Hangar Support: 1/48th Hasegawa Ground Crew Set

In order to support my growing inventory of aircraft at The Hangar it became necessary to invest in some ground equipment as well. This 1/48th Hasegawa Ground Crew Set:A is a US Air Force Ground Equipment Set for jet aircraft operations support and comes with a number of personnel as well as a Generator; Hydraulic Test Bed and Fire Extinguisher. It is one of the few sets available in 1/48th scale to broaden out a diorama scene to give your aircraft more context. The items in this set are typical of the support equipment found on modern US military airbases.

Notable Kit Features:

• Plastic parts with nice surface details

• Equipment hoses and wiring included

• A/M32A-60A Generator

• TTU-228/E Hydraulic Test Stand

• F4B Fire Extinguisher

• Three Pilot Figures

• Eight Flight Line Personnel in different poses

• Three wheel chocks

Build Inspiration:

With all the aircraft milling about in The Hangar this 1/48th Hasegawa Ground Crew Set was a great addition to add some interest to the diorama setups. I came across this kit at my local hobby shop at about half the price of one found on Amazon (which I typically avoid). I was most interested in the equipment in the box as I had plenty of pilots and a few personnel already.

A/M32A-60A Generator beside a T-38 Talon

Heads-Up Report:

• Poor decals

• Figures are okay but not great

Kit Additions / Modifications:

• Kit Built Out of Box

Finishing:

I painted up my support equipment in an Olive Green to differentiate it a bit from the USAF standard. Paint was applied using an airbrush with the grills and details added using AK paint markers. The decals were the old style Hasegawa (thick and pretty inflexible) and had a tendency to shatter on me so only a few got applied to the equipment. The supplied spring wire to go around the hose on the generator was a nice addition to simulate the spiral black marking on the main hose. Coated wires were also supplied to represent the various Hydraulic Test Stand cables as well as the Generator cables. This collection makes a nice diorama scene for your aircraft models to give them a bit more real-life setting.

The After-Build Report:

The 1/48th Hasegawa Ground Crew Set A is a good diorama addition to add some support pieces to your jet aircraft collection. The figures are decent enough to add some character to your settings although some of the proportions and poses are a bit awkward. I haven't painted the personnel figures up for use as of yet (possibly later). There aren't many of these types of accessories out there and this one is decent enough to get the job done if you can find one.

Completed build #302 - June 2026 using the 1/48th scale Hasegawa #X48-004 kit.

Feel free to comment or ask any questions - Keep on building, gain experience, challenge yourself if you like, but try not to stress yourself out over the build - it is supposed to be an enjoyable hobby after all - Cheers