This
is my Tamiya 1/48 A6M2 Zero.
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Construction
Although
the kit builds into a nice representation of an early Zero, the mold is
beginning to show its age. In
addition to one of the lower wings being warped, I had to do some filing and
drilling to get the oil cooler cover and drop tank to fit in their respective
slots. The front of the two
fuselage halves didn’t align with one another, which caused a problem when
trying to glue the cowling on it. Also,
although the tops of the landing gear struts have tabs to ensure proper
alignment, the fit is somewhat loose with the corresponding slots in the landing
gear bay. Finally, the rear corner
on the landing gear bay doors must be bent up quite a bit in order for the drop
tank to be glued to the fuselage underside.
The overall detail
of the model is very good. The
holes in the seat and rear bulkhead were drilled out using my micro drill set.
The seat harness is lead foil from a champagne bottle with beading wire
for the buckles, the wing cannon barrels are brass tubing, and the brake lines
on the struts are beading wire. Following
fellow modeler Jeff Brundt's advice, the aerial wire is a strand of hair.
I used my oldest daughter’s hairbrush for the source.
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Painting
For the topside and
underside colors, I used Tamiya IJN Green and Gunze Sangyo IJA Light Grey
respectively. After spraying on the
IJN Green, I went over it with the same color mixed with white to give it more
of a faded look. Humbrol Semi-Gloss
Black was used for the engine cowling. For
the propeller, Humbrol Rot was used for the spinner while the blades were
finished in Gunze Sangyo Red Brown. The
cockpit was painted using a mixture of Gunze Sangyo IJA Green mixed with flat
white.
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Weathering
For the landing
gear, wheel wells, and interior of the inboard gear doors, I used an acrylic
wash of Model Master Flat Black, followed by a drybrushing using the respective
base colors mixed with white. A few
coats of Future was brushed on to the fuselage, wings, exterior of landing gear
doors, and drop tank in preparation for the decals and to seal the enamel and
decals against the effects of the oil wash.
I used Ivory Black mixed with Turpenoid for the oil wash, applying it to
a section at a time; then wiping it off with a dry cotton rag.
As I was
wiping the oil wash off the model, it surprisingly took off some of the base
color, mostly the topside green. However, since I sprayed an aluminum
undercoat in order to "chip" the paint with masking tape, the aluminum
showed through the areas where the paint had been wiped away, creating a nice,
subtle worn look. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.
Paint chipping was
done by spraying certain areas of the model (wing leading edges, wing
roots, fuselage sides, propeller blades, etc.) silver.
Once the base coat was applied and let to dry about 40 minutes or
so, the paint was then “chipped” off using a small piece of drafting tape to
reveal the silver underneath. Additional
chipping was done by applying Testors Silver with a small brush.
The powder stains from the guns and behind the shell ejector chutes
were made by drybrushing using Humbrol Panzer Gray.
I
used the kit decals, which, although a little thick, were okay.
The model depicts a machine of the 261st Air Group (Tiger
Corps), Kagoshima Base, in February 1944.
Happy
Modeling!
Rick
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