Tamiya A6M3 Zero: 1/48

[mincemeat]

Hello Fellows,

I've been delinquent on posting this build. Did I miss the Rising Sun GB? Oh well, I'll try to get into a GB one of these days. I really need to be in the mood for my subject and builds take me longer than most people here. I've already been working on this since mid-March. Enough of my whining.

I've truncated some pics down to save time...mine and yours. For this build I'll be trying some new things like Alclad Aluminum and Humbrol Maskol. Here we go.


Parts, parts, parts.

First assemblage by Iggy Pants, on Flickr'

Boom. Assembled.

First assemblage by Iggy Pants, on Flickr


Wings together...weeeeee it's a plane! This kit has a mix of raised and recessed panels lines. And the panel lines that meet up at the leading edges of the wings....raised. I made an effort, sanded those down and re-scribed them. Not very well, but it was worth a shot.

First assemblage by Iggy Pants, on Flickr


Stuff is primed! You don't want to know how long it took me to get here. I used AK's Grey Primer.

Primed by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Primed by Iggy Pants, on Flickr


Base coat. I know what you're thinking, "he picked that cockpit color because...?" Hey, I'm just following directions man! I'm using Tamiya's Metallic Blue.

Metallic Blue by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Metallic Blue by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Metallic Blue by Iggy Pants, on Flickr


Cockpit finished. The kit has decals for the instrument panels. I have mixed feelings. I also brush painted Tamiya paint. Thinned it with some thinner and a drop of Flow-Aid and I didn't have any problems. Yeah, I know no harness. The cockpit will be closed and no one will really see it anyway. Besides, don't pilots walk around already pre-strapped, if the pre-molded figures would have me believe? I'll be doing an open cockpit soon and I plan to include some straps, so simmer down.

Cockpit painted and finished by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Cockpit painted and finished by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Cockpit painted and finished by Iggy Pants, on Flickr


Cockpit in place....well for now. More on that later.

Cockpit painted and finished by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Cockpit painted and finished by Iggy Pants, on Flickr


Thanks for suffering through. Any constructive feedback is always welcome. Thanks for looking in.

[Coen]

That's some nice fine detail work bud.
Well done.

[mincemeat]

That's some nice fine detail work bud.
Well done.

Thanks a lot Mike for checking in a commenting!

[mincemeat]

Hey Everyone,

I didn't think I would ever do a post on a single item before, but since I put i a lot of effort into the engine, and I have a boatload of pictures, here it is.

The engine looked a bit too vanilla for my liking, so I thought I would try my hand at scratch building. Never really modding anything to this extent before. It's also the most sprue stretching I've ever done!

Engine Build by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Engine Build by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Engine Build by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

I stretched so much sprue it was ridiculous.

Engine Build by Iggy Pants, on Flickr


I thought of this to help me get consistent sizes and keep the little parts from going "PING!" when I cut them.

Engine Build by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Engine Build by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Engine Build by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Engine Build by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Primed AK's Grey primer

Engine Build by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Sprayed Model Master Acryl Gun Metal.

Engine Build by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Engine Build by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Hand painted with Tamiya's Flat Aluminum...? The grey is Tamiya's Medium Grey. I couldn't find any color reference for the engine mount or for the thing in front, so I just went with it. I also did some drybrushing on the engine and a touch of dark wash on the grey.

Engine Build by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Engine Build by Iggy Pants, on Flickr


I've realized by looking at other people's perspective shots is that using money is not the best, because I have no idea the size of a pence or whatever is used out there. With that said, I used money because it was the easiest thing for me to grab at the moment.

Engine Build by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

I've test fitted the cowl on top and it's pretty damn tight. Not sure how that's going to go in the final stages. I just may leave the cowl off to show the engine. I put enough work into it. Hopefully I'll be getting to priming the fuselage soon.

[cib2265]

bloody lovely work on an old but still very nice kit mate!

[mincemeat]

bloody lovely work on an old but still very nice kit mate!

Thank you for the kind words!

Here are a couple of pictures that were left out, because Flickr didn't put them in the correct album.

Engine Build by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Engine Build by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Engine Build by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

[heel]

Very nice scratch on the engine. who needs PE?

[peaceduringwar]

Wooo! Another Zero build. Very nice detail work. I'm loving the engine work.

[mincemeat]

Hey Guys,

It's been quite some time since I updated this. Well, I hit a bit of a snag and disappointment for a while. Here's where things are.

I attached the wings to the fuselage.

Fuselage and primed by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Bit of a gap to be resolved.

Fuselage and primed by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

It looked pretty ugly on the wing roots, so I added some Mr Dissolved Putty.

Fuselage and primed by Iggy Pants, on Flickr


Used the Sharpie method to check for seam lines.

Fuselage and primed by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Added the fuel tank.

Fuselage and primed by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

I masked the can of peas (hee hee) with Tamiya tape and used my phone's LED light to see thru so I could cut along the panel lines. I was half blind at the end and did sections at different days, but it got done. Not perfect, but is anything?

Fuselage and primed by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Used Silly Putty to add tack in the bay so I could tack in landing gear covers.

Fuselage and primed by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Fuselage and primed by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Tape and Silly Putty to cover the gun sight.

Fuselage and primed by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

All the Silly Putties.

Fuselage and primed by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Already to go for Alclad Black Primer.

Fuselage and primed by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Nothing to see here.

Fuselage and primed by Iggy Pants, on Flickr


I was struggling to get a good coverage of the primer over the aircraft. The Sharpie was still showing thru, as well as the Metallic Blue over spray. In some areas around the wing roots and on the bottom the texture was rough and pebbly. I was most definitely getting frustrated with the coverage. I was using the freebie airbrush that I received with my air compressor to spray the lacquer. I didn't feel comfortable sending it through the Infinity. After I cleaned the Fengda (freebie) I was reassembling the airbrush and the needle was sticking. It has happened in the past, maybe because I didn't clean it well enough and it just needed an extra push to get it thru. Well, I gave it too much push and did this.



Fuselage and primed by Iggy Pants, on Flickr


This is where it sat for a few weeks. I wasn't able to find a .2mm needle for a Fengda, so I decided to let the Zero sit. "Will he let it linger on the shelf of doom or will he persevere? Stay tuned for the next installment of 'Mediocre Modelling!'"

Comments are always welcome.

[Nige201980]

I hope you can get a needle sorted mate because you are doing brilliant work here buddy.

[Willem]

Seconded. Looks gorgeous.

[mincemeat]

I hope you can get a needle sorted mate because you are doing brilliant work here buddy.

Seconded. Looks gorgeous.

Thanks Nige and Willem, your encouragement is appreciated and valued. I'll be posting an update shortly.

[mincemeat]

I decided to persevere. I recently acquired the FAQ book by AK, which is really awesome, and it gave me some inspiration.

The reason for the Alclad Black primer was that I was going to use Alclad's Aluminum for the undercoat. For a Zero in the book, he used an enamel silver as an undercoat. There was nothing stopping me from using acrylics at this point, so off I went. And the kids were gone for the weekend.

The FAQ book gave me an idea to use a lightened aircraft interior black as the base coat and highlight the panel lines with straight flat black. You can't see the difference here, but you can in real life.

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

I used a silver color pencil for chipping.

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Here is the prop painted in sliver with aircraft interior black on the backside.

Prop by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Prop by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

20150622_195033 by Iggy Pants, on Flickr


There was a panel line on the side that was all crooked and terrible. I filled it with dissolved plastic and sanded it down. I used an embossing label as a straight edge to rescribe the line.

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

I sprayed semi-gloss black on the top before applying the canopy, can't you tell?

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Canopy applied with Kristal Klear.

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

I used AK grey primer to cover the bare area. Here, some of the semi-gloss black misted it.

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Tamiya's Titanium Silver applied. I learned that you have to thinned metallics more than you would for regular acrylics so they don't clog up the works.

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Future self tells me I should have covered the whole plane and not leave black areas.

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

I applied Humbrol Maskol directly to the acrylic. It leaves no residue and takes no paint with it when it comes off. This is my first experience with the stuff. It's pretty awesome for chipping effects, but man, it smells pretty gross.

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr'

I used a torn green scouring pad to dab it on. I dabbed it in the Maskol, dabbed a few times on a paper towel and applied to the aircraft.

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Here was the first attempt at spraying the bottom's medium gray. I realized it was not quite right, and I should have used a different grey, but my time was limited and with everything else going on, I wanted to move forward.

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

The rough and pebbly came back to haunt me. I couldn't take it so I took a high grit sandpaper and sanded it down a bit. I did some preshading with Tamiya Smoke.

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

The finish came out 80% better. Still has its problem areas, like under the fuel tank, but it will be better on the next Zero. Maybe I should have added just a bit more paint, but that realization only comes after everything is all cleaned up. Remember what I said about the next Zero?

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

I used IJN Green to do some preshading.

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

I added some yellow to the green to post shade the panels after painting. I would have preferred white, but I didn't have any.

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

The moment of truth.

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

The other non-chipped areas looked too clean, so with the silver pencil I added chipping around the aircraft. You'll see it better in future pictures.

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Here is the masking for the yellow accents. I added a little Maskol before painting.

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Painting by Iggy Pants, on Flickr


My goal for this aircraft was to experiment with some new techniques, rescribing larger portions of wing lines and heavy weathering/chipping. The kit was $14, so I won't be too uptight experimenting and having a number of learning mistakes on it.

Comments are always welcome.

[Coen]

Intensely cool!!!
wow!

[patrickroos]

Now that's real man-chipping, no XXX around here...

Looks great this far, nice cockpit, lovely engine (great work)!

Did You find a needle?
What Infinity do You have, if its the Crplus with the PTFE seals You can shoot anything without hesitation.

[Danta2er]

Wow...looks great! I really like the idea of using an inexpensive kit to experiment on.

[frack]

great job. love the look

[mincemeat]

Here is the finished Zero.

Close to final assembly by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Final pictures by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Final pictures by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Final pictures by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Final pictures by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Final pictures by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Final pictures by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Final pictures by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

Final pictures by Iggy Pants, on Flickr

[Stokesy44]

Beautiful paint job Sir. Just beautiful!!!

[Homerlovesbeer]

Hey Guys,

It's been quite some time since I updated this. Well, I hit a bit of a snag and disappointment for a while. Here's where things are.



I was struggling to get a good coverage of the primer over the aircraft. The Sharpie was still showing thru, as well as the Metallic Blue over spray. In some areas around the wing roots and on the bottom the texture was rough and pebbly. I was most definitely getting frustrated with the coverage. I was using the freebie airbrush that I received with my air compressor to spray the lacquer. I didn't feel comfortable sending it through the Infinity. After I cleaned the Fengda (freebie) I was reassembling the airbrush and the needle was sticking. It has happened in the past, maybe because I didn't clean it well enough and it just needed an extra push to get it thru. Well, I gave it too much push and did this.


This is where it sat for a few weeks. I wasn't able to find a .2mm needle for a Fengda, so I decided to let the Zero sit. "Will he let it linger on the shelf of doom or will he persevere? Stay tuned for the next installment of 'Mediocre Modelling!'"

Comments are always welcome.

I swear the problem is the AK Interactive primer....I hate the stuff! I guarantee it was drying on the needle as you sprayed causing spatter. Keep up the great work, don't let this beauty sit for too long

EDIT: I see you've finished! Nice job! The only thing I'd do next time is a little less of the maskol for weathering......that's well and truly beat up!

[mincemeat]

Beautiful paint job Sir. Just beautiful!!!

Thanks Stokesy for looking in!

[mincemeat]

I swear the problem is the AK Interactive primer....I hate the stuff! I guarantee it was drying on the needle as you sprayed causing spatter. Keep up the great work, don't let this beauty sit for too long

EDIT: I see you've finished! Nice job! The only thing I'd do next time is a little less of the maskol for weathering......that's well and truly beat up!

Hey Homer, Thanks for checking in. It was actually Alclad black primer that gave me such problems that let me with a rough surface. I have used the AK Interactive primers with pretty good results.

I was really going for the heavily weathered look on this aircraft, partly because I envisioned that these would look like this and for experimentation purposes. I don't expect most of my aircraft to be this drastic.

[Danta2er]

Congrats on a great looking build, I really liked the chipping a lot!