discussion Airfix 1/72 Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero

[yak face]

Heres one I picked up when they had them in Aldi before xmas . Its a 2011 tooling so not the latest but is very nicely done nevertheless . The cockpit is well enough detailed , especially as the canopy only gives a closed option , only thing I added were some spare decal belts from the recent Eduard spitfire ( if it had been an open canopy I would have used etch , but under a closed one the decals will be good enough)
heres where I am at the moment, with a bit of careful painting the pit looks quite nice.

 

[PaulTRose]

One i also picked up from aldi so i shall watch with interest

 

[flyjoe180]

It's a great little kit Tony, I've built one and have another that is 80% done on my bench as an aside project in alternative markings. Nice start in the cockpit. You really can't see much at all once the canopy is on.

 

[yak face]

Main airframe now altogether . No dramas just a tiny bit of filler needed to smooth the joint on the rear deck behind the cockpit opening. The section of the front upper fuselage had the gunsight lens moulded onto it in solid plastic so this has been cut off and will be replaced with a more suitable clear piece.

 

[yak face]

Gunsight lens replaced with a tiny bit of holographic confetti cut to shape and ive done my favourite job in the whole world - masking up a multi framed canopy .
The canopy has now been glued on so next step is priming . What about the engine i hear you cry ! , that will be added last off along with the cowling as these dont interfere with any of the rest of the build .

 

[flyjoe180]

That canopy framing takes ages to mask, as frustrating as it is. Looking good Tony.

 

[colin m]

Looking nice old boy. I feel your pain, masking multi-frame canopies. The problem is, a mask might cost nearly as much as the Aldi special.

 

[yak face]

Looking nice old boy. I feel your pain, masking multi-frame canopies. The problem is, a mask might cost nearly as much as the Aldi special.

Exactly colin , more than double the cost

 

[PaulTRose]

Masking canopies is the bit i hate on aircraft

 

[yak face]

Airframe now painted ,a custom mix of Tamiya acrylics , the fabric control surfaces were done in a slightly darker shade as these were a noticeably different colour . Next up a coat of Klear then decals , maybe only a few though as I’m hoping to mask and spray the hinomaru ( meatballs)

 

[flyjoe180]

Colour looks good Tony, coming along nicely.

 

[yak face]

After getting out the compass cutter and a masking session it was ready for the hinomaru and fuselage band to be sprayed . Very pleased with how it turned out , no creep along the panel lines , just a tiny bit of overspray near the nose to touch up . Next is a coat of Klear then the decals , not many though , just the tail codes and yellow stripes , the red wing walk lines and a small info panel in japanese on the fuselage.

 

[flyjoe180]

Excellent paint work on the Hinomarus, Tony.

 

[Steven000]

Nice progress on the Zero Tony, have fun, cheers

 

[yak face]

Tail decals and wing walks now applied . The engine and cowling have both been fitted and the next step is highlighting the control surfaces joint lines - dont think I’ll be doing a full panel line wash though as they are quite deep and very noticeable already.

 

[flyjoe180]

Looking good Tony. Agree with excluding the panel line wash. I found the underside lines are not as deep or pronounced.

 

[Geoffers]

Very nice work Tony

The markings look great, well worth the extra effort of painting them.

Geoff.

 

[rickoshea52]

This is a really nice little kit to build. I did one when they first came out and I was restarting my modelling journey and skills.

 

[Jim R]

That's looking very good. Masking has work well for the markings. Canopy masking looks neat but must have been a fiddly job.