Special Feature: The History of Tamiya’s 1/48 Aircraft Masterpiece Series

Tracing Over Half a Century of Aircraft Modeling — From Its Origins to the Cutting Edge

The Tamiya 1/48 Aircraft Masterpiece Series is a legendary lineup that models outstanding, famous, and historically significant aircraft from around the world in a unified 1/48 scale. Launched in 1971, the series has continued for more than half a century and has grown to nearly 130 items as of 2025.

In this special feature, we take an in-depth look at the entire lineup, introducing each release one by one. In addition, several epoch-making kits are selected and built as showcase models. This is a complete, cover-to-cover guide dedicated entirely to the Tamiya 1/48 Aircraft Masterpiece Series.

【Featured Builds】
・Fairchild A-10A Thunderbolt II (Tamiya 1/48)
・Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I (Tamiya 1/48)
・Douglas F4D-1 Skyray (Tamiya 1/48)
・Heinkel He 219A-7 “Uhu” (Tamiya 1/48)
・Republic F-84G Thunderjet (Tamiya 1/48)
・Vought F4U-1A Corsair (Tamiya 1/48)
・Fairey Swordfish Mk.II (Tamiya 1/48)
・Mitsubishi A6M Zero Fighter Type 52 / Type 52 Ko (Tamiya 1/48)
・Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II (Tamiya 1/48)

【Regular Features】
・HISTORY of VFA: The history and profile of U.S. Navy strike fighter squadrons
VFA-25 “Fist of the Fleet”
・Illustrated Guide to Aircraft Armament: Type 90 Aircraft Maintenance Training Plane
・Modeling JASDF: See it! Photograph it!! Build it!!!
NMC 1/72 JASDF ECM Training Aircraft EC-1 (Part 2)