45DegreesModelling Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 A long shot and I wasn’t sure which part of the forum to post this, but can anyone help me identify this aircraft and more specifically the kit? I built it when I was around the age of 7 during the early/mid 90’s. I recently found it at my parents after my mum had kept it (it’s been severely damaged over the years). Any help would be appreciated massively. Tom 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Ranger Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 I think it’s a Matchbox Zero. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 It's a Zero. Basically an A6M2. and with the hole for a stand in the tank I'd say it was the original Airfix kit. I don't remember mine as having riveted wings, but as I had mine in the late 50s this detail is something that could have been added. These aspects make it look a little more like the Hasegawa tooling from the early 70s, but the hole for the stand wouldn't apply. There have probably been more kits of Zeros than of any other, although most of them were done in Japan in the early years of the hobby and probably never seen outside of Japan. The main ones seen in the UK were the Frog (too late for that) and the Revell, but that was an A6M5 (if anything), Plus the various Hasegawa releases. Presumably also Tamiya and perhaps other companies such as LS. Thank you Space Ranger: I never had the Matchbox one which is perhaps why I'd forgotten it. Looks like a wise decision. Come to think further, the Airfix one had pretty thick wings - less easily changed than adding some rivets. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
45DegreesModelling Posted January 15, 2022 Author Share Posted January 15, 2022 3 minutes ago, Space Ranger said: I think it’s a Matchbox Zero. My word, thank you! I’ve scoured the Internet so much and you nailed it for me in a few minutes! Thank you again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
45DegreesModelling Posted January 15, 2022 Author Share Posted January 15, 2022 2 minutes ago, Graham Boak said: It's a Zero. Basically an A6M2. and with the hole for a stand in the tank I'd say it was the original Airfix kit. I don't remember mine as having riveted wings, but as I had mine in the late 50s this detail is something that could have been added. These aspects make it look a little more like the Hasegawa tooling from the early 70s, but the hole for the stand wouldn't apply. There have probably been more kits of Zeros than of any other, although most of them were done in Japan in the early years of the hobby and probably never seen outside of Japan. The main ones seen in the UK were the Frog (too late for that) and the Revell, but that was an A6M5 (if anything), Plus the various Hasegawa releases. Presumably also Tamiya and perhaps other companies such as LS. Thank you Space Ranger: I never had the Matchbox one which is perhaps why I'd forgotten it. Looks like a wise decision. Come to think further, the Airfix one had pretty thick wings - less easily changed than adding some rivets. Thank you Graham for your reply, I’m going to do some more research into this aircraft and the different kits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnT Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 I had the original Airfix Zero and it was a light grey blue plastic and if I recall it had quite a smooth skin on the wings. Not lots of rivets possibly not Airfix but certainly a Zero. Revell or a Japanese company perhaps? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
45DegreesModelling Posted January 15, 2022 Author Share Posted January 15, 2022 5 minutes ago, JohnT said: I had the original Airfix Zero and it was a light grey blue plastic and if I recall it had quite a smooth skin on the wings. Not lots of rivets possibly not Airfix but certainly a Zero. Revell or a Japanese company perhaps? I’m tempted to believe it maybe Matchbox as I certainly remember the black box and the art work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 Not Matchbox, their Zero did not feature rivets 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejboyd5 Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 We can all agree it's a Zero, but Matchbox did trenches, not rivets. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 The type of raised detail seems more like Heller to me when comparing it to what they used on the Mk.V Spit (now still sold by SMER). And Heller also used black boxes in the 1980s. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/heller-265-mitsubishi-a6m5-zero--135575 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janneman36 Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 @45DegreesModelling @JohnTI do tend to believe that this is the old and revised Airfix edition from their first iteration as the details match with those on the following site! The site shows you two versions the one without the rivets(the first one) and the one with the rivets(the second). All your fuselage detail like the recessed lines match the ones shown here to my eye! http://www.aviationofjapan.com/2008/04/kit-trivia-veteran-zero.html cheers, Jan 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 Was the Heller Zero one of their undersized attempts? If so a check with a ruler will sort it out. As an initial release it predated the "black box" period which was perhaps Heller's finest hour. (Yes, the older kits ended up reboxed...) The artwork shows a later variant than the A6M2, as indeed does the reference. This kit has the parallel-sided cowling of the earlier aircraft. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
45DegreesModelling Posted January 15, 2022 Author Share Posted January 15, 2022 Thank you for your help everyone, I did not expect this response! It has helped me massively. I think I’m going to strip it of paint, tidy it up somewhat and create a downed plane diorama! Tom 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Ranger Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 I’m inclined to believe now it is either a Heller or Revell kit. I built the original Revell kit when I was a teenager (!), but I remember it as having a different cowling. However, that was a long time ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Poultney Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Going to take a wild guess here... I think it's a plane! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhoenixII Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 15 hours ago, Adam Poultney said: Going to take a wild guess here... I think it's a plane! Nah, that'll never smooth timber! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
45DegreesModelling Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 (edited) So I have just come across this Video on YouTube which gives an insight and history into the Matchbox Mitsubishi Zero. At 07:09 the author states that it is infact a Frog release kit inside the Matchbox box (From 1974). It’s moulded in grey plastic (as can been seen from where the young me hasn’t painted) and the under surface wings where you just glue the undercarriage legs in (No doors or wheel wells) is like the image I posted above. This all ties in with my memory of a black border along with the art work on the box as well. Fascinating stuff, I think I’ve got to the bottom of the mysterious Zero kit. Edited January 17, 2022 by 45DegreesModelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Mc Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 I've never heard of Matchbox kitting the FROG Zero? Why would they? Their own Zero wasn't too bad for the time and better than the other available 1/721 Zeroes from Revell, Airfix or FROG. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Thompson Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 19 minutes ago, Eric Mc said: I've never heard of Matchbox kitting the FROG Zero? Why would they? Their own Zero wasn't too bad for the time and better than the other available 1/721 Zeroes from Revell, Airfix or FROG. Perhaps he looked at the Scalemates entry and got confused - there's a lot of aerobatics with the timelines criss-crossing, and I think it may lead to confusion. Similar with the entry about the Revell re-box of the Monogram/earlier 1/48th Camel, where it appeared they were saying (although they weren't) that current Revell boxing contained that, although at the time they contained the Eduard kit. There was some discussion here a while back. Anyway, 50/50 chance the Matchbox kit largely had engraved panel lines, and I'd expect the Frog to have fine raised lines. Mine bit the dust several decades ago so relying on the unreliable memory here. Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Mc Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 I'm pretty sure you are correct. I remember building the Matchbox Zero back in the 1970s and it was quite a neat little kit compared to its rivals at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWFK10 Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 On 1/18/2022 at 9:05 AM, Eric Mc said: I've never heard of Matchbox kitting the FROG Zero? Why would they? Their own Zero wasn't too bad for the time and better than the other available 1/721 Zeroes from Revell, Airfix or FROG. Take a look at this, though. It's the 1996 release, by Revell, of a Zero under the Matchbox branding which they then owned. But it's definitely the Frog kit. The giveaways are the sprue layout and the lack of wheel wells - the undercarriage just plugs into the wing. The Zero was one of the Axis aircraft kits that Revell acquired when the ex-Frog moulds were sold off to Novo in the 1970s. In the 90s, Revell marketed a number of kits under the Matchbox brand that had never had anything to do with the company, like their own A-20 and the Frog (I think) He 219. This is Revell's own kit, festooned with rivets, and this is the actual Matchbox Zero featuring the handiwork of the mad trencher. This is the Heller kit. It's not our mystery object, compare the canopies and the massive rib detail on the Heller rudder. My money's on the original Airfix Zero. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Mc Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 So Revell issued the FROG kit in a Matchbox box? Life gets very confusing sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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