Tamiya 1:72 Mitsubishi A6M5 Type 0 Model 52 (Zeke)

[Radzy]

おはよう,

The rays of raising sun slipped over cherry blossoms and in this faint glimpse of light showed this kit in my stash
So there was no other option than to try and get it done for the group build (ships will have to wait )

Before I run into styrene madness a little bit of introduction.

The subject


Abandoned A6M5 Mod52 in Atsugi Naval airbase (picture taken from Wikipedia for educational purposes)

As a subject I have chosen the Mitsubishi A6M5 (Type 0 Model 52) Zero or Zeke.
Zero was developed in 9 variants (+ prototype) and version A6M5 is considered as the most effective one. Plane was designated as Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter and from Japanese translation of this developed the unofficial name that was used by Japanese pilots - Reisen and nick name Zero, while Zeke was the Allied reporting name.
The introduction of model was required to improve performance of the aircraft in deteriorating fighting conditions with opposing forces. With reduction of wingspan speed was increased. Constructors also reshaped ailerons, trims and flaps. Model was produced by Mitsubishi, but also some of those were produced in Nakajima factories.
Prototype of this model, based on A6M3 was flown in August 1943. In total four versions of A6M5 were introduced: A6M5a, A6M5b & A6M5c - they differed in armament. The last version A6M5-S (Yakan Sentoki) were conversion to night fighters and introducent another armament change to allow interception of US heavy bombers such as B-29s. Interesting thing is they had 20mm cannons mounted behind pilot aiming upward (like German Schräge Musik) but lack of radar caused they were not effective.

Some aircraft were converted to fighter-bomber by adding bomb rack with 250kg bomb instead of center drop tank.

Although being famous as the best performance fighters in the early stages of Pacific War they also had their "evil side" as they were used in suicidal kamikaze attacks on Allied ships.

The kit
I have chosen Tamiya 1:72 Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero (Zeke) - kit no 60779.

This is first of the new series of Zeroes made by Tamiya after retooling them in 2012 (original moulds were made in 1960s). The quality is superb with delicate and very detailed surfaces. There are no flash marks, ejector pins are placed in invisible or easy to remove spots. Clear parts has no lens effects and are thin.

From three available versions I decided to build plane 9-151 from Rabaul Air Group, Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force that stationed in this base in 1943/44.

I have decided to support myself with Eduard masks for canopies and wheels as I always have problems with masking them by myself.

Here are some "What's in the box" pictures.









I will try to achieve subtle chipping effects as the Japanes green paints were very sensitive to conditions in Pacific (hot, sunny weather, lots of sea salt in the water). SO I will probably cover plane with some metalics from Gunze Super Mettalic series and they use some sea salt covered with Tamiya reference paints. In addition to help in chipping the paints salt will allow me to achieve faded paint effects I have recently tried on my other Japanese subject which was the Seiran floatplane.
Here's example:



As it was a test dummy for my green Jap camouflage I will try to be more subtle with chipping this time

As view of rising sun reflexes on blossoms turned me into nostalgic mood I have to end with the haiku

In winter workshop
styrene miniatures
turn into marvel

Cheers,
Radek

[Thumboy]

Great photograph of the abandoned planes and a very nice looking kit, sure you will do a great job of it going by your seiran.

Very poetic - better have a nice warm sake before you start this build

[Radzy]

Mindnight wind blows cold
Wings shattered by mindless shots
Enjoy sun on dawn!

Ehm... I'm really poor in haikus and poetry

But out of these bullets cold comes ...

Update #2

The assembly of cockpit and engines is finished.

The surface was first primed with Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500 (directly from can). After two days I used reference paints from instruction sheet to paint details.



The cockpit was painted with Tamiya XF-71 (Cockpit green) followed by details with Vallejo 950 (black) mixed with Vallejo gloss varnish (to achieve glossy look). Tiny bit of red paint (Tamiya XF-7) allowed finishing of one visible gauge
All was then drybrushed with Vallejo Model Air 71064 Chrome and then I used Vallejo game colour wash 73200 Lavado Sepia.

Here are some details:






The engine was painted using also Vallejo black with bit of gloss varnish. It was followed with chrome paint and also mixed light green elements (according to instructions).

I'm quite happy with achieved result:




So that's all for now... Unfortunately I'm now waiting for replacement needle and nozzle for my airbrush as the previous ones were damaged beyond repair by accident.
It should arrive shortly, so the work can continue on closed hull

Cheers,
Radek

[Aliktren]

quodos on the haiku hidden away there

great looking cockpit bud

[AAC]

Very nice indeed, good work

[UKguyInUSA]

Great work so far, Radzy!

Cheers,

Martin