LS and Judy Part 3

The Scalemates website lists the LS Judy box shown above as released in the 1980s and after the ‘white box’ release. Whether other box variants existed is unknown, but before their demise in 1992 LS issued the kit in the ‘grey’ box type shown below, and this time with an improved and more complete decal sheet containing tail codes for our old friend Yo-201 – with the yellow command stripes – and for a 523 Ku aircraft 鷹-3 (Taka-3 – ‘Hawk’-3). The sheet included white blanks to apply the six Hinomaru to, basic stencilling, flap warning outlines, a data plate and even white drift lines for the tailplanes.

In 1995 Arii re-released the kit in an identical box and contents, shown above, including the same decal sheet (shown below), with just the logos changed. And this kit has been available intermittently ever since, most recently at HLJ for the princely sum of £4.59. Probably not first choice now for a Judy model given the scale, ‘fatal flaw’ and emergence of more modern kits from Fujimi and AZ Model. But at least the Arii releases offer the chance to retro-model the LS Judy as intended, whether from nostalgia or just curiosity, without spoiling a potential collectable.

The instructions and decals in the Arii-Microace release (shown above) are unchanged from the LS ‘grey box’ release which presented more detailed colour schematics than before and referencing Gunze paints. LS were evidently intent on upping their game in competition with other Japanese kit manufacturer house styles, but Fujimi’s Judy was already approaching its tenth birthday so the market for the 20-year old LS kit was ever decreasing and sadly their planned Mitsubishi G4M2 kit was never to be released, a ‘Betty’ variant which would be kitted by Hasegawa four years later. 

To be continued . . . 

Image credits: Boxes © 1980s & 1990s L&S Co., Ltd and box, instructions and decal sheet © 1995 Arii/Microace