BASIC BUILD
Ukrainian firm ICM has filled a notable gap in the market with its newly tooled 1/72 Japanese Ki-21-Ib… completed here by Peter Fearon.
A prototype of Mitsubishi’s response to the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service Type 97 Heavy Bomber requirement first flew in December 1936. It was soon accepted for service (in preference to a Nakajima design) and the initial production version, designated Ki-21-Ia, entered service in 1938. Featuring outstanding speed and range for a heavy bomber of the time, the type brought the air branch of the Imperial Japanese Army to parity with contemporary air forces. The new type was employed almost immediately during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-45), which revealed weaknesses in defensive armament and fuel tank protection.
The response was the Ki-21-Ib, which had three extra 7.7mm Type 89 machine guns (including one mounted in the aircraft’s tail) plus fuel tank linings. This variant was issued the allied codename of ‘Sally’ and is the subject of ICM’s recently released kit. Further developments led to the Ki-21-II, which was fitted with more powerful engines and defensive armament; although the type was considered obsolescent by mid-1942, it remained in service until the final mon…
