Box...

The set comes in a nicely printed box. It is shaped just like a smaller ship but it only opens on the ends. Inside the entire contents are wrapped in bubble wrap. After removing the wrap, each sheet of photoetch is taped to a side of very stiff cardboard and inside its own plastic bags. The resin parts are in a small ziplock bag. The large plastic piece and instructions were the only things loose.

Fret A...

This is the flight deck top, some painting templates, a few supports and hand rails. The quality was very good, I found no imperfections in the deck etching or embossing. You can even see the drain holes around the edge of the deck. Compared with the course detail on the plastic deck that comes with the actual kit, this photoetch deck is far superior.

Fret B...

This is the base of the top deck and a few masts. In has guide lines for the under deck supports and glue hole guides to glue the upper deck on without filling in detail. One thing that you will notice is that this set does not allow you to model the ship with the hangar elevators in any other position without extensive modification and cutting of the brass pieces. This is a downside in my opinion as this option probably would not have been too hard to add to the set. Another low is the masts, they have been overly simplified, even Lion Roar’s own IJN Carrier Mast set 1 which it claims is for Akagi are different and offer more detail than the 2D ones here.

Fret C...

You get two of these sheets with the set. They have the supports for the deck, deck wind breaker boxes and a few deck details. Again, the etching is very fine and I saw no errors with any of the pieces.

Fret D...

A bow catwalk, deck netting, and aft paint template are on this fret. Everything looked really good with no flaws.

Fret E...

This has various deck supports and details. The main mast on this fret looks good as well as the funnel grill. It even has the landing signal lights for the sides of the deck and the cross signal light for the rear of the ship.

Fret F...

This has anti-skid platforms and a few inclined ladders and other details. It looked very good with no real flaws spotted in the workmanship. They also have binocular tops on this fret as part 32.

Plastic Deck Base...

Nothing special here, it is just the plastic base that attached to the plastic hull of the ship and provides a mount for the lower brass deck. It won’t be seen when the brass deck is installed but it is one more deck part that would need modified to allow the internal hangers to be modeled.

Resin Parts...

These include bases for the ship binoculars on the F fret. They also provide various lights, the bridge island and its rangefinder. These parts are much more detailed than the kit’s for sure. The only flaw is the bridge windows are molded solid. Many modelers going for high detail prefer a ship’s bridge open with PE windows and there is no option for an open bridge here without modifying it.

Instructions...

The instructions are clear and well diagramed. The bridge photos could double as blueprints they are so well diagramed. No decals come with this set.

Conclusions...

No AA guns or boat launches were replaced or even get upgraded with this set and if it were not for the inclusion of the W plastic fret in the actual Akagi plastic kit, this would be a low. I also don’t think there is enough hand railing provided with this set to finish all the ship either. There are a few other issues with the set but they are mostly a lack of options, especially making the internal hangars visible.

This is still an awesome, highly detailed set that gives the old 1941 Akagi kit a much needed facelift. Definitely get this set if you want a more detailed Akagi, however you will still need a few other odds and ends aftermarket parts to make the transformation complete.