Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero Details

[fishplanebeer]

I'm slowly getting there with my Airfix 72nd scale Zero but just have a couple more questions so that I can get it right so hopefully some one may be able to help please?

 

Firstly the aerial mast is the body colour above the canopy but should it also be the same for the section below the canopy as well or should it be blue/black possibly? Secondly my understanding of the PH period Zeros is that they had a slight satin sheen finish to the paint work but should the fabric control surfaces be matt in addition to them being a slightly lighter colour as well? I'm assuming matt as fabric wouldn't have the same reflective qualities as aluminium but just want to be sure.

 

Regards

Colin.

[MDriskill]

Looks like camo paint all the way down on the aerial mast...all the color profiles in my library agree too, for whatever that's worth.

 

 

I don't know on the fabric sheen! Hard to make a call from photos. I doubt there was much difference - properly prepared fabric is quite smooth stuff, and does not show any "weave" pattern close up - but a small variation could be a nice effect on the model.

[Rolls-Royce]

1 hour ago, fishplanebeer said:

I'm slowly getting there with my Airfix 72nd scale Zero but just have a couple more questions so that I can get it right so hopefully some one may be able to help please?

 

Firstly the aerial mast is the body colour above the canopy but should it also be the same for the section below the canopy as well or should it be blue/black possibly? Secondly my understanding of the PH period Zeros is that they had a slight satin sheen finish to the paint work but should the fabric control surfaces be matt in addition to them being a slightly lighter colour as well? I'm assuming matt as fabric wouldn't have the same reflective qualities as aluminium but just want to be sure.

 

Regards

Colin.

Methinks it was more than a satin sheen. Photos of the Zero that crashed at Fort Kamehameha during the attack show a distinct gloss to the camouflage paint (http://www.asisbiz.com/il2/Zero/Hirano's-Zero-AVIATION-HISTORY-Jan-2009.pdf). The same was seen on photos of a Zero recovered in China and photographed in a hangar. See page 3 of Nicholas Millman's "Combat Colours No. 9" on the A6M.  The Kugisho Nr. 266 report on Zero camouflage trials that gives us the description of the standard factory color as being "J3 leaning slightly toward amber color" also says it was glossy.

FWIW, I put a semigloss finish (for scale purposes) on the airframe and a matte one on the flight controls of my 1/48 Hasegawa A6M2 last year. Satin would work for your 1/72 build.

Edited April 16, 2021 by Rolls-Royce

[dov]

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