in 1976 with an internal capacity of 7,350 litres (1,940 US gal) of water.

With the US-1A fleet beginning to show its age, the JMSDF attempted to obtain funding for a replacement in the 1990s, but could not obtain enough to develop an entirely new aircraft. Therefore, in 1995, ShinMaywa began plans for an upgraded version of the US-1A, the US-1A kai (US-1A 改 - "improved US-1A"). This aircraft features numerous aerodynamic refinements, a pressurised hull, and more powerful Rolls-Royce AE 2100 engines. Flight tests began on December 18, 2003. The JMSDF purchased up to 14 of these aircraft and around 2007, it entered service as the ShinMaywa US-2.

THE KIT

Platz has a reputation of providing kits of interesting aircraft, often in scale we would not always considered. Since most of Platz and other Japanese company's sales are in Japan, it is not surprising that this kit is in a more shelf friendly scale; in this case, 1/300. This is not a unique scale as I bought 1/300 kits of WWII Japanese planes in the past.

Platz has offered two kits in this box. One is a US-1/1A and the other is a US-2. Both kits come with display stands and there are slots already open in the hull of both kits to accept it. As you might expect, a mass of parts is not what is in this kit. The four page instruction sheet has more space allotted to the painting and decals than it does to assembly. In fact, assembly instructions for both kits takes up 2/3rds of one sheet.

Basically, you have two fuselage halves, a single piece wing and tailplane. Engines are two pieces trapping the propeller and the wing floats are also two pieces. One can model the plane with the beaching gear up or down with separate parts for both. The landing gear each incorporate the wheels.

You might expect the parts to be a bit clunky, but that is not the case at all. Everything from the prop blades to the landing gear and wheels is very nicely done and appropriate for the scale. Even the engraved panel lines are rather thin, though crisply molded.

Instructions, as mentioned earlier, concentrate more on the painting and decaling of the two kits. Starting with the US-1/1A, these are mostly 'light gall grey' (yes, it should be light gull grey) with a white upper fuselage and large panels of da-glo. These panels are provided as decals and my experience with these sorts of markings on the C-46 I built last year is quite positive. Other than the black radome, all the other markings are decals. The US-2 is similar in regards to the two colors, but the grey is limited to the underside of the fuselage, floats and engine nacelles. The rest of the airframe is white. All of the stripes and such are decals and one only needs to paint the radome in light gull grey. There are two markings options for each plane with only numbers being different for the US-1. The US-2 can be trimmed in either blue or red and seems to represent the first two built. I've included a photo of the US-2 so you can see it is quite similar, but different from the US-1.

CONCLUSIONS

For those of us who don't have the space for the big Hasegawa 1/72 kit, this is a more than viable alternative. We get two nicely done kits and don't have to build a new display shelf to house them. What's more, both are colorful airplanes and unusual enough that most folks will never have heard of them. I should mention that the six blade props are not molded feathered, so those who want to do a US-2 at rest will need to do a bit of surgery.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and fairly quickly, please contact the editor or see other details in the Note to Contributors.

KIT #:	PF 18
PRICE:	2200 yen from www.platz-hobby.com
DECALS:	Four options
REVIEWER:	Scott Van Aken
NOTES:	Two complete kits with stands