Picture used with exclusive permission from Lieuwe Hofstra.

The aircraft:

The development of the Vertol 107 started in 1956 and flew for the first time in 1958. The helicopter is very versatile and has seen action in many different roles. In US military service it goes under the name CH/UH-46 "Sea Knight". In Canada  CH-113, and Japan Kv-107 "Shirasagi". In Sweden it is called HKP4 and has been used by the air force and the marines. In the air force it was used mostly in the SAR role and in the marines both in the SAR role and in ASW (flygplankort 1987). Most notably during the 80s when hunting rouge submarines in the Swedish archipelago. In Swedish use there are 4 different versions.

• HKP4A, Vertol 107-II-14, 10 ordered for the air force 1961. Used mainly in SAR role. 
• HKP4B, Vertol 107-II-15, 4 ordered for the marine in 1961-70.
• HKP4C, Kawasaki Kv-107-II-16?, 8 ordered for the navy in the 70s. Used in ASW and SAR role. 
• HKP4D, ex. air force A models modified and transferred to the marines. Maybe the rest in modified too? 

"This venerable aircraft's primary
mission areas in the Navy
(as the H-46D) include
Combat Logistics Support
and Vertical Replenishment
(VERTREP), Search and Rescue,
 and Special Operations (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/
systems/aircraft/ch-46.htm)."
(...)"The unique tandem-rotor design of the Sea Knight permits increased agility and superior handling qualities in strong
Picture used with exclusive permission from Peter Liandet.

relative winds from all directions, allowing, in particular, rapid direction changes during low airspeed maneuvering. This capability has resulted in the safe, efficient and graceful transfer of many millions of tons of cargo and many thousands of passengers over the years.
Readily identified among current Navy and Marine Corps helicopters are the H-46 series Sea Knights, with their tandem rotor configuration setting them apart from the single rotor design of other Navy/Marine helos. Tandem rotors have been a feature of all production helos built by Boeing/Vertol, and its original predecessor company, Piasecki.
The H-46 “Sea Knight” helicopter is one of the largest helicopters in the US Navy inventory. The “Sea Knight” is a twin-turbine powered, dual-piloted, tandem rotor helicopter designed by the Boeing Company Vertol Division. The aircraft is 16 feet 8 inches tall. There are six rotor blades on the aircraft, each measuring 25 feet 6 inches. With blades spread, the aircraft is 84 feet 4 inches long. The average weight of the H-46 is 18,000 pounds, with a maximum lift capability of 6,000 pounds. It can carry 25 combat-loaded troops, or can be outfitted to carry medical evacuation litters in case of disaster. It has the fuel endurance to stay airborne for approximately two hours, or up to three hours with an extra internal tank.
The helicopter has the ability to land and taxi in the water in case of emergency, and is able to stay afloat for up to two hours in two-foot seas. Because of its tandem rotor design, the “Sea Knight” is an extremely versatile aircraft. It is able to excel in various flight maneuvers, such as rearward and sideward flight, while other helicopters are extremely limited. This makes the helicopter ideal for its primary Navy mission of vertical replenishment (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/ch-46.htm)."
(...)
"With service in Southeast Asia came installation of guns and armor. Increased power requirements were met by installation of higher powered T-58-GE-10s in the CH/UH-46D models, which also featured new cambered (droop snoot) rotor blades (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/ch-46.htm)."

The, by Kawasaki, license-built Kv-107 is/was used by the Japanese defense forces in almost every imaginable role. And therefore it is not a surprise that Fujimi did this kit. And as I am from Sweden I am glad that the Japanese defense forces uses the large tanks...

he kits:

 
The Fujimi 1/72 Kv-107/CH46 kits is really a superb looking kits. The once I've seen built has been are very nice looking kits. So I can't imagine this being a bad kit. As far as I know this kits are from the late 80s. This means engraved panel lines, no flash but pin marks. The first impression is good, as it looks very professionally in the box. The sprues are packed in pairs, in different colours depending on the version, the clear parts are in a separate bag and so are the decals, this is at thing I like very much. The engraved panel lines are well done and the rivets are quite petite and near-scale.
As you understand by now, all those different versions are all the same kit, just some sprues are changed. Well, that's one thing that I don't like, why can't Fujimi include parts for all the different versions? Please!!! As I'm about to build the Hkp4, it would have made things easier for me, not forcing me to scratch build so many parts. The only extras are the side windows, there are a lot of them, 14 to be exact, bulged and not, for you to chose eight from, good initiative from Fujimi. These parts is hard to scratch build. 

One thing that hits you when you open at the box is it's size its pretty small, at least I thought that it was a larger aircraft. But it is nice that Fujimi invested in a larger box, compared to the Airfix kit. They squeezed all the sprues in an side opened box half the size and the result? I think you know...    

The cockpit has some raised details on the instrument panel and side consoles and as an alternative you can use decals. The raised details makes it easier to dry brush so I don't complain. The clear "canopy" is nicely done and covers the whole front of the aircraft, as usual with this kind of helos. There is a pretty complete interior consisting of seats, sticks and rudder pedals. Compared with many helo kits, the collective control (that makes the helo go up and down) is is molded and I that is very good. The cockpit wall is "padded" to illustrate sound acoustics, a nice detail. There is always room for improvements, but the normal builder can make use of the parts in the box and make a nice cockpit. The inside of the passenger compartment includes seats and other details depending on the version you are building. The cabin doors, both in the front and in the back can be displayed open if you wish too. Only some minor surgery have to be done as it seems. And as the cabin door comes in two pieces you can chose to have it semi-open too.
No indication of nose weight is given, and as it is called the "frog" it may not be necessary, but I always put some weight in the nose anyway, it feels better when I hold it that way.

The rotor hub is sufficiently detailed for this scale. The kit has, as far as I know, correct intakes and exhaust. Other outside details are nicely done and even if some details are missing. But you can always talk about where to draw the line about what to bring in the kit and what's not. 

The difference between the versions are both internal and external. The Kv-107-II-3 is used for mine hunting and have a hoist on the floor in the back and no seating.  The Kv-107-II-5 is an SAR bird, as far as I can see. It has the traditional hoist over the front cabin door. As I was told, this was the old Hkp4 hoist, if you look at the "Y76" picture, you can see that the new hoist has to be scratch built. But this is the preferred choice if you are making a Swedish Kawasaki built Hkp4, especially from the 80s and 90s. This version also have stretchers inside and no seats as spare parts. Both those versions include the right big extra tanks on the fuselage sides.
The CH-46D "Sea Knight" is a "VERTREP" aircraft for USNavy and includes seats inside a hoist that is not for Swedish use. It also has the right aft body (parts 87-88) to make it a Hkp4C. The Kv-107 has the right aft body for Hkp4A and B. The Ch-46D has small extra tanks on the fuselage sides, and no big spares, so you have to buy two kits to make one Hkp4C. And of course do a lot of scratch  building. 

Instructions are very nice and comparable to those find from Hasegawa and other high-end kits manufactures. The instruction has 8 steps with some side information for the details. And one thing I love is the reference for decals and paint on the backside. It is very large and very easy to use not messy, small and hard to use as with other manufactures. Paints are referenced to Gunze and given generic names. Some Fs numbers are given and that's a welcome new for Fujimi as I can't recall the use of Fs reference in older kits. 

To make a Swedish Hkp4 you will have to do some modifications. The easiest way to get it right, if you want to make an Hkp4A or B, is to buy the decals from Flying Colors. They include detailed drawings of the parts you'll have to scratch build. To make a C or D model you have to depend on photos.  

The Decals:

The decal sheet looks really nice, all decals are in register and fine coloured.  But I have some objections as my experience with fujimi decals are bad at best. The have a nasty habit to reject micro sol products and not connect to the surface at all. They also tend to break up. So try a spare decal on a piece of plastic to see if it works for you. If not, buy Microscale liquid decal film and brush it on first. But these are my own experiences after 3-4 fujimi kits, so I can't say if it's true here. And I will use the superb flying color decals as I'm modeling Swedish HKP4s.

Picture used with exclusive permission from Mark McEwan .

The superb flying color decals are super fine. All in register, and the colours are, as far as I know, right. I have not use and decals from this company before so I can't tell how they work, but I haven't heard any complains. There is only one minor error. There are only unit marks for one side of the aircraft. It should be on both sides. And note that the decals are for the 80s and early 90s, so no "Försvarsmakten" or Swedish armed forces" decals. But I've heard that the company may release those in the future.

Summery

A very nice looking little kit. You can build it from the box and have a great display model, but if you want a Swedish Hkp4 you'll need some modifications. But the kit just scream quality. The reason for not getting 5 stars are as following: Some missing details, the lack of spare parts, no Swedish decals and parts and the price and availability in Europe. Please Fujimi, get some good importers, we love your kits...