Kyushu J7W1 "Shinden"(1945)

Scale: 1/48
Initial Release: 1985
Medium: Styrene
Kit Rarity: 3

About the Design

The only "tail-first" piston-driven aircraft ever slated for mass-production, the radical canard-style Shinden J7W1 "Magnificent Lightning" was conceived in 1943 and first test-flown in August 1945.  The plane had the potential to be a formidable interceptor, but only three prototypes were built before the war came to its abrupt conclusion.  Curiously, although the Allies "borrowed" numerous aeronautical concepts from the defeated Germans, they let this potentially lethal Japanese design remain unexploited.

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About the Kit

While several 1/72 versions of the Kyushu Shinden have been kitted over the years, this is the only 1/48 scale injection-molded model of the plane to reach the mass market.  The original Hasegawa kit was subsequently re-released by Minicraft. 

This model is the Minicraft re-release.