Aichi E16A1 Zuiun Early 1:72 Hobby 2000 72086

Plastic model aircraft for assembly: Aichi E16A1 Zuiun Early 1:72 Hobby 2000 72086

The Aichi E16A Zuiun (Jap. Auspicious Cloud) was a Japanese reconnaissance floatplane from World War II, designed as a successor to the aging Aichi E13A model. Design work at Aichi factories began in October 1940, and the first prototype took to the air in May 1942. Due to stability issues and structural vibrations, the process of implementing mass production was delayed by 15 months. Finally, the Japanese Navy placed an order in August 1943.

The E16A1 version, which this model concerns, was produced at Aichi Kokuki KK and Nipon Hikoki KK factories. A total of 193 units of this version were built. These aircraft operated in difficult conditions under Allied air superiority, which resulted in heavy losses among the units. In the final phase of the war, during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, many surviving Zuiun machines were used for kamikaze suicide missions.

Technical characteristics of the original:

• Length: 10.83 m
• Wingspan: 12.81 m
• Height: 4.79 m
• Maximum speed: 439 km/h
• Maximum range: 2420 km
• Armament: 2 Type 99 Model 2 20 mm cannons, 1 flexible Type 97 7.7 mm machine gun, and up to 250 kg of bombs.

The set from Hobby 2000 with catalog number 72086 is an edition with new decals, offering liveries for Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) units, including those from the 634th Kokutai (1944) and the Naval Air Technical Arsenal (1943).

Set for self-assembly and painting. Does not include paints or glue. For assembly, separately sold modeling tools are required (including nippers, files, tweezers), paints, brushes, and glue for plastic models (e.g., Tamiya Extra Thin Cement). The photo shows a professionally assembled and painted model.