Hasegawa 1:48 Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero (Captured Pt.2)

[fubar57]

Still a month away from the next GB and the current S to F is awaiting decals so I though I would start another quick (I hope) build. Just gonna use the same innards pics as Pt.1 as its the same kit.

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This will be one of the captured A6M5 Model 52 Zero fighters at the RNZAF airfield at Jacquinot Bay, New Britain, 18 Sep 1945. Photos from Wiki (Public Domain).

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Markings will be four painted on green crosses over a slopy white paint job

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[fubar57]

Swear to God, this is the last of the Pt.1 photos I'll use. I'm going to try pre-shading the innards this time, something I've only tried once before. Seat about to have lightning holes drilled out...

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Part B10(B) will need to be removed from the I.P. part B10(A) and then attached to the left side panel. A lesson learned from the first build is to attach the part after painting. A wee beastie to paint the dials and switches after the part was glued first.

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Innards paint

 

[Gnomey]

Good work so far George!

 

[fubar57]

I wonder if Rising Decals was thinking of this aircraft when they said no cannons were carried during trials. Note also the modified landing gear covers

 

[Crimea_River]

Nice to have you back for a bit. Looking forward to learning a bit more about Japanese stuff.

 

[le_steph40]

Geo

 

[rochie]

Finished yet ?

 

[fubar57]

Innards almost done....film at 11. Prepping for painting and for the green crosses its going to be guess work. My plan is to paint the overall camo first, tape off the area for the crosses and then spray the white. As I have no idea about the dimensions of the crosses I'm going to use the gear covers as a reference point. On the model they are 4mm wide. The crosses are a wee bit bigger so I'm going with 6mm. Why? Because that is the width of my smallest Tamiya tape. For length I'll just measure the wing and fuselage Hinomarus.

 

[rochie]

Innards almost done....film at 11. Prepping for painting and for the green crosses its going to be guess work. My plan is to paint the overall camo first, tape off the area for the crosses and then spray the white. As I have no idea about the dimensions of the crosses I'm going to use the gear covers as a reference point. On the model they are 4mm wide. The crosses are a wee bit bigger so I'm going with 6mm. Why? Because that is the width of my smallest Tamiya tape. For length I'll just measure the wing and fuselage Hinomarus.

View attachment 587211​

that sounds logical to me Geo

 

[Crimea_River]

When faced with a situation like that I usually scale the unknown dimension on the picture to something on the picture that I can ratio to the model. Like the canopy frames for instance.

 

[fubar57]

Held my ruler up to the screen, 5mm for the gear cover and 7mm for the cross so its ballpark....ish. Innards done. Main colour is Tamiya XF-65 Field Grey and dry-brushed with XF-71 Cockpit Green and then a Future clear coat. A wash was added using Citadel Agrax Earthshade and then I tried to dirty things up using Winsor & Newton Oil Raw Umber. First time doing this. I put a very small dab on the end of a round toothpick and then dotted up the area; four or five dots that wouldn't add up to 1mm² and then dry brushed it around. It can just be made out and to me that's perfect. Scratches came from a quilting pencil. Flat-coated with Microscale

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The I.P. turned out better than the first time in Part 1, I got a better point on the quilting pencil. Engine was painted with X-32 Titanium Silver and washed with Citadel Black Ink. Crank case was paint with Polyscale Blue-Grey. I was even able to get to the dials on the left console as I left off the part until painting was done

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Hoping to get everything into the fuselage tonight and not.....I repeat not forget to install the tail wheel first

 

[Gnomey]

Good work so far George!

 

[Crimea_River]

Nice to see you experimenting with the oils and washes. Never really got into the oils myself.

 

[Airframes]

Good stuff Geo - and don't forget the tail wheel !!

 

[fubar57]

A work in progress Andy, probably get away with two or three micro-dots. I had to remove a locating pin in the front of the fuselage and grind down a bit of the bulkhead to get a better fit at the front and the soon to be broken off tail wheel was installed.

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Togetherness starting.

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Wing parts are also together.

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There are locating pins on the wing parts, relying on the ailerons on the upper wing halves to get line-up started. This actually worked very well and I got pretty much a seamless fit. Note the cannons have been removed after I checked for about the sixth time

 

[Wurger]

 

[Airframes]

I love it when a plan(e) comes together (with acknowledgements to "The A Team") !!

 

[rochie]

Good stuff Geo

 

[fubar57]

Thank you. I keep forgetting to ask if anyone knows what the area in the oval is all about; is there a different version to this kit that requires it? It was on the other build as well and serves absolutely no purpose.

 

[rochie]

Wonder if it has something to do with a floatplane version ?