[Tamiya] Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero 1/48

[SpaceShipOne]

Hello!

I finally decided to document my builds from now on. I have been busy with some old Airfix kits and to be honest I needed a bit of fresh air with a nice "Made In Japan" kit! Filling and sanding a vintage kit is fun but sometimes assembling a well designed kit from Tamiya is just what you need to relax.

On this one, I will use an airbrush! Yeah guys, that's right! After many unsuccessful and a few successful paint jobs with a hairy stick, it was time to get on the train and join the fun

- Step One:

Cockpit Assembly. Brush painted the very typical "Japanese metallic blue" that looks pretty cool and flashy





I tried my best to detail the cockpit... Not 100% accurate but fun!
Finally I need to install the stick and step one is done

- Step Two:

Having fun!





Antoine

[T3hGuppy]

Great start dude.

[SpaceShipOne]

Thank you

[Gav0909]

Looking good mate, always found it odd that their cockpits were metallic blue, looks very sci-fi!

Nice work so far!

[DC87]

Impressed by what you've done so far, nice cockpit work.

[Rob]

Great start on a fine looking kit. Good luck with the airbrush- there's no looking back now!

[SpaceShipOne]

Thank you guys, it means a lot! I am a beginner and I am learning a lot from you all, especially those of you who post videos on YT, very inspiring

Anyway, I am excited to spray my 1st model... I have been practicing on a junk model and I - think - I am ready to roll!

To all airbrush gurus out there, quick question: would you do some pre shading on this aircraft? I picked a very light colored paint scheme such as this one:



I am thinking a dark wash in the panel lines might be good enough. What do you think?

More to follow my friends!

Antoine

[Bridon]

Watching this one with great interest...be interested to hear about the pre-shading as well...

Brian

[SpaceShipOne]

- Step Three:

Wing Assembly. Great fit, no problem there. I used various grits of sanding paper to eliminate glue where necessary (600, 1200, 1500).

I also drilled two holes for the drop tank to be glued at a later stage...





Engine next....

[Paul]

Nice work antoine

[bullgill67]

lovely start

michael

[DC87]

Nice work attaching those wings

To all airbrush gurus out there, quick question: would you do some pre shading on this aircraft?

I would say yes to adding some pre shading, don't make it too dark if the end scheme is white or off white - a medium grey should do the trick.

[SpaceShipOne]

Nice work attaching those wings

To all airbrush gurus out there, quick question: would you do some pre shading on this aircraft?

I would say yes to adding some pre shading, don't make it too dark if the end scheme is white or off white - a medium grey should do the trick.

Thank you ! I will work on that when time comes... . Medium grey XF 20 should be good then.

[Joesdad]

Good stuff Antoine, I myself well watching with interest too as I'm going have a go at pre-shading soon...

[wappynutter]

Looking good dude..
Love the cockpit, it looks fantastic ...
Well done again and good luck with your 1st spraying session and pre-shading.....
Keep it up, happy modelling..

[SpaceShipOne]

Time to go to work... Will be off for a few days, busy weekend ahead!



At least she looks like an airplane now !

I placed the canopy on the fuselage and using a sharpie pen I drew a line all around. The inside will be semi gloss black. Masking fun ahead guys!

Thank you for looking, have a good one!

Antoine

[Raptor]

Looking very nice. As someone who will also soon be purchasing an airbrush, will be interesting to see your first airbrush and see what issues (if any) you find with doing it.

[SpaceShipOne]

Update!

This is the big day! Over the weekend I primed the Zero so everything would be ready for tonight. Paint scheme is easy on this one. Grey Green IJN (XF-76) all over the aircraft. Following your advices, I pre shaded with some medium grey... And there I went:









My Nikon D40 didn't really pick up the pre shading... Or maybe it's the bench light. I don't know but pre shading can be seen when you are holding the model. Everything went okay, no airbrush blockage. Cleaning after the fun went fine too!

Next photo will be the reveal one... I hope to finish this build this week if the wife allows

To conclude, I'd say that there is a MAJOR difference between watching you guys airbrushing and actually doing it. What I mean is that it seems like it is soooo easy to mess up your spraying but you all make airbrushing look easy!!! Mine is not perfect obviously. First time, I'm happy with it!

Take care y'all!

Antoine

[Raptor]

Looking good. Nooby question though.... is preshading the airbrush equivalent to washing?

[Radzy]

Hi Antoine.
Great update. This Zero comes in shape very nicely

Looking good. Nooby question though.... is preshading the airbrush equivalent to washing?

Hey Raptor.
Preshading is rather supporting technique to give initially additional shadows to the model. Especially in the places like rivet lines, panel joints where dirt or dust gathers and to diversify larger panels / surface areas that are more easily discoloured by effects of sunlight.

Cheers,
Radek

[jmar829]

I'd say for your first airbrushing experience, you did a tremendous job! I think you'll find that no matter what color you decide to go with, you'll always end up doing pre-shading. It just adds such a nice touch that you'll never want to skip that step. I would add a light wash to finish as well to completely define the panel lines.

Good work so far!

[SpaceShipOne]

Well guys... It is 99% complete...

Weathering is an Art that I must learn , not easy!

Purpose of this build was to try out new techniques, mainly with my airbrush... I am happy with it



Next model might be something different, I am getting tired of airplanes... Possibly a VFR 750 1/12 from Tamiya! We'll see!

Take care, Thank you for all your comments!!!

Antoine

[Radzy]

Tony, excellent work on this Zero. It really looks amazing!

[Paul]

Looking good Antoine, would like to see you do a bike they are good fun