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Tamiya Pearl Harbour Zero


Will Vale

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Hi folks,

 

I had a bit of free time this week and while I've been *thinking* quite a bit about how to finish off an almost-completed project, my hands found themselves opening a box and smelling the special Tamiya air inside. I bought the 1/72 Tamiya Zero a couple of years ago on the strength of the lovely box art and it's been calling to me for a while.

 

A couple of evenings later and all the bits were ready for paint. I started with the Aotake since that was a big unknown, and sprayed Alclad white aluminium onto the bare plastic. Once dry I sprayed a patchy coat of Tamiya Clear Green and then layers of Clear Blue. I didn't mix them beforehand because I wanted to get some variation in hue across the parts since apparently the aotake coat discolours at different rates depending on how much it's exposed to the air?

 

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I cleaned up the overspray with lacquer thinner and a cotton bud and in the process discovered how well the Alclad sticks to un-primed plastic - quite well! It doesn't damage the surface or anything, but it took a bit more effort to shift than the clear layers.

 

With that dried I was able to mask the sidewalls and paint the cockpit interior - XF-71 as in the instructions, with Citadel paints for the details. I've since heard that XF-71 might not be the best match for Mitsubishi cockpits, but it looks nice and the whole subject of "what colour to paint a Zero" appears to be a complete mine-field of internet squabbles!

 

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I've since sealed the paint with gloss clear and added a pin wash of black enamel for that intense "Spanish School" feel, but I'm charging the camera battery at the moment. Should be able to get it closed up tomorrow if all goes well though..

 

Cheers,

 

Will

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I had to google Aotake to find out what it was (its that metallic blue/green anti-corrosion paint in the wheelwells) and what a minefield it is!

It seems everybody has a different opinion about the shade, especially as it weathers but looking at photo's you seem to have captured it quite well (just my opinion).

I've built the Airfix one so I'm interested to see the Tamiya take on it.

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Thanks folks! The Tamiya kit fits beautifully so far, with nice positive location for things. And the detail is great as the black wash in the cockpit hopefully demonstrates:

 

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Need to get the IP finished next.

 

Cheers,

 

Will

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33 minutes ago, Rob G said:

I had a look and followed up on some of the references he suggested, to a limited extent. It appears that the info is available as a limited number of PDF files to buy (which cost more than the kit did!) and the PDF colours are rendered in sRGB. I'm not really sure that's enough to match colours from, it would depend on having colour-calibrated monitors at both ends.

 

One trend I have noticed is that the western authors are very keen on colour matching of recovered paint chips, which is a sensibly objective approach but is rather vulnerable to the passage of time, conditions of the samples etc. etc. I don't pretend to know enough about paint to be able to evaluate the exact methodologies. What I've found from Japanese authors favours contemporary documents, recollections of veterans etc. So probably less objective, but less vulnerable to physical aging effects.

 

Given that I really like Tamiya's light grey-green, and at least some of the articles support the idea that "greenish ash" is an OK colour, I'll go with that :) If I weather it with some warm tones it might not upset anyone, we shall see...

 

Cheers,

 

Will

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I didn't have as much time as I'd hoped and have managed to get the IP decals on and paint the remaining instruments, but that's about it.

 

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They've settled down OK but you can see some bubbles in between the dials so I'm off to slit those and add some more solvent.

 

Cheers,

 

Will

 

 

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Thanks!

 

I got the decals sorted out properly with a very careful application of Extra-Thin between the dials and then sealed them in so I could wash the IP with black enamel. With that cleaned up I gave everything a mist of Dullcote (bottle version) and then added a little dust and metallic chipping as well as touched in the dials with X-22 clear.

 

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I've also made some belts with painted Aizu tape and shreds of aluminium tape. They're only attached with the tape's adhesive at the moment, and I think I can maybe do better if I apply the markings with a technical pen, so they might get re-done? I haven't glued the rear panel to the floor yet in case I opt to do this.

 

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I can't get over how nice this kit is. Really impressed!

 

Will 

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7 hours ago, Thom216 said:

Great job on the belts.

Thanks! I found a 0.02mm Copic pen in the art shop today so I'm going to have another go at getting more regular buckle holes and things. But I'll only swap them over if it ends up better :)

 

3 hours ago, Greg Law said:

In 1/72 you are doing a great job of the cockpit. One thing, a Mitsubishi Zero has the wheel wells the same colour as the wing. It is the Nakajima made Zero that had them painted like you have done. 

Thanks Greg, do you have a source for that? I can't find anything beyond Nick Millman's site, i.e. not a primary source.

 

I did find a very clear pic in this video of what appears to be a Mitsubishi Zero (note the apparent three stripes on the gear door) with a very dark inside of the port outer gear door combined with very bright attachment brackets, which kind of suggests a reflective surface. It could be a lighting difference though as the fuselage shadow looks off-centre, and the starboard inside gear door could be either way. So not entirely conclusive!
 

 

Some of the other pics I've seen which claim to be of Zeroes on various carrier decks before the attack on Pearl Harbour aren't conclusive either way. So I might just stick with what I've already painted on the basis that a) it's pretty and b) it's hard to find primary sources for this stuff.

 

I do appreciate the advice though, and if you've got a primary source I'd be keen to see it.

 

Thanks!

 

Will

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This is straight from my book on Zeros which is very detailed. As you have painted it I wouldn't worry about it. The thing to do is use a black cowel. Then it would be correct. The Nakajima Zero had a black cowel, the Mitsubishi had a blue/black one. Your Cockpit colour is more correct for Nakajima anyway. I'm on to Zeros at the moment because I'm building a 1/48 scale one on the Pacific group build. I'm also doing a Nakajima Oscar.

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4 hours ago, Greg Law said:

I'm on to Zeros at the moment because I'm building a 1/48 scale one on the Pacific group build.

I was kicking myself because I hadn't spotted there was a Pacific GB, but on closer inspection it looks like due to the careful scoping this wouldn't be eligible anyway. Phew!

 

Q

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Wondering if (from the shape of the spinner) the pic I posted above is Nakajima after all?

 

Anyway, I made a new set of belts using an 0.03 Copic pen to get larger but more neatly circular "holes". I also did most of the buckles with paint rather than alu tape, which is a bit more restrained.

 

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I also did a bit of grey dry-brushing on the black bits and glued it all together at last. Oh yes, and I added a bit of Molotow chrome to the bell (?) on the morse key (?) as it was called out in X-11 unlike most of the flat aluminium in the cockpit.

 

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Pretty happy with all of that, I'm going to glue the fuselage shut now and hopefully make some progress on the airframe. I've painted up the engine but it's not that exciting as you can't see much under the cowl.

 

Cheers,

 

Will

 

 

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Thanks folks, I have since joined together the two fuselage halves (wow!) and cleaned up the seams, but I need to paint the inside of the coaming before I can put that last panel on.

 

There's a very slight gap/wide panel line at the wing roots, I'm not sure if I should try and fill it or not, or maybe slip a sheet of paper-thin styrene in there?

There's also a very slight step where the rear of the wing meets the underside fuselage, but there's a panel line here on the real plane so I think I just need to level one side slightly and glue it carefully to preserve the line.

 

Will

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1 hour ago, dogsbody said:

I'd like to see the painted engine, if it's not too late.

I'll take a pic but it's just not very exciting! I realised it was going to be almost entirely hidden so I haven't put much effort into it.

 

W

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  • 2 months later...

Sorry for the huge gap, I haven't forgotten about this but it kind of got lost in the Christmas rush. I have put together the rest of the fuselage ready to install the cockpit module, but there's a very slight gap at the wing roots and I left the wings off while I thought about how to deal with it.

 

Because it's on a panel line, filling it isn't a brilliant solution but everything else I considered is less brilliant so I might just go with that.

 

Cheers,

 

Will

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