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Finemolds is to re-release its 1/72nd Mitsubishi/Nakajima A6M5 Type 52 Hei/"Zero" kits. UPDATE - thanks LansVVS - See https://www.scalemates.com/kits/fine-molds-bmog11248-ultimate-zero-type-52--199746 - ref. FR01 Mitsubishi A6M5 Type 52 https://www.finemolds.co.jp/FP/FR01.html - ref. FR02 - Najajima A6M5 Type 52 https://www.finemolds.co.jp/FP/FR02.html V.P.

A new tool 1/48th A6M5 "Zero" by Finemolds ! Release expected in December 2024. - ref. FZ01 - Mitsubishi A6M5 type 52 Hei/"Zero" - mid production Source: https://finemolds.co.jp/FZ/FZ01.html - ref. FZ02 - Nakajima A6M5 type 52 Hei/"Zero" Source: https://finemolds.co.jp/FZ/FZ02.html Source: https://www.facebook.com/story.php/?story_fbid=1031732222288220&id=100063543551887 "【2024 62nd All Japan Model Hobby Show New Product Advance Announcement】 Our new product is reiwa 1/48 Mitsubishi Fighter Model 52 (Mitsubishi Model) 1/48 Type Fighter Model 52 (Built in Nakajima) 1/48 Okinawa 20mm Machine Gun & Pito Tube Set These three items have been launched! For more information, check out the video below! V.P.

Hi guys! Sorry, I should have posted this much early, but I completely forgot... It was the second kit finished in a Type 0 triple build I did in a bit more than a month in late 2023. Link to A6M3 finished! Link to A6M2-N finished! Link to build report (In French) AKAMATSU Sadaak was born in 1910. He enlist at eighteen in Imperial Japanese Navy, where he become fighter pilot in 1932, and serve on many aircraft carriers, as well as in shore-based units. He is with 13th Kokutai (Ku) when the war with China begin, and he quickly gain a reputation as a fearless pilot. He claim 11 victories during this first war. AT the beginning of WW2, he join third Ku, and fight in the Philippines, and in the Netherland East Indies. He come back to Japan in may 1942, then fight again, this time with 332nd Ku. He then come back again to Japan for the last time, to join 302nd Ku at Atsugi, where he fly J2M Raiden in defense of Tokyo,, as well as for Okinawa Well known among IJN aircrews, he has flown more than 6000 hours during his fifteen years of service,, and he claim a total of no less than 350 victories!!! Most historians disagree, and think his grand total must be something around 27.

Hi guys! Sorry, again, I should have posted this much early, but I completely forgot... It was the third kit finished in a Type 0 triple build I did in a bit more than a month in late 2023. Link to A6M3 finished! Link to A6M5 Ko finished! Link to build report (In French) More info later, need time to translate....

Thanks HKR 👍 Eduard worked in secret on a new kit and tomorrow it will be announced 7PM (Warsaw Time) UPDATE - It'll be a family of 1/48th Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" Source: https://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=95280&start=33390#p2448351 V.P.

Academy 1/48 A6M2b Zero Type 21 ------------------------------------------------------------ Hi everyone. This is my first output of the year. I have been building this since last year but the build was paused and moved onto the GWH Mig-29. After that, I decided to continue and finish it recently. As for the kit, I had some fit issues which were not very bad and acceptable. Some scraping, sanding and filling did the job. Surface details are good with nicely engraved panel lines and rivets. As for the colours, I decided to follow Eduard's Zero Type 21's color reference as I felt the Academy's Color references were not accurate. Academy did remarkably well with the decals. After applying using some decal softeners, they really look as if they were painted. Seat belts are from Fine Molds (Nano Aviation seatbelts for WW2 Japanese Aircraft). Just before finishing this kit, I heard the sad news that Academy Plastic Model Founder has passed away. My deep condolences to his family and may he rest in peace. #tzwzero

Looks to be 3D printed. It’s obviously not for everyone, especially considering the price: https://www.hlj.com/1-48-scale-zero-fighter-type-21-skeleton-full-set-model-umltp-004

Hi. This is my first time posting something here so i will try my best to follow the rhythm of the forum. I am currently waiting for a B-17 to arrive from Poland so in the meantime i bought the cheapest Zero i could find, which would be this A6M5 by a local brand called Modelex. Modelex basically uses old Heller tooling and is as good (bad) as you might expect. Even so, i have already built the SAAB Draken by them and i did quite enjoy the build, so i ended up buying their Zero just to have some fun, experiment without feeling the guilt of doing such in an expensive kit, and also to learn how to use the forum. 👨‍🦲 I will be updating this thread for as long as it takes me to finnish it, which shouldn't be long. Let's take a look at the box and whatever is inside of it. The kit: To be fair it looks quite alright, the part count is kind of low but it doesn't matter. There isn't as much excess plastic as one would expect and the details are alright besides a few minor roughness in the underside. Overall it's ok for the price (12000 ARS), although i will only find out if the fitting is proper when i start assembling it. The Instruction sheet: Nothing to say besides the fact that its quite poor, but it works since the assembly is so simple and the part count is so low. I didn't bother to take a picture of the paint instructions because they were so low res that it was not even worth it. The kit itself comes with only one possible scheme which is just your average green with gray underside A6M5. The Decals: The decals are what is commonly known as garbage. they look quite bad (although robust, so i dont think they will crack or dissolve), they are stained, and there is like 10 of them in total, of which most are for the meatballs (thank god) and the small tail markings in white text that read 3-114 (which does not match with the code shown in the box). Even so, i wont buy any aftermarket decals because they are expensive and i do not want to wait months for them to arrive, so i will use the ones Modelex provided, along with some heavy masking tape + thin paintbrush work, to get this to look as decent as possible The Plan: So as you may have noticed the title of this thread is A6M5 (or A6M2??) and that's because i plan on converting this model to an A6M2, just because i wanted to build a white/light gray zero but this is all i could find. It shouldn´t be too hard and the kit was pretty cheap so i wont feel terrible while toying with it. The biggest difference there is (atleast in a scale this small and with this level of detail) is the engine cowling, which i will try to modify by sanding and by making the air intake with leftover burnt plastic. The paint job will be done by brush, and i bought a thinner brush to be able to paint the markings that did NOT come as decals. I am currently trying to find an A6M2 with white tail markings so i dont have to use some leftover decals for that too, but for now, i will probably end up making it quite similar to the "51" from carrier Junyo. Paint scheme was found in this website about japanese aviation. It goes without saying, but even though i will try my best, historical accuracy won't be the strongest point of this build. If i fail to convert it to A6M2 i will keep the build as an A6M5 and paint it green, as God (Modelex) intended. For now i will focus on doing the primer base and painting the cockpit and other minor details. I will keep you updated. -Ramirez.

Hello all, I've never done a WIP thread but have been wanting to for some time. I couldn't see any for this new kit from FineMolds and figured with its unique design it would be a good place to start (and hopefully a decent resource for others wanting to build it). Fresh from HLJ. I've ordered a few kits from them and they always arrive in perfect condition. After a flick through the instructions and the included "Basic Modelling Master" book provided by HLJ with pre-orders, it was time to start. This kit has a lot of novel approaches but the cockpit is mostly a traditional affair. Two sidewalls, a front bulkhead, and rear frame connect to encapsulate the cockpit floor. Included is some oil (or fuel?) tank detail which I believe was missing from Eduards offering. I am a big fan of the Eduard kit but so far this has set an even higher bar. All the cockpit parts along with the slide moulded fuselage parts. Detail is fantastic, the seat in particular has all weight reduction holes moulded and tapers to a very thin top edge. The slide moulding of the fuselage allows the rivet detail to go right to the centre line, but there is still some cleanup to do around the gates. It's a novel approach and certainly makes construction easier. A test fit was both extremely satisfying and totally unnecessary thanks to the level of fit FineMolds have achieved. One area that interested me was the solid canopy frame with interlocking clear parts. Sadly these seem a bit of a gimmick. In my example, the rear frame is warped and the clear parts seem to be thicker than average to incorporate the recessed parts for the frame to fit in to. Less than ideal. The warped frame and heavily distorted clear part means I will be using the traditional style canopy. That's all for now, hopefully some will find this thread useful and would like to follow along.

Hello, I present for inspection my build of Trumpeter's 1/24 A6M2 Type 21 Zero - which represents an aircraft from the Carrier Akagi which took place in the Pearl Harbour raid of 7th December 1941. This is the first Trumpeter kit I have ever built. Most of my model-making experience has been in the "classic" Airfix 1/24 range and I must say, this was a pleasant build experience with everything going together nicely. It is mostly out of the box except for the Yahu instrument panel and Techmod decals. I also used some of Airscale's excellent cockpit decals. There is a lack of aftermarket parts for this kit so I also made my own seat straps and re-cast the rubber wheels in resin. I did also add extra detail to the engine (spark plug leads) but you can't really see this. The brake lines I thought were oversized so I used fuze-wire instead. Paint wise I used a combination of Vallejo Model Air 71.312 and AK11892, the later from what I've read being the most accurate. I lightened both in an attempt to give some tonal variation, particularly on the control surfaces - but this doesn't really come out in the pictures. The engine cowling is a blue-black for which I used AK11895. Weathering I wanted to keep to a minimum and appropriate to how it may have looked on return to the Akagi. I've read on numerous occasions that Trumpeter kits have shape/size issues - I think their Ju87 is oversized for example. In my research for this kit I did find an interesting article on this kit from a certain Greg Springer. He has examined the shape against original plans and found the cockpit to be around 3mm to high. He has laid out correction plans here but it requires major surgery along the length of the fuselage and I personally didn't fancy my chances of carrying it out without a major @$*! up... so if anyone has done it, I'd be extremely interested in how much difference it makes to the overall shape. Finally, these last two are in the display cabinet Thanks for looking.

Hello, My Tamiya 1/72 A6M3 Zero finished before few months. Very nice model for assembling. Colors are wonderfull MRP paints, I use some metal parts for cockpit and exterior, metal flaps in lower position and some scratchbuild. Diorama around the Zero isn't full finished! Pictures: Thanks for watching!!!

Border Model is to release a 1/35th Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" kit - ref. BF006 Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02xjrYidijzsjnochQZCQqPEKTS4JywDvG5jkRKCu1tmbgXwybWjLYJe33wamPYcvyl&id=100063663186491 V.P.

The 1/72-scale Tamiya Mitsubishi A6M2b Zero Fighter is a lovely kit. Built OOB with DEAD Design Models canopy masks. Base colors are Tamiya as per the instructions, Alclad metallics. Decal options are for three different aircraft. I chose to build Lt. Fusata IIda's aircraft, mostly because I like the light blue stripes. I also decided to try my hand at rather severely weathering this aircraft with significant paint chipping. The problem, however, is that Iida's aircraft crashed on 7 December, 1941, after attacking NAS Kaneohe Bay (in an apparent Kamikaze attack after Iida's Zero was damaged). More than likely, this particular aircraft was nice and shiny on the day of its demise, and so we have a grave historical accuracy. We'll have to view this model as a counter-factual Zero! I wanted the chipping to mostly go down only to the red-brown primer that was applied over the duralumin. I tried the closest color I had on hand, XF-9 (Hull Red) but this turned out to be a little too dark at first. I went over it with some Gray Green (the base color) with a sponge and that softened things a bit, though now it looks a little like rust. Additional weathering included Tamiya brown enamel panel line wash, some light oils (tans, grays) on top, and some darker oils (umbers, grays) on the bottom. All in all, quick and easy build. Thanks for looking.

I just completed my take on an Airfix 1/72 A6M2b earlier today. This is the kit with the green aircraft on the box, and the supplied decals for an aircraft from an operational training unit that was likely green over trainer orange-yellow. Overall, this kit was an absolute pleasure to build. It was done OOB, other than HGW transfer film seat belts and some added wires for the engine, brake lines, and a scratched circular antenna behind the headrest. Paint is Vallejo Model Air IJN black green over a 5:1 mix of Vallejo medium yellow:orange. The lone photo I found of the real thing showed it to be in fairly good condition, so weathering was kept minimal, and it was finished with satin varnish. Looking at the photo of the real thing, taken from another Zero, showed white borders on the Hinomaru on the wings, so I painted those on using homemade stencils. I took some artistic liberties, extending the blue black behind the cowl, and painting the insides of the main gear doors and tail wheel ash gray. I'm far from an expert; I don't know if these trainers were purpose built or repainted former operational aircraft. I also cut the canopy apart with a razor saw and thinned the sliding section from the inside for a better fit. After taking photos, I noticed the angle/stance of the landing gear was a bit off, so I pulled them and reattached with epoxy at a more correct angle. I should have just done that from the start! As always, thanks for looking, and feedback is always welcome.

Since I was, at best, mediocre in my build of a 1/48 Tamiya Spitfire as I am trying to get back into this modeling thing, I was trying to decide which kit I could mangle next. I just happened to be on this bid site (addictions are a hard thing to oppress) and there was this 1/32 Hasegawa Zero for a ridiculously low price. So, I bid on it and ended up winning. Upon receiving the kit and opening it to see if it was complete or not, I found a Quinta Studio 3D cockpit set for a Tamiya Zero that retails for more than what I paid for the kit. Bonus, huh? I just happened to have a Tamiya Zero in the stash so why not build it and use the Quinta Studio set to enhance it. Then I got the brilliant idea of build both and if I am using the Quinta Studio on the Tamiya kit, use the Tamiya kit parts on the Hasegawa kit. Hence, this build took life. I am comparing the 1979 issue of the 1971 Hasegawa Zero kit with Tamiya’s 2000 new tool 1/32 A6M5 Zero. (I know the Hasegawa kit is old, but has it really been over 20 years since Tamiya came out with this first superkit?) First the obligatory box and sprue shots; Tamiya first: To go with the Tamiya kit I have the aforementioned Quinta Studio 3d set and Master metal gun barrels. Next is the Hasegawa kit The scheme right now for the Tamiya kit is the 204th bird. The scheme for the Hasegawa kit is the A6M5 C version. Before I can start, however, some attention has to be paid to the work bench as these kits will take a lot of space, so messes have to be cleaned! I decided if I do comparison builds with the idea I might start to make a dent in the stash. The 1/32 and 1/24 group The 1/32 and 1/48 group The 1/48 group And the 1/72 group I just need to live to be around 175 to complete all of these at my current snail pace rate of build. Now the issues I see with this build. I picked up a list of corrections for the Tamiya kit at this other site devoted to Large Planes (sneaky how I described that one huh?). I don’t know how many I will actually do based upon my laziness and skill level. In regards to the Quinta Studio set, it is for a different Zero version than I have so adjustments may have to be made. (Or I ignore it and blissfully know that 99% of the people that might ever look at my finished model won’t know the difference. As for the Hasegawa kit, there are 3 choices for markings but each marking is a different Zero version. I haven’t really closely examined the contents of the Hasegawa box and instructions, but I kinda doubt all options for the three versions are included and clearly delineated on how to do each one in the instructions. I am just guessing the kit is a mixture of different Zero versions. Anyway, that is where the start of this build is; the bare planning stages and get myself motivated to clean the work bench. I expect this to be done at my normal sloth like pace so maybe once a week updates. My work schedule is a bit intense right now, plus we have this drought thing going on in Texas and there is a bit more work involved making sure the cows and horses have plenty of food and water. Have to balance the hay needs, the lack of pasture grass, and how much they colic so nothing bad happens. Anyone who wants to see if I can muck this up is more than welcome to come along and all comments and suggestions on the progress (or lack of it) are more than welcome.

Greetings. The model was assembled several years ago. Briefly about the construction: of the ready-made additions, I used only a small set of photo-etching from Eduard, which applied almost exclusively to the cockpit, while the canopy was still made in a closed version, since at that time it was not ready to work with “vacuum” products, but “ native” lantern is thick. Well, the barrels were replaced with brass ones from Aber, although the latter are also far from ideal in terms of the fact that the wing-mounted 13 mm machine guns should be in a perforated casing; I couldn’t imitate these casings myself. Otherwise, the same cockpit was subjected to the greatest modifications using available materials. Significantly altered the landing gear struts and flaps - reducing the thickness of the flaps, rods from medical needles, jumpers of the flaps, cut off and made again, because relatives do not reach the landing gear, the brake pipes are made of thin wire. The riveting has been improved in some places, unrealistic sagging of the fabric on mechanized surfaces has been removed, and the rudder contour has been trimmed. The 7.7 mm machine gun port on the fuselage is plugged, as it should be on the 52c modification. I drilled out the exhaust pipes as far as possible and worked on their shape, cut ventilation windows for cooling the oil tank and removed the thickness of the fuselage side in this place. Navigation lights from the CMK set. The shape and details of the air intake have been corrected, as well as some other minor details. In terms of the quality of the kit, I can list several shortcomings - this is the already mentioned undercut of the rudder contour; poor fit between the wing and the fuselage (I removed the shelves above the wing, a gap along the bottom of the fuselage); These also include landing gear flaps. Painted primarily with Tamiya acrylics. I didn’t use Academy decals; they turned out to be very inconvenient to use; they were replaced with decals from AML. *Sorry for the automatic translation

On display at the 59th All Japan Model and Hobby Show 2019. Hobby Japan http://hobbyjapan.co.jp/ Sources: https://www.facebook.com/hobbyland.osaka/photos/a.1108794955873870/2512252288861456/?type=3&theater https://www.facebook.com/hobbyland.osaka/photos/a.1108794955873870/2512252245528127/?type=3&theater V.P.

In 2022, Academy is to release a new tool 1/48 Mitsubishi A6M2b Type 21 Zeke/"Zero" - Battle of Midway - kit - ref. 12352 Despite rumours It won't be a rebox from the recent Eduard kit (thread) dixit words from M. Vladimir Šulc, boss from Eduard–Model Accesorries ltd., as from M. Gustav Jung, boss from Wolfpack Design, who's closed ties with Academy Hobby Model Kits - see here: link Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=4666693050091873&set=pcb.4666695563424955 V.P.

Recreated the Zero type 52 piloted by Kageura from the movie The Eternal Zero. It's a movie about a fictional flight instructor Miyabe who committed a Kamikaze attack against the US Navy carrier during the battle of Okinawa. Kageura was the ace pilot who initially despised Miyabe's cowardness and challenged him in mock battles, but ultimately understood him. I find the idea of a former kamikaze pilot becoming a yakuza boss in the post-war era really cool, so I made the zero flown by him during the last desperate days of the pacific war. Aircraft paint from Nakajima in the late days of the pacific war was notoriously known for having very poor quality. Some of the naval pilots remembered that the paint on the zeros manufactured after late 1944 would simply peel off just by stepping onto it. Therefore I created this heavily-chipped finish for the zero, like the ones in the movie.

In 1982 this was my first kit as a kid. Did a crappy job building it back then. I didn't have paints then but it was in the characteristic 2 color Matchbox mold so didn't think about it too much as a kid but played with it a lot. This kit started it all for me. For whatever reason the Matchbox Zero rarely comes up on eBay in the US but a few yrs back I managed to get 2 at a reasonable price. I had started building one immediately and then abandoned it as I got busy with other stuff. This week as I was waiting for things to dry on my Spitfire builds I restarted this as a quick side build and here it is from 1982 the Matchbox A6M2. This was completely a 100% straight out of the box build. The 40 yr old decals held up really well. Note: the Kit first came out in 1972 so the decals might be 50 yrs old.

Hello, fellow Britmodellers, First, my thanks to Rich @trickyrich who, with his ideas for GBs, keeps sparing me headaches when the time comes to decide what to put next on the bench. Well, OK I changed my mind two times for this one but it still helps. I built a Zero (Matchbox) once, back when a computer was the size of a set of grandmother wardrobes and all Zeros were white. High time for another one. I already had an A6M3 (Tamiya 1/48) in the stash but a captured A6M2b was the initial idea and I felt the need to build something in the gentleman's scale this time. So when I saw one of their 1/72 kits of the A6M2b at a discounted price ..... After getting the kit I changed my mind for a Pearl Harbor aircraft (all three marking options from the box are such planes - choice not done yet). Considering the scale, the kit matches it's bigger brother in quality, engraving and detail .... a little gem. Some tiny parts which I hope won't fall prey to the carpet monster (even as I have no carpet). As per my own immemorial rules, it shall be OOB except for seatbelts (Eduard superfabric) and canopy masks (Eduard too). Googling around several evenings (nights) for info about IJN/Pearl Harbor Zeros colours, THAT gave me headaches. Thus, it will be one step at a time. Maybe I'll keep it easy (interior Tamiya XF-71, exterior Tamiya XF-76) or go wild and do some paint mixes. Enough prattle, here are the pics of what I've on hand: The box art (the depicted aircraft is NOT part of the marking options) The usual Tamiya style clear instructions and a folder with info about the different types of A6M. Small but very nice decal sheet. 80+ parts. Option for a closed or open canopy. One part cowling with carburator intake moulded on. No option for folded wingtips and no moveable control surfaces. No pilot figure. Tomorrow, tomorrow .... Hey, keep calm, first the very last small touch-ups on the Tunnan you began 8 months ago. You don't put aside what's 99,9999999999% done. NO, you don't! (my conscience is quite loud, but will it be enough?) Have a nice week. Pat.

This is Tamiya's 1/48 Zero, (originally issued in the 1970's), with some extra detailing on the engine, exhaust from aluminum tubing, detailing on the landing gear, and an Eduard's photoetch cockpit set, with extra cockpit detail added. Antenna mast and pitot replaced with brass parts. Paints are Tamiya acrylics, weathering with oils and pastels, and a mix of kit (yes! 50 year old decals!) and Techmod. Thanks for looking, Colin

So here is one of my entries for the GB: I do like an oddity and an ugly duckling so I think this fits the bill, also I'm a bit of a Roland fanboy so it's cool to see some of their advertising back when they weren't the global company they are today. So the Dome Zero was a Japanese attempt at a super car, in true 1970s wedge styling. The 'RL' stands for 'Racing Le Mans' for this racing version. Unfortunately they didn't fare too well, with both getting the approvals for the road version into production or the Le Mans racing versions, This kit is a model of the 1979 entry, with decals for no. 6 and no. 7 cars, Neither had a great run and both failed to finish the race (no. 6 one running out of fuel at lap 40 and no. 7 with engine issues at lap 25) - but god loves a tryer as they say, and so do I. Finding reference material is a little on the hard side, but the company is still in existence working in racing, I'm not sure if the 1979 cars still exist, they were possibly recycled for the future Le Mans attempts with the wedge shaped Zero reappearing in 1980 and 81. I did find a few YouTube videos: https://youtu.be/VryFfXFG15Q https://youtu.be/Vo9w7Ci8vxA https://youtu.be/ZRaKzEqu3QI In terms of design it has an open cockpit at the front to aid driver visibility but testing showed large amounts of wind buffeting in the cockpit, so the roof was modified leaving a large gap to the back for ventilation. The main image shows the roof in the 'open' configuration (no it's not a growth out of the guy bending over) which I guess is how the driver would need to clamber in and out. Anyhow onto the kit... It's not an overly complex affair, Scalemates shows it dates back as far as the actual car to 1979, though it appears to have had a few tweaks along the way, being originally motorised, then a static model and at some point having some extra engine detail added (maybe then). This particular kit is from the latest reprint (2002). The instructions are a fairly typical old style folded paper sheet in black and white. The parts aren't too numerous given the age of the kit, nicely with most individually bagged... The chromed parts actually look quite nice too. There is quite a detailed engine (Cosworth DFV) though I think most of it won't be visible when finished, although it looks like the rear section will be hinged. The decals - I had worried they had yellowed with age but it seems it was just the greaseproof sheet that yellowed. There seems to be a bit of a crease in one corner and some scratches on the big spoiler decal but hopefully they are useable. I noticed there is some gunk in the shell (dried mould release?)... guess I should give it a wash before painting. The white plastic parts have yellowed slightly with age too. I decided to make a start, the chassis still bears the marks of being 'electrified' with a battery compartment and what appears to be some kind of slide switch for locking the front wheels (parts in top right of bellow image)? Annoyingly they left the battery cover which doesn't sit flush so I'll attempt to build something from plasticard to fill the two holes in the chassis more flushly. I glued the front suspension arms piece in place - hopefully I can gently bend them enough to fit the wheel hubs in later without snapping them. For the body I glued in rear spoiler as it might need a little filling before paint (actually from one of those video clips it shows that the spoiler isn't attached to the extended rear sides in real life). I also fitted in the small parts behind the light fittings and two side intake ducts - these will need a bit of filler towards the front edges. I've also 'protected' the rather fragile pointy bits towards the ends of the front body shell part from me damaging them with some bits of lolly stick and masking tape. The main part of the engine block I've built up too prior to paint (see above) and done some dry fitting. It seems that the whole rear wheels / section is attached to the front via 3 mounting points on the engine block so maybe a bit fragile (the rear shell has a hinge though attaching it to the front). I think I'll attach the inner tub to the chassis before painting (I generally like gluing stuff together before paint), though it seems I might need to add some additional sides to stop the inside of the side vents, etc. being visible from outside. It's hard to know what would be visible without any reference photos - I imagine it would be pretty bare bones for weight saving but feel they would have had some kind of sides to seal the cabin? The instructions aren't overly clear on colours - e.g. the interior of the shell isn't mentioned and the instructions seem to call out that the interior should be white and silver. Given the age of the car, clues in the paint guide and general modelling appearance I'd guess the construction would be an aluminium monocoque tub with space frame front/rear and sheet aluminium panels for the chassis/underside with a fibre-glass / GRP body. I'm not sure I agree on the instructions calling out white on interior (think this maybe more to reduce the amount of painting needed) I feel if the aluminium panels were painted they would be black to reduce any possible glare/distraction for the driver, also in one of the videos linked above it briefly shows it as black with some unpainted aluminium parts (though that is the later car).

Hi all. After placing the figure of the pilot in its position and adding an identification plate of the plane and its scale, I am finished with the realization of this model. The process of his painting can be seen here: Andrés.