Tcoat

Thanks I will check that out! The problem is that although I am reasonably comfortable with the externals I need to model the rarely seen or photographed internals. There are scads of line diagrams and some sort of shady colour callouts available but since there really is not much in the broken area references are scarce. Each end is closed off by a bulkhead (#36 Aft and #48 forward) with the break someplace around where #37 is shown. The most reliable source I have is this colourized drawing by Norm Meyers (Any relation to Wade?) It seems to show green zinc chromate skin with darker structure. But many pictures show structure as YZC.

As I said in woody3z's build thread I am planning to build the broken and ready for transport version of the Shangri-La. Thus the title here (used with his gracious permission). He has put me in contact with the 453rd Museum and although not an official build for them I will be shipping the finished product over there to add to woody's intact aircraft build. Since the kit is still on it's way from Winnipeg (how they get here faster from Japan I will never understand) I may be a tad premature in starting this thread but will be looking for some expert assistance in some of the details so figured I may as well get a head start. So... This was the picture in woody's thread that triggered me : A quick check online indicated that for me to put the Merlin in it would cost about twice what the kit did and although I am not as cheap as I may seem that was way more than I wanted to spend. But, a bit more research meant I totally lucked out because I found this: Tarps I can do! There are several pictures of the crash so I can match most details pretty close. Through my research I learned that this aircraft was only 6 to 8 weeks old and flown 11 or 12 missions (accounts differ) at the time of the crash so that is going to have an impact on the amount of weathering on the parts not impacted by the crash. The old colour shots are deceiving in that their colour is so off I thought that there was a lot more wear and tear on it than there probably actually was. Looks blotchy but I believe that is just from the picture being enhanced so many times over the years. The red is certainly WAY off. These aircraft were of course used under very adverse conditions and some wear is expected and evident but it really will be restricted to certain areas and not the overall aircraft. I did find it very odd that as famous as this pilot, aircraft and cash are I did not find a single diorama of the plane split in half. A couple of it on it's belly but none of ready for recovery. So that is my opening statement and if anybody has or knows of any other crash/recovery photos I would love to take a look!

Found this Instagram account while looking for crash picture. They are all restored and colourized pics and she does an absolutely incredible job! Some niggling errors but overall probably as or more accurate than any of us on our models! Don't think you can download from there but a quick browse will find it. I also found a colorized and cleaned up picture of the crash diorama I am doing for the Shangri-La. https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ1W-VChFpC/ Oh found them in Facebook @Renee Colours She doesn't have them all on Facebook apparently.

Gravity is not your friend when glazing with Kristal Klear! I have received some strange looks from the wife while gently rocking a model back and forth for 20 minutes until it had set up evenly.

Try another layer of the Kristal Klear but stand the whole thing up so the windscreen is horizontal and even. It can be hit or miss but I have had success doing the two layer thing before.

Well I still have to finish my current projects but... The beauty of this one is that since the press was right there there are several pictures of the wreckage.

Oh Oh OH I want to do this!!!! The model not crash. Already to much on the plate so will watch this with ineterest.

Predator And... PREY!

Marking all on over a heavy coat of tinted floor polish. The effect will be greatly subdued once the flat coat goes on. The green is not almost black like the gloss coat and picture make it look.

And here is the beauty of the late war Japanese aircraft. You can beat the crap outta the paint like no other operational equipment (well maybe some Soviet stuff). Silly putty masking for a softer line. Exactly what I was after. Over top of some really nice smelling hairspray. Put it on now take it off. Now time to seal it al up and start decals and weathering. Not many pictures of underneath but from what i can see the grey paint stood up much better than the dark green. The condition these were operated in would have left some scars though. Now time for markings and some dirtying up!

I have enjoyed it so much I have ordered another to do wheels down. The funny part is that I have never even considered building one and only ordered it for the figures!

Well I have a bit of a habit of starting dioramas with big plans and then the completed model just ends up on a shelf all alone because I was looking for a key component and then just forgot the project. This time around I think I have everything right from the start though.

Pontoons all ready so it can go for paint. For the diorama setup I plan one pontoon will be assembled and ready while the other will just be coming out of it's storage tube.

Ready to Join Seiran in the paint shop. Base of Modelmaster chrome silver and hairs prayed for chipping.

Beautiful! I have picked this kit up off the local shop shelf and put it back down about 10 times now. Now that I have seen this the next time it comes home.

We had the Pony here from 1984 until 1987 (I think). I know it sold way way better than expected in 1984 and they had to keep upping the orders. Unfortunately they did not fair well at all in the Canadian climate and rotted out completely within 5 years. By 1995 they were rare and by now almost non existent.

Thin wire would be perfect in 1/72. Even the ribs could be wire actually. There wasn't much under the covering. https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/685743480733872317/

The stringers are aluminum and painted the same as the ribs. Although most countries used a green corrosion resistant paint call zinc chromate as the inner structure coating the Japanese used a sort of weird teal like or even blue colour. Good info here http://colesaircraft.blogspot.com/2014/08/japanese-wwii-aircraft-aotake-primer.html

All masked up and ready for first paint. This is my first time using premarked masks and even though I had to cut then out all I can say is what a time saver. Looks like pre cuts are in my sights for future builds. Although I always knew the Zero was a small aircraft I didn't truly realize just how small until I started this build. The whole thing pretty much fits within the wing area of a Voodoo!

Beautiful! Both the model and the pictures. I only dream of getting pictures that good.

That is the beauty of damaged aircraft, crude is good! Looking good and you get the idea. Now twist up those ribs a bit and some broken and damaged stringers. Planes are not durable when they hit the ground.

You don't need to go nuts but just a couple of panels ripped off and showing the bent structure underneath would bump it up a notch.

I love a good crashed plane diorama! Need to rip that wing open and show us some innards and carnage though. Easy enough to do with some strip and tinfoil. Like the tail here:

While digging through my spare parts bin I found a couple of tiny B-24s. No how could they possibly be used with an in flight Zero?

Almost ready to paint and since it will be an in flight display I had to do up the pilot. He isn't exactly in a great position to be flying (maybe he had an itch and had to let go of the stick mid bank) but he will do once the canopy is on. Base coat Detail paint Gloss seal/accent coat Flat coat to blend (no his nose is not a weird colour in real life) At the office