Hasegawa 1/48 J2M6 Raiden (Lightning)

[jeaton01]

This one was finished in April 2020, an 8 day process by the dates on the photos and a nice kit.  Here is a link to the build log:  goldeneramodel.com/mymodels/j2m/1j2m/1j2m.html

The last photo is with the Hasegawa A6M2 in Pearl Harbor markings.

[Leon]

Nice pair of planes there John and nicely done!

[keavdog]

I did that one last year (Tamiya). It is a nice kit. Great job.

[406 Silverado]

This turned out great John. I’ve not seen these aircraft until lately so I don’t know much about them but they look like the pack s pretty nasty punch with those four wing cannons!

[stikpusher]

Great looking build John! The Raiden is such a pug looking fighter plane! Nice to see it posed with the Zero. I always thought that the Zero was smaller than the Raiden…. apparently not.

[jeaton01]

Jun 26, 2023 16:59:58 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

Great looking build John! The Raiden is such a pug looking fighter plane! Nice to see it posed with the Zero. I always thought that the Zero was smaller than the Raiden…. apparently not.

Thanks for the comments, all.

Carlos, the only parameter where the Zero is larger is wingspan.  The Raiden was a heavy, fast climbing, high powered and fast interceptor by design, the exact opposite of the nimble lightweight Zero.  Luckily for the B-29's Horikoshi couldn't give the project enough time to get in service in a timely fashion because he was too busy making stopgap changes to the Zero to keep it relevant.

[stikpusher]

The more petite airframe of the Zero makes the fuselage look longer than that of the Raiden. The A6M5 version of the Zero probably looks closer in size to the Raiden with the 1 meter shorter wingspan compared to the A6M2.

[handiabled]

Two great looking builds John! I really like the finish on the Raiden

[TJ]

Great looking build John. Can definitely see the design difference with the Zeke