A6M5a Saburo Sakai

[Wayne Little]

That Tamiya kit is a real good kit best one of the Zero so far in 1/48 scale.

One of the aircraft in the kit represents a IJNAF Ace in Lieutenant (JG) Sadaaki Akamatsu in Feb 1945 when he claimed a series of victories over Hellcats, he was one of the few pilots who mastered the J2M 'Raiden' when others preferred the Zero....he flew with the 302nd Kokutai in this later stage of the war.

Shinpachi, Love that shot of Yo-138 but I don't think A6M5c's were flying over Iwo Jima in 1944...?

 

[Ariete]

One of the aircraft in the kit represents a IJNAF Ace in Lieutenant (JG) Sadaaki Akamatsu in Feb 1945 when he claimed a series of victories over Hellcats, he was one of the few pilots who mastered the J2M 'Raiden' when others preferred the Zero....he flew with the 302nd Kokutai in this later stage of the war.

Great Wayne!!
In fact I'll build that aircraft..Sadaaki Akamatsu is certainly one of the most fascinating japanese pilot!!

 

[Ariete]

Ehm..
And now..

Are there some photos (or profiles) of Sadaaki's Zero A6M5 ヨD-126?

 

[Shinpachi]

That's right, Wayne. A6M5c had not been completed until September 1944.
So, I have no clue if the combination Yo-138 and A6M5c is correct or not at the moment...

 

[Wayne Little]

Ehm..
And now..

Are there some photos (or profiles) of Sadaaki's Zero A6M5 ヨD-126?

gotcha covered there too! There is one known photo.

Sourced from the internet, don't recall exactly where? BUT the same image is in the Bunrindo publication Kokufan Illustrated No.96 of the 302 Kokutai, which I have, on page 118.

 

[Wayne Little]

That's right, Wayne. A6M5c had not been completed until September 1944.
So, I have no clue if the combination Yo-138 and A6M5c is correct or not at the moment...

for the depicted time frame with Iwo Jima in the background it can't be accurate, BUT a Yo-138 could have existe more likely in Japan in 1945 i would think!

 

[Shinpachi]

Those IDs and color schemes were not necessarily my strong concern for a long time as I was rather interested in the mechanism but now I understand that my work would not have more realism without them.

Thanks Wayne. I will pay more attention to them in the future.

Hi, Ariete!
I've found out a color illustration of Akamatsu's Zero here8)

 

[Ariete]

Great Shinpachi!!!!!!

I hope to have a chance of thanking you for all you've done for me!!



What's write on the tail (japanese characters)..?

 

[Shinpachi]

It's "Itoh Ichi Sei Soh" meaning "1st Maintenance Sergeant Itoh"8)

 

[Ariete]

Thanks!!

 

[Wayne Little]

Nice work Shinpachi....I will, sometime in the future be doing Akamatsu's Zero, using my Tamiya 1/32 A6M5 kit!

 

[Shinpachi]

You are welcome, Wayne and Ariete!
Let's enjoy modeling each other though mine is CG

PS: Attached image has nothing to do with Saburo Sakai.
It's simply my imaginary operation and has no historical background!

 

[Wayne Little]

Damn!...that looks nice Shinpachi, well done mate!!

 

[Shinpachi]

Thanks Wayne...

Because of your generousity enough to ignore my careless funny sun-ray setting on the island, I have been re-making this Iwo-jima scene for your satisfactory evaluation with my best skill.
Thank you very much, mate! You are my teacher

 

[Ariete]

Great Shinpachi!!
Good work!!

 

[beaupower32]

 

[Messy1]

Great looking stuff guys!

 

[proton45]

Nice...

 

[Ivan1GFP]

Hi Shinpachi,

That connector between the drop tank and the fuselage looks a little odd. Was that really all that held that tank on the plane?

Those Zeros look excellent!

- Ivan.

 

[muller]

After seeing all these cool pics I think we need to add an Imperial Japanese GB to the list! 8)

I know the subject has been covered in the PTO GB, i just want an excuse to build a well worn japanese bird!