Well now that you have your Voyager Model 1:700 scale Imperial Japanese Aircraft Rail & Turntables AP-049 (click for a review of Voyager AP-049), you need a destination. There is no point of replacing the cast on aircraft deck rails on your IJN cruiser deck with the fine Voyager brass rail if the railing just leads to the kit supplied solid plastic catapult with the detail and finesse of a rock slide. No, if you use the elegant Voyager rail set, the destination for your stored Dave or Jake should be just as elegant. Fortunately Voyager Model has conveniently supplied that to the modeler as well as the deck rails. Voyager set AP-040 is called “IJN Catapult Shiki 2 Go 5 Gata” and provides 1:700 scale catapults and aircraft cradles for your Japanese heavies.

Included in the Voyager IJN Catapult set are two stainless steel photo-etch frets and a bag of resin parts. Fret A is the largest fret and contains six relief-etched catapults. In fact relief-etching is used on every surface of the catapults, other than the bottom. You can count the raised rivets on the sides or feel the raised grid pattern of the catapult decking to see the level of detail on these parts. Each catapult is one-piece with the sides, top and bottom folding together. However, before you fold a catapult together, you had better make sure that you have attached the resin parts inside of the catapult frame because Voyager supplies the cylinders that were inside the catapult frame. The resin parts are those cylinders seen inside the frame of Japanese catapults. Also on Fret A are two types of aircraft cradles. Which one is used is dependent on the type of floatplane cradled. You get six of each type, as well as six aircraft dollies, six dolly bases and six sets of dolly wheels. Fret B contains six catapult turntables, six catapult decking fittings six sets each of two different turntable guide wheels.

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