Faraway Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 After having an enjoyable build with the Korean Mustang, I thought I'd make a start on my other 1/32 kit, a Zero. So first the box art, followed by the sprues and last the work so far. The two fuselage halves. I have to say, I was very surprised by the colours I will be mixing to paint the internal surfaces of the wheel bays. It's a mix of 3 parts X-13 Metallic Blue to 1 part X-25 Clear Green, seems a strange colour for the Japanese to use in a WW2 fighter. Jon Build so far, complete with metallic blue (very odd) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 The colour is called Aotake, it has been described in many ways, normally as a greenish blue, or the colour of fresh bamboo - if that helps! It is a primer normally not seen on parts exposed to view. I suspect that it is not now recommended for wheel wells but cannot confirm that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faraway Posted May 29, 2020 Author Share Posted May 29, 2020 23 minutes ago, Graham Boak said: The colour is called Aotake, it has been described in many ways, normally as a greenish blue, or the colour of fresh bamboo - if that helps! It is a primer normally not seen on parts exposed to view. I suspect that it is not now recommended for wheel wells but cannot confirm that. Graham. Many thanks for the info, I shall have to look it up and see if I can find anything out about it being used in wheel wells etc. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick32 Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 You will enjoy this build, i did the A6M2 a few years back and it was ace. As for Aotake, i did a lot of research when building mine and in the end was none the wiser! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted May 30, 2020 Share Posted May 30, 2020 In the Scale Aircraft Modelling 'Combat Colours' book for the Zero by Nick Millman it advises Aotake for the wheel wells of Nakajima-built Zeroes and the airframe colour for Mitsubishi-built ones, so the Tamiya instructions might be correct for the markings options provided. Looking forward to your build, I have been on numerous occasions tempted by this kit Cheers, Stew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted May 30, 2020 Share Posted May 30, 2020 I bought one of these when it was first released and still havn’t built It, and I still have an unopened pot of Aeromaster Aotake. Watching with interest. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenko Posted May 30, 2020 Share Posted May 30, 2020 Mixed me own using flat aluminium and clear green and blue. Seems OK. The undercart is a real faff. The model is also smaller than you think Dick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faraway Posted May 30, 2020 Author Share Posted May 30, 2020 Did a little today, both sides of what will become the cockpit and joined the fuselage halves. Jon. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted May 30, 2020 Share Posted May 30, 2020 There's an excellent reference loaded thread on LSP - although it is focused on the earlier A6M2 it has many good pointers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick32 Posted May 30, 2020 Share Posted May 30, 2020 Nice work, i'm tempted to have a go at one of these, it would look lovely next to my A6M2. As @jenkosays, the undercarriage is a bit tricky, you're supposed to be able to operate it, but mine is just down - If i tried to move it now it would just break. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faraway Posted May 30, 2020 Author Share Posted May 30, 2020 40 minutes ago, nick32 said: Nice work, i'm tempted to have a go at one of these, it would look lovely next to my A6M2. As @jenkosays, the undercarriage is a bit tricky, you're supposed to be able to operate it, but mine is just down - If i tried to move it now it would just break. Once I finish, it’ll sit on a shelf. So the undercarriage will be down. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faraway Posted June 1, 2020 Author Share Posted June 1, 2020 Good Morning All. Bit of work yesterday on the cockpit and seat belts. These were a real fiddle, they are made out of self adhesive plastic sheet, very thin, and of course not pre-cut. So first cut them out, but try not to cut through the backing paper. Then slightly peel them of, so as to slid on the PE buckles and then fix them to the seat. On the whole I prefer PE belts, but these weren't too bad, just wish Tamiya had pre-cut them. I would like them to pre-cut the window masks as well, but that is another story. Jon. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faraway Posted June 1, 2020 Author Share Posted June 1, 2020 Few bits today, finished the instrument panel, put the cockpit frame together and fitted the guns. Jon 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faraway Posted June 3, 2020 Author Share Posted June 3, 2020 A little progress, cockpit up into fuselage and engine mounting brackets fitted. Then two small undercarriage doors fitted, what a fiddle those little metal hinges were. Jon. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faraway Posted June 5, 2020 Author Share Posted June 5, 2020 Wings attached, main undercarriage legs made and part of the engine built. Not impressed with the fit of one of the u/c legs, it doesn't fold away to well, not that it matters as they will be down on the finished build. Jon 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenko Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 Looking good. Having done several Tamiya 1/32 kits this one is a little challenging compared to the others. Keep up the good work. Dick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faraway Posted June 5, 2020 Author Share Posted June 5, 2020 7 minutes ago, jenko said: Looking good. Having done several Tamiya 1/32 kits this one is a little challenging compared to the others. Keep up the good work. Dick I’m surprised it is a bit of a challenge, before this I built the Korean War Mustang and didn’t encounter any issues. So I was surprised with the U/C legs, one retracts and lowers well, the other doesn’t fit square. And as far as I can see, it’s not the fault of the builder, more a slight inaccuracy with the part. As I said, the U/C will be lowered and stay that way. Can you recommend any other 1/32 kits ? Tamiya or other makes ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenko Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 1 hour ago, Faraway said: I’m surprised it is a bit of a challenge, before this I built the Korean War Mustang and didn’t encounter any issues. So I was surprised with the U/C legs, one retracts and lowers well, the other doesn’t fit square. And as far as I can see, it’s not the fault of the builder, more a slight inaccuracy with the part. As I said, the U/C will be lowered and stay that way. Can you recommend any other 1/32 kits ? Tamiya or other makes ? Hi, The Spits are brilliant. But be careful with the engine set up. The Corsair was fantastic. I have the Mustang in the wings so to speak. I'm a 48 man so the big Tamiya's are my little luxury. Dick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faraway Posted June 5, 2020 Author Share Posted June 5, 2020 8 minutes ago, jenko said: Hi, The Spits are brilliant. But be careful with the engine set up. The Corsair was fantastic. I have the Mustang in the wings so to speak. I'm a 48 man so the big Tamiya's are my little luxury. Dick I’ve built the 1/48 Spitfire, which, like you is my preferred scale. As you say 1/32 are a bit of a luxury, mainly because of the cost. They are a bugger to store as they take up soooo much room. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faraway Posted June 6, 2020 Author Share Posted June 6, 2020 Good morning from a very (cold) windy Southwest of England. Finished the engine. Jon These are the engine cowls, there is a choice as to have them open or closed. I chose closed. Very happy with the paint finish on the upper half of the cowl. For the eagle eyed amongst you, you will notice I've cleaned my bench surface. Didn't realise how much paint I'd managed to get on it. Jon 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenko Posted June 6, 2020 Share Posted June 6, 2020 Jon a thin "wash" of black will take then umph out of the exhausts . Needs to tone them down a bit. Trust me. Great work. Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faraway Posted June 7, 2020 Author Share Posted June 7, 2020 13 hours ago, jenko said: Jon a thin "wash" of black will take then umph out of the exhausts . Needs to tone them down a bit. Trust me. Great work. Dick I agree. But I’m a fair way off finishing yet. Jon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faraway Posted June 10, 2020 Author Share Posted June 10, 2020 Good Afternoon. Been doing a bit, but not taking photos. Also, I've been waiting for the green paint to arrive. So, here we are. Masked ready for the underside grey paint. And then the grey covered and the green applied. Canopy unmasked, ready for the decals. Decals applied. Just waiting for them to harden off and then a quick coat of varnish and it's done. I'll post in RFI later. Jon 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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