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Nakajima A6M2-N (Rufe) Type 2


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Welcome back,

 

I wasn't happy with the black ignition wiring so I repainted it red brown. After a gloss coat it will get some AKI engine wash:

 

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The panel lines lost from working were restored to the fuselage, underside and leading edges of the wings. The SAC Bomber Tan for the flying surfaces was touched up and I then sprayed the main float, wing floats, leading edges and wing root with AK Interactive "Xtreme Metal" Aluminium. It was the first time I had used it and I must admit I am impressed with the result straight from the bottle:

 

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The aluminium areas will be given a clear coat to protect them in preparation for the weathering at a later stage. The central canopy area has been sealed with tape in preparation for the upcoming painting frenzy!

 

Regards,

 

 

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So the work continues. The engine has now had an application of AK Engine wash and has been set aside. The next step for the airframe is the Brown Primer and the Ame-iro topcoats:

 

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Using the spare lower wing as a mule, I first applied a coat of primer, let it dry and then applied the ACJ17. The outboard of the tape has the primer and the inboard is on the aluminium undercoat:

 

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A very subtle difference on the primer side. I then got to looking at the colour itself. The Montex sheet calls for a "light greenish gray" which didn't appear to be ACJ17. It appeared to be a bit dark so I consulted a couple of resources. The Osprey book indicates that ACJ17 is the correct colour. Nick Millman in his dissertation goes for Tamiya XF76 as a more accurate for a "moderately weathered Zero" but his notes also say that, (in my interpretation) whilst not his preferred colour, the ACJ17 is indicative of the Nakajima colour which had a more amber appearance. So I conducted a little side by side test run: L-R ACJ17 over primer; XF76 over ACJ17; ACJ17 over aluminium: XF76 over aluminium then a repeat of the last two:

 

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I then went onto test the theory of simulating wear with a polish material with a cotton bud (inboard) as opposed to 400 grit paper (outboard) on the ACJ17 which is an enamel:

 

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The enamel topcoats proved quite resilient and it tool a while before I got through, with the 400 grit being the quicker of the two. It is proof of concept and with a little more care, the result is achievable. The cotton bud appears to afford more control and this is what Brian uses in the book. I will run some tests on the XF76 shortly. I have to admit that whilst I was initially concerned about the ACJ17 colour, with the weathering applied, it is growing on me. With the decision to go with the primer undercoat, I shot all the assemblies and set them aside. With the engine and cowling completed, the focus next will be on the main float and the two wing floats, as they will bear the brunt of my weathering. I plan to concentrate on them first, joining them to the rest of the lightly weathered airframe after all is complete for a final matt coat:

 

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I also thought I should pay some attention to the trolley and in thinking I was smart had fully assembled it. Hmmm...the tyres! Nothing my trusty Olfa circle cutter and a spare half hour could not conquer! With the tyres painted and masked I can paint the wooden supports and metal frame, apply some AK chipping fluid and overcoat with probably XF69 Nato black and have at the weathering. I suspect these would have taken a fair beating being in and out of salt water regularly:

 

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Thanks for tuning in and regards,

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  • 2 weeks later...

Welcome back,

After faffing about for almost a week trying to decide which colour to use, I finally went with the ACJ17 Ame-iro for the overall colour. The primer is just visible in some areas that will be a bit worn:

 

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The prop has had Mr Colour added to the rear faces which will be masked and the overall AKI Extreme Metal Aluminium put on:

 

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The wingtip lights and the tail light have had a small hole drilled into the side and a dash of silver paint filled the hole to simulate a bulb. The wingtips were then coated with clear blue and clear red and will be attached and liquid masked:

 

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The top coat will need some Micromesh work to eradicate some orange peel. Then the Montex masks will go on before I continue with the weathering. The deadline approaches too quickly so it’s time to extract the digit!

 

Regards,

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Time off for necessary festivities but a couple of hours today spent masking using the Montex mask set. It’s funny how using a new medium throws out your perspective for aligning markings. The first few Hinomaru just seemed to take forever to align and they are the easiest being just big circles! Heaven help me on the small ones! Pictures to follow.......

 

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Thank you one and all and welcome to 2018! With the deadline looming, I thought I should crack on with the painting. Heavily thinned Sovereign (WEM) ACJ 20 Hinomaru red was shot through my AB at a lower pressure than normal. Light misting coats were applied and slowly built up to give a good opacity. Despite the masking, there were a couple of oversprays but I am very impressed with the masks themselves! Any issues are user related:

 

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I shall let this dry overnight before I touch up Ame-iro here and there. There remains to be masked and painted two blue, vertical stripes around the rear fuselage and the patch on the port side in front of the stab is for the data box which will be one of the few decals to be applied.

 

Regards,

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Thanks Jaime and Chris,

Rather than overcoat the overspray, I have taken to it with 600+ grit paper to remove most. Some areas such as the port wing root will be weathered so that should take care of the flub there. I hope to have the blue masked and sprayed today.

 

Regards

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Another day, another round of masking and spraying. This time the blue ID markings on the fuselage. A mixture of vinyl mask and a Tamiya 2mm curved tape. I used Sovereign (WEM) ACUS 28 True Blue for the colour:

 

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Maybe not 100% accurate in the masking but not too bad using my Mk. I eyeball.

 

Regards,

 

 

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I like the way you are painting this one. Seems to impart a much greater level of authenticity and 'life' than simply applying decals.

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11 hours ago, Col. said:

I like the way you are painting this one. Seems to impart a much greater level of authenticity and 'life' than simply applying decals.

Many thanks,

As a first outing, I am pretty happy. There are some alignment issues the camera shows in all its glory that the eye misses but generally pleased. Nothing beats the painted on look than actually painting it on. They do say once you mask you will never go back to decals! 

 

Regards,

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Welcome back,

 

With the deadline looming, work continued at a frenetic pace. The main float has the last of its markings painted:

 

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Whilst this was allowed to dry, I masked the flying surfaces and shot highly thinned Tamiya X19 Smoke. I think I fell into the trap for new players as when I removed the masking it was fairly pronounced:

 

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Having done that it was back to the main float for some weathering. I wanted to make it worn but not abused. The polish method wasn’t really working on its own so I used it in conjunction with wet sanding to give me this:

 

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Which is pretty close to what I hoped to achieve. It was now time to join the main float to the fuselage. I mixed some 5 minute epoxy and smeared a frugal amount on the main float mating surfaces and aligned and held it clamped in my hands until it had set up. I then added the main float supports just aft of the main float:

 

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I will get back to it later this evening to continue weathering then gloss coat and washes.

 

Regards,

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Very precise and clean work on the float markings. Very inventive method for getting the scrapped paint effect! I think it's quite effective and the use of metal, primer and camouflage layers makes it very realistic.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

 

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