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Tamiya A6M2 Rufe ##Finished##

Jb65rams

By Jb65rams
in Turning Japanese GB

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Jb65rams Very Obsessed Member

Jb65rams

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Only have one kit in the stash that qualifies, Tamiya’s 1/48 Rufe, so this seems like a good time to build.
 

A6M2 N RUFE

 

The A6M2-N floatplane was developed from the Mitsubishi A6M  Type 0 mainly to support amphibious operations and defend remote bases. It was based on the  A6M-2 model 11 fuselage, with a modified tail and added floats. A total of 327 were built, including the original prototype. (From Wikipedia)

 

This will form part of a small long term Floatplane Fighter themed project. Not really sure where my interest in floatplane fighters came from, but to date I have built a;

 

  • Spitfire Vb “Floatfire”. 1/48 Airfix Vb + Silver Cloud conversion.
  • Wildcat F3F “Wildcatfish”. 1/48 Hobby Boss kit.

 

Still to add to the collection;

 

  • 1/48 What If 109 from Halberd Models Messerschmitt Bf.109W Kit.

And still to purchase

  • 1/48 Loire 210 by Fonderie Miniature, if I find one.
  • 1/48 Tamiya Kawanishi N1K1 Kyofu Type 11


Originally tooled in 1973 it looks like it should be a nice simple build.

 

A6M2 N RUFE

 

A6M2 N RUFE

 

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trickyrich Blabber Mouth

trickyrich

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Welcome along JB with a fine choice.

 

I do love these Japanese Float/Seaplane, I don't quite know why but I do, and I like you plan for a future collection as well.

 

Great to see some AM being thrown in as well! :thumbsup:

 

Good luck with the build, another great one to follow.

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Jb65rams Very Obsessed Member

Jb65rams

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Long weekend, nothing planned as on call for work (looking unlikely I will be called), MiG-21 build completed, this GB started at the right time.

 

I got off to a good start this morning, postie delivered this.

A6M2-N Rufe

 

Ignoring the build sequence I made a start on the beaching trolley and the floats.

A6M2-N Rufe

 

A6M2-N Rufe

 

Does anyone know what the hole in the front of the support is for? A light? Intake of some type?
 

The instructions called for some weight in the front of the float, I fear I may have overdone it. Will have to wait and see when the wings & fuselage is added. 

A6M2-N Rufe

 

 

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PeterB Completely Obsessed Member

PeterB

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Pictures definitely show the hole but they have nothing to say exactly what it is - as you say the most likely are a light or an intake. Your paint set is presumably cockpit interior colours which highlights one of the many problems with Japanese wartime paint schemes. I have seen reference to 5 colours including a grey green a bit like RAF cockpit Grey Green, a yellowish green (Bamboo) not dissimilar to some takes on US Interior Green, a Khaki Brown, an Olive Green, and of course the ubiquitous Aodake Iro blue/green laquer applied over natural metal surfaces in cockpits and wheel wells of many Japanese planes, but maybe not quite as many as some kit manfacturers suggest - Fujimi say use it on just about all their kits I have mentioned elsewhere. Looks like your paint set has 4 of the colours which is pretty good. For what it is worth this is the cockpit of a supposedly accurately restored Zero.

zekecock-crop

It fits with one of my sources which says that visible areas such as cockpits were often primed with blue/green and then overpainted - this looks like "Bamboo" to me though the lighting could be out.Pics of the very few survivors often show a mixture of green with the blue/green as if it was overpainted and then worn through.

 

I will watch this with interest as it is a plane I have never managed to build.

 

Pete

Edited by PeterB
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trickyrich Blabber Mouth

trickyrich

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nice start and great to see i'm not the only one hat builds out of sequence! :thumbsup:

 

I have a great book that shows the various schemes the Ruff came in plus some details about it but unfortunately it's all in Japanese (like most of my book on Japanese aircraft). 

 

I think you'll find that "hole" is the intake for the oil cooler, on the land based versions there's a very noticeable scoop starting where the cowling "petals" start. With this aircraft they've move the scoop into the float pylon which sort of makes sense, plenty of room and nice and aerodynamic.

 

That cockpit is in one of the books I have, they state the colour is based on the original paint found underneath, oh and it's an A6M5 Zeke. That photo is in the "Japanese Aircraft Interiors 1940 - 1945" by Monogram Aviation Pub., a really good book to have on the subject.

 

 

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Jb65rams Very Obsessed Member

Jb65rams

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The set contains two interior greens, titled Mitsubishi and Nakajima interior. And a metallic blue and green.

 

Thanks for the info on the “hole”. Re colour scheme, probably going to be grey.

 

Below is my take on the cockpit. 
 

A6M2-N Rufe

 

A6M2-N Rufe


Off to watch Paris-Roubaix now.

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PeterB Completely Obsessed Member

PeterB

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Looks good to me. 

 

As to the external colour, grey sounds fine. I know that the old Humbrol Authentics included a "mauve" which may have been inspired by the old Profile Mags, but general opinion seems to be that it was a mistake - not exactly the best colour for camo, though then again the Admirality did have a camo colour called "Mountbatten Pink" which may have been intended for ships in the Med or maybe the Pacific!

 

Pete

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Corsairfoxfouruncle Blabber Mouth

Corsairfoxfouruncle

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6 hours ago, PeterB said:

Looks good to me. 

 

As to the external colour, grey sounds fine. I know that the old Humbrol Authentics included a "mauve" which may have been inspired by the old Profile Mags, but general opinion seems to be that it was a mistake - not exactly the best colour for camo, though then again the Admirality did have a camo colour called "Mountbatten Pink" which may have been intended for ships in the Med or maybe the Pacific!

 

Pete

Ive read an studied as much on the Mauve camouflage as possible. Everything Ive read says they(the Mauve birds) were all posted to the Aleutians. I believe it to be a variant of grey that in certain lighting conditions in Alaska worked out to look a bit closer to Mauve. Your analogy to Mountbatten pink isn't far off. 

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Corsairfoxfouruncle Blabber Mouth

Corsairfoxfouruncle

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23 hours ago, PeterB said:

`That's interesting - I did not know that some were actually painted in that colour!

 

Pete

Not sure if they were or not, its mostly grainy photo’s that could've been developed wrong. Ive just read a lot of theories on it much like the Buff D.520’s. When I can build mine I will most likely go mauve/grey. Nick Millman might have more info but haven't seen him around in a good while ?

Edited by Corsairfoxfouruncle
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Jb65rams Very Obsessed Member

Jb65rams

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@modelling minion @trickyrich Thanks for your comments. I have built a number of these older tooling Tamiya kits. I have really enjoyed them. Go together well, acceptable level of detail.

 

The Rufe has exited the paint shop. The instructions helpfully say ‘light grey’ no other detail, not even a Tamiya paint code. In the end I went with Vallejo Model Air IJN Medium Grey.  I’m happy with the way it turned out.

 

A6M2-N Rufe

 

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  • Jb65rams changed the title to Tamiya A6M2 Rufe ##Finished##

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