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1/72 Airfix Mitsubishi Zero, IJN carrier Akagi


Knight_Flyer

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5 hours ago, shatters said:

I've got 2 sets of these instruction if you need a set.

 

Just pm and I'll stick them in the post.

 

Phil

Thanks for the kind offer. I think the electronic version should be ok and actually I suspect the original instructions are stuck between the pages of a magazine with a P-40 build article. Just need to go through the stack of mags to find it.

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welcome aboard with I think the second Zero. It looks to be a nice looking model.

 

Glad you could join in, look forward to seeing her finished in the gallery.

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3 hours ago, trickyrich said:

welcome aboard with I think the second Zero. It looks to be a nice looking model.

 

Glad you could join in, look forward to seeing her finished in the gallery.

Thanks Rich and I'm glad I was able to find a kit to join in with :penguin:

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...and so the build begins :viking:

 

Cockpit interior first and have already added the 3 decals for the instruments. Something I need to remember is the weathering should be minimal. PH Zero's were practically brand new. It will also be painted as a Mitsubishi built machine as no Nakajima ones were present. Rear cockpit decking should be painted black. I have completed a few dry runs and it looks like I should be able to get a good join on the fuselage halves. Basically, use minimal glue to close the halves - clamp and run glue on inside of fuselage and leave to cure overnight. The front fuselage I'll leave later after the rear has bonded. There's an upper part I need to determine the fit but with the construction as it is - there should be ways to get round any issues.

 

EDIT: I have since discovered the cockpit rear bulkhead is too wide preventing the fuselage halves from closing properly. This seems to be a trait of Airfix kits as I've encountered similar in other of their models. After a bit of sanding, the fit is a lot better.

 

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I discovered this in the stash as well. Unfortunately wouldn't be able to enter for the GB as my shipping building skills is next to zero and I would need more time than a GB to build it to a good standard.

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Edited by Knight_Flyer
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nice start on your build. 

 

You do know the only way you're going to get ship building experience is to actually build one, but there again it's probably a big step to start on something like this one!

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4 hours ago, trickyrich said:

nice start on your build. 

 

You do know the only way you're going to get ship building experience is to actually build one, but there again it's probably a big step to start on something like this one!

Yes I have a couple of destroyers to begin with - just need to do a bit of research on technique and weathering before I embark on my voyage across the styrene ocean :cold:

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A bit of progress. Got the pilot painted, a bit disappointed Airfix used the old figure as it's not as crisply moulded as the Tiffie one. Tried to make him look as IJN as possible with a white scarf and green seat belts... still he will be under a greenhouse canopy with heavy framing so it will do even if he doesn't look happy his plane is still in pieces ^_^ My plan worked with bonding the rear fuselage first and then the front. I actually left the cockpit floor unglued in case there was a problem with the fit of the other parts. Lower wing section needed some sanding at the rear before it's flush with the fuselage. Wing join was more complicated for the uppers as it's almost a different shape to the fuselage, decided to go with filler when the time comes as it's easier. So, wings, upper fuselage and I think tail planes next. Will need to figure out what to do to strengthen the landing gear. The legs are quite delicate and only increases my fear they will bend over time. Oh mustn't forget - check instructions if lower wing need holes drilling for the belly tank :bobby:

 

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...wings and tail planes on with the upper fuselage cowling done as well. I did struggle with trying to get a good fit on the entire wing assembly and wasn't successful... oh well - sometimes you win, sometimes you lose :giles: One thing that got me curious was the wing span seemed noticeably long. Having discovered the Tamiya Zero in the stash, I made a comparison. Both the wingspan and tail planes are a tad longer on the Airfix than the Tamiya. Don't know who is right and leave it at that... fuselage length is the same though :cowboy:  So a bit of filler is required and need to sort out the landing gear. As a side note, I didn't intentionally do a wash on the machine guns - I spilt thinner on the model and of course it made the black paint run

 

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Undercart is on... and a lot of hassle it was too. After some contemplation :hmmm:, I went with these steps. Attach landing gear leg first and to Airfix's credit - it only goes in one way. Only need to look at getting the forward angle correct. Next attach gear wheel to gear door. Then attach door to leg. Lastly - this is the messy part, attach the top gear tab to wing and then lower the tab so it is in contact with the door. Leave to dry properly and then dab a tiny drop of liquid super glue to each of the attachment points - door to gear, tab to door and tab to wing. Has to be liquid super glue to allow capillary action run it into the join.

 

Points to be aware of:

Make sure the door attachment points are in contact with the leg. There is an attachment peg on the leg I had to sand in order for the rest to be in contact.
Check there is enough room to slip the tab into the gear well. This is where a dry run of attaching door to leg will be useful in determining this.

Make sure you are attaching the correct parts to the correct side of the wing, I got confused part way through and had to stop and check.

 

The reason for going through all this is - you could have wheel attached to door, door attached to leg and leg attached to wing. Without the tab being connected, it's only the leg that's bearing the load. Having read the horror stories of styrene flex I was concerned the leg will bend over time. Hopefully with effectively 2 joins connected to wing, this will mitigate the risk... or I post back here in a years time saying it didn't work <_<

 

There are after market metal gear legs for the Airfix Zero and you could go with this if you really are concerned about the issue.

 

Only other annoying thing is Airfix did not define the outer rim of the gear wheel. They did this with some of their vintage kits and disappointing to see them continue with this tradition. I had to guess in the end and did a sloppy job of painting the tyre. Needless to say, the rim is defined on the Tamiya kit.

 

Second arduous task done with canopy masking and made a start on the engine. Still need to sort out the joins with filler and hopefully onto the main painting task.

 

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Weirdly the model looks better in the photo than it actually does :shrug: Anyway the snag is the paint isn't drying properly and a bit of a struggle getting the coverage to where it is now. Could be how I'm thinning the paint. It still needs a few layers more and I'm going to leave it for at least a week to allow time for the paint to completely dry rather than push a bad situation. Also the canopy unmasking didn't go well either with a fair amount of cleaning up - paint seepage etc Cowling isn't glued on and just on for show as it would be better to paint it separately. Prop still needs doing as well. Hopefully it will progress better later on and can move on to the decals... oh and I did remember to open the slot for the belly tank - good job too as all of the period photos I've seen show it fitted to the Zero :rambo:

 

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it looks nice in the photos as you've mentioned!

 

What paint are you using? I've just discovered Tamiya's lacquer thinners! That and their acrylic, with 50/50 mix...pure airbrush joy, plus it gives you a nice hard finish. It dries a wee bit slower than normal but still nice an quick. I'm not sure if it works with other acrylics, but it's worth checking out.

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1 hour ago, trickyrich said:

it looks nice in the photos as you've mentioned!

 

What paint are you using? I've just discovered Tamiya's lacquer thinners! That and their acrylic, with 50/50 mix...pure airbrush joy, plus it gives you a nice hard finish. It dries a wee bit slower than normal but still nice an quick. I'm not sure if it works with other acrylics, but it's worth checking out.

I may give that a go then, it's Humbrol I've used and their paint is how I should describe feels "gloppy" :chef: I could work with a slower drier time, how the paint went this occasion was unexpected. It's almost like and hopefully not the same as Humbrol 11 silver - that never ever dries and had to bin a model after attempting an overall nmf scheme for the first time. I was a young modeller back then and removing paint from model wasn't a familiar method.

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So a week has passed and the paint did dry out. Actually looked and felt better than some of my previous paint jobs, could be where I'm going wrong - not allowing time to dry paint. Anyway I threw on a few more thin layers and will wait another week before the varnish and decalling. Not looking forward to the later as the panel lines are quite deep and even more so due to the very thin paint layers 

 

A couple of retrospects - landing gear is a tad too angled forward and wings could do with more dihedral, could resolve the wing gaps too - however, the gear is likely to need adjusting to angle them back in and they're complex enough to fit anyway.

 

Finally some noters - debatable if the back of the prop blades should be black or dark brown and ailerons, elevators and rudder should be a slightly different shade of the airframe colour. I probably end up doing a shade that's hardly different from the main colour :hmmm:

 

For now, the plane is parked in the hangar aka underneath a cardboard cover to keep the dust out :pipe:

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

So a bit of a miscalculation on my part... forgot this is still an ongoing build and with the 15th looming 🧛‍♂️ There's still a few areas to paint such as the prop and decided to make a start on the decals to save time. Should make it for the end but it will be very close and then immediately need to do the same for another GB model.


With the decals, Airfix have tried to make it as convenient as possible by grouping up the markings such as the tail and the wing walkways. Unfortunately in does result in a lot of carrier film (no pun intended :viking:) with the risk of a lot of silvering. Best to separate out the markings and remove the excess film :rambo: I am also trying Humbrol Decalfix, it's sort of ok but appears to have a bit of a corrosive property. The model has a thin layer of Humbrol Clear to help with decal adhesion. The Decalfix is taking that layer off, not sure if it will affect the final varnish of matt we'll just have to see I guess.

 

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You would be the first or last to misjudge timing on a GB.

 

Gee she's looking nice! I have to keep going back the the first post to check the scales she's in, with the quality of the work she easily passes for a 1/48th scale beauty in the photos! Awesome job.

 

Hopefully the setting solution won't give you too much grief. I've had the Mr Hobby stuff I use cause issues with clear coats before, it can be quite aggressive, especially if the car coat is still a little fresh (under 48hrs).

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On 7/10/2018 at 2:05 PM, trickyrich said:

Gee she's looking nice! I have to keep going back the the first post to check the scales she's in, with the quality of the work she easily passes for a 1/48th scale beauty in the photos! Awesome job.

Thanks Rich, not sure it's my best build but it will do and... it's finished 🉑️ :rambo: :chef: I didn't quite get how the fabric control surfaces are supposed to be coloured. Some sources said a distinctive grey and a few b/w photos showed quite a different shade however, the surfaces were deflected and couldn't say if it was just the lighting causing it to look different. I went for a compromise with a light grey that from a distance appear to blend in with the airframe colour.

 

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