Zero but not zilch **Finished**

[Zephyr91]

This kit is in the not very inspiring 1983 boxing of the classic 1959 kit.  Apologies to the Roy Cross memorial

 

 

 

I’ve been hoping to join this GB since I found out about it a while back.  I have several candidates in the stash but can only really spare the time for one.  So this is it.  I built the extant version of this kit around 1965/66.  It was the first time I ever tried painting the canopy framing, and much to my and my Dad’s surprise it turned out not too bad!!   So I have good memories of this kit as such, but not of any other details. 

 

Of course, the big choice about this GB is whether to do the fuller nostalgia experience and just build it as it comes, or take the kit from years ago and treat it to some upgrade and embellishment to bring it more in line with newer standards.  I like the nostalgia approach.   But I think I might not be able to leave some things alone ……….

 

So I’m aiming to do this OOB as much as possible, but I’m sure as I progress (there’s optimism for you) I’ll start “tweaking” things.   However, I really haven’t got much knowledge about this aircraft other than what’s provided with the kit    and what I can glean from Groogling.  It has the reputation of being the best carrier-based fighter anywhere at the start of WWII (as alluded to in the thread title), so I think I should have at least one example in my collection (even if from a “vintage” kit).

 

To start; the usual photo evidence that this is un-assembled

 

 

It has been stored in the loft in relatively benign conditions since I bought it around 1984.  So the box is in good nick and most of the parts, as can be seen, are still attached to the sprue.   The decal sheet showed signs of yellowing so has been on the window ledge whilst we’ve been en France for 2 weeks.  If they don’t work (they are almost 40 years old) I might just have a go at masking and painting ….. er…,maybe …

 

Having done a quick dry-fit to check for likely problems I noted the following potential issues that I might address (or ignore …..)

     1.      Cowling – doesn’t “fit”!  Will need work to make it do so.  Noted that the gun troughs seem slightly wider apart than the guns on the fuselage.  Hmm.  Really?  Check that again before doing anything drastic/foolish.   Also, there is no panel or cooling flap detail on the cowling and no sign of where the combined exhaust outlets emerge on either side.  The carburettor intake looks over-sized compared to photos and drawings I’ve managed to find online. 

     2.      Cockpit – well, there’s a hole with some round pegs jutting from each side upon which the unfortunate pilot is supposed to be glued, not even a proper seat.  No detail at all.  I know that this aircraft was designed to rigorously keep down weight but ……..   I don’t normally do crew.  I have now done a few models and have learnt about checking what can be seen once the canopy is in place.  I don’t want to get into detailing (although I do quite like that bit ….) if I can avoid it for this simple build.  Despite its age the canopy is really clear and shiny so I may have to do a bit of something in there.  But note to self :  KISS and don’t get bogged down again!!!

 

 

     3.      External sink marks and moulding process holes – some visible externally and can’t be ignored.  Main culprits on top of nose and tailplane undersides.  But care with all those lovely raised rivets and panel lines!!

     4.      Tailwheel looks “of its age” (I was going to say laughable, but it was OK once upon a time …) so in the spirit of the GB I’ll see what I can do with paint and not replace it.   But I might just have to replace the radio mast ……

     5.      Nice pale blue plastic but feels a little brittle, so note to self:  care when tidying seams and removing sprue attachment tabs etc..

 

As I said earlier, I haven’t much idea about the A6M2 and its relatives because the Pacific part of WWII is way off my usual area of interest.  The box doesn’t give any details about the example being modelled.  I am happy to take it as a generic “Zero” but if anyone wants to point me at a bit more detailed info about what the markings represent, or can enlighten us here, then please do so.   

 

I’m now off to wash the kit and start removing bits from the sprue.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Rob

 

[Troy Smith]

1 hour ago, Zephyr91 said:

  So this is it.  I built the extant version of this kit around 1965/66.

 

pics are not showing for me at present.

 

the markings date back to the original issue

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/airfix-108-mitsubishi-a6m2-zero--654377

 

1 hour ago, Zephyr91 said:

The box doesn’t give any details about the example being modelled.  I am happy to take it as a generic “Zero” but if anyone wants to point me at a bit more detailed info about what the markings represent, or can enlighten us here, then please do so.   

A search has not  turned up much, except that tail markings like this are not common on IJNAF schemes.

what references I do have are not to hand

@Fukuryu  @Toryu   maybe able to add,  but as they date back to the mid 50's originally who knows what the source was....

 

I did run across the remains of a Commando comic yesterday  that had a shark mouth Zero... not on the cover but inside.

This one

Sadly my cover went long ago....

https://www.commandocomics.com/2021/12/07/zero-zero/

 

it was originally published in 1965....

searching this bring up

 

https://commandocomics.fandom.com/wiki/Black_Zero

"Out of the sun it came, a jet black Zero with a large golden dragon on its side. And at the controls sat Captain Jirai Saito, a top ace who'd become king of the Pacific skies. He and his squadron had made their name by shooting down clumsy P-40 fighters, but the time for a showdown was at hand. On their way from Europe was a squadron of sleek Spitfires that had left the Luftwaffe in tatters. The stage was set for the greatest air battles the Eastern skies had ever known"

 

has been done here

https://uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=15509

 

 

 

I mention these as I'm sure many of us read them at the time and were occasionally inspired by those fantastic covers.....  Just in case you want an alternate scheme...

 

cheers

T

 

 

[Graham Boak]

The markings look more appropriate for an Oscar or any other IJAAF aircraft.  The IJN tended to simpler markings, single colour bands and linear tail identifiers.  For these early Zeros I strongly recommend looking at the Pacific Profiles dealing with the Zero, which will provide many options in both the light early colour and the varied green tops.  Another very strong recommendation is Nick Millman's booklet on the early Zeros published by Guideline.  Probably cheaper.  If you want to splash out, you can currently get three PPs for the price of two  from Aviation & Military Book Centre, but I don't think they still have all three Zero books.

 

The yellow Zeros go back to the original Aurora Zero and reports of "mustard" coloured aircraft from, I believe, Pearl Harbor.  However not all mustards are yellow - there are also grey-greenish varieties.  Best look for Nick's book, or his work online.  No dragons, though.  I think the most notable art were the lightning flashes on the nose of some Raidens.

 

For more general Japanese information, look for various books by Nick and others from Osprey, although not their first more general example.  The is also J-aircraft.org as an existing website, although some of their older research articles have been superseded when it comes to colours.

[Graham Boak]

What I remember of this kit was the thick wing compared to the Frog Zero of the same vintage, and (in memory) with all my Zero kits since.

[Zephyr91]

Thanks gentlemen for your input.  Informative as always and hoarded for perusal by those of us with less knowledge.

 

Sorry if the photos don't show.  I had a slight problem with a previous set of posts which seemed to be down to the browser people were using.  I hope this is similar such that there isn't a general problem here.  I gather from that experience that Firefox might be a bit fussy aboout Microsoft Cloud items.

 

If the problems continue I'll try and find a solution.

 

Regarding the schemes, whilst very tempting to jump down the rabbit hole and produce something more exotic, I was aiming to keep things "simple" if I can.  Maybe there's an excuse to get a more up-to-date kit in future and have a go then ..........

 

Just in the midst of trying to make the cowling fit ......

 

Thanks

 

Rob

[Toryu]

Very nice GB proposal! It is as vintage as it can get. I bought this kit in 1968 (?). It was a spontaneous purchase. Having nothing on my workbench and no pocket money left I slaughtered the piggy bank and went to town to look around for some afternoon plastic pasting entertainment, and found it. The Airfix kit didn't overwhelm me even at this early stage of my modelling experience since I had already built the (better?) Revell A6M5.

 

The kit is supposed to represent the early Zero - A6M2. As it is a simple kit I guess you want to keep the decoration simple, too The following posts at aviationofjapan.com show a variety of possible paint schemes, some of which require only very few decals:

 

http://www.aviationofjapan.com/search?q=a6m2

 

[Fukuryu]

(Thank you, @Troy Smith for calling my attention to this build)

 

@Zephyr91, you're a brave man for tackling this kit! I have it too (in blister packaging) and would neve, ever, attempt to build it, having a bunch of newer Airfix, Hasegawa and Tamiya kits. I do admire a nostalgia building, though, and if I can help you in any way just let me know.

 

About the markings: they're historic... after a fashion.

 

. 

 

(N.B.: while everything points to this being an original colour picture, I can't say for sure. Caveat emptor.)

 

The aircraft in question was an A6M5 or subsequent variant (see the individual exhausts, for example) and it was on display in 1946 at Wright Field. It was also bare metal, not camouflaged. The markings, as has been mentioned above, are IJAAF-style, down to the senchi hyoshiki theatre band and not the quite simple and plain IJNAF alphanumeric codes. If you want to use more correct decals and don't want to buy aftermarket (understandable), PM me and I can send a spare Tamiya A6M2 decal your way (I have plenty, and plenty Rising Decals so I won't miss the kit ones):

 

Some cowling details and the position of the exhausts can be seen clearly on this picture:

 

 

Regarding cockpit details, won't bother you with pictures or drawings, Tamiya did the homework for us and you can use this picture of their cockpit sub-assembly as inspiration: 

 

You can download the instructions to use as a guide from here: https://www.scalemates.com/products/img/0/2/0/415020-36-instructions.pdf

 

Sorry for the long post, but believe me, this is the abridged version!

 

Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with, and I am looking forward to see your build. 

[Zephyr91]

54 minutes ago, Fukuryu said:

you're a brave man for tackling this kit!

Thanks Daniel for your valued contribution.  I very much appreciate your offer of decals, but will politely decline.  The way things are going it would be a waste of good decals!

 

Thanks also @Toryu.  Again, your input much appreciated.   I have much reading to do at some stage, I can see.

 

I don't remember the problems I'm having with the cowling from when I built this as a 9-year old!!  If I can get the wretched thing to fit, I will continue with a nostalgia based approach and stick with the kit scheme.  I hope that doesn't disappoint too much, but I'm not feeling too ambitious at the moment! 

 

I will try and put in a seat as that might be visible under the canopy but to be honest, when I downloaded the Tamiya instructions all I could do was laugh at the disparity between the 2 kits .......

 

 

....... that's it!   The other side of the paper is blank 

 

Anyway, onward  we travel in hope rather than certainty.   Like ....... I hope I can get this cowling sorted .... 

 

Thanks

 

Rob 

Edited August 13 by Zephyr91
speeling corexshuns

[Troy Smith]

2 hours ago, Zephyr91 said:

I don't remember the problems I'm having with the cowling from when I built this as a 9-year old!!  If I can get the wretched thing to fit, I will continue with a nostalgia based approach and stick with the kit scheme. 

 

probably as you just stuck it to the front with tube glue.

ONe thing about the very old Airfix kits, they did tend to assemble easily with tube glue, that is what they were designed for, and these were done strictly OOB

 

I think I have the remains of mine in the shed,  but I'm not going down that rabbit hole right now.

 

Regarding these photo top boxes..... see here

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235122225-tamiya-richard-konstam1970s-promotion-don-skinner/#elControls_5020591_menu

 

BTW,  I'm not getting any pictures, just 'spacer.png'

 

HTH

 

 

[Zephyr91]

Interesting info about the box top photos.  Thanks Troy. @Troy Smith

 

Now I need to know whether anyone else is only seeing "spacer.png" so please feel free to chip in.  I'm not aware I'm doing anything different to previous postings and threads but am always willing to check.    It's pretty pointless if the photos can't be seen

 

So here's another one, done as carefully as I can  .....

 

 

Got a bit fed-up with the cowling so decided to try and make a seat.  I'd seen one image that showed a seat with a lot of "weight saving" holes.  So I tried to do something like it using foil from the top of a wine bottle, folded and drilled.  I will need to make a support at the right height - the moulded pegs in place are too high. 

 

At first sight it looked a bit oversized, so I got the crew to try it out  ....

 

 

Looks ok to me, although the pilot was rather quiet about it .   I'll see what I can do about an IP but not much as I'm sure it won't be very visible. 

 

Back to the cowling.  Still a bit to do.  Once the shape and fit is ok, I need to scribe some detail on there as it will be visible.  I'll also try to put the exhausts on as per the underside view photo from Daniel above.

 

Please let me know whether images are visible.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Rob

 

Cheers

 

Rob

[Ned]

I see:

I will try and put in a seat as that might be visible under the canopy but to be honest, when I downloaded the Tamiya instructions all I could do was laugh at the disparity between the 2 kits .......

"spacer.png"

....... that's it!   The other side of the paper is blank 

 

But I can see your pilot and seat.

 

I'm a Chrome user. If I switch to Edge I can see the images.

 

[Zephyr91]

12 minutes ago, Ned said:

I see:

I will try and put in a seat as that might be visible under the canopy but to be honest, when I downloaded the Tamiya instructions all I could do was laugh at the disparity between the 2 kits .......

"spacer.png"

....... that's it!   The other side of the paper is blank 

 

But I can see your pilot and seat.

 

I'm a Chrome user. If I switch to Edge I can see the images.

 

Thanks Ned.  Strange that you see one image in Chrome but not the other.  I've no idea what's going on I'm afraid.  My daughter can see all the photos on her phone using Chrome.   Maybe It's to do with  the size and loading times needed. ?

 

If Edge works then I suspect a plot by Microsoft to force everyone to use their products!    Not really. 

 

Just trying a re-post of one of the photos above but at a different size

 

 

cheers

 

Rob

[Ned]

20 minutes ago, Ned said:

I see:

I will try and put in a seat as that might be visible under the canopy but to be honest, when I downloaded the Tamiya instructions all I could do was laugh at the disparity between the 2 kits .......

"spacer.png"

....... that's it!   The other side of the paper is blank 

 

But I can see your pilot and seat.

 

I'm a Chrome user. If I switch to Edge I can see the images.

 

Odd. I can see them now! Like you say, a delay loading them or something. The two "spacer.png" images are now showing fine.

Edited August 13 by Ned

[PeterB]

About the only thing I remember about building this kit just after it came out was that the wing seemed rather thick, and whatever glue I used the lower wing kept falling off. With regards to the supposedly yellow Zero's, reports from the Pearl Harbor attack did mention "yellow Japanese planes" apparently and at least one of my sources suggests this was down to a combination of weathering and possibly the type of varnish applied over the fairly pale grey paint, which was said to impart a sort of "goldish tint". The markings are almost certainly IJAAF ones - the IJN mostly used numbers. The nearest match I can find is the markings on the tail of the 68th Sendai's 2nd Chutai when flying the Ki-61 Hein/Tony in 1943/4.

 

Left, HQ Chutai blue, 1st Chutai white, 2nd Chutai red, 3rd Chutai yellow.

I suspect the kit lacks the holes in the wings for the short barrelled 20mm cannon which were just slightly outboard of the wheel legs - one a side. Later models of Zero had longer barrelled cannon with protruding barrels and in some cases long barrelled MG as well.

 

Pete

Edited August 13 by PeterB

[Fukuryu]

I can see all the pictures in this thread without issue; FWIW, I am using Chrome Version 127.0.6533.100 on a Win 11 (Enterprise Version 23H2) computer (work 'puter... wouldn't be caught alive buying a windorf one).

 

@Zephyr91, the seat looks great, better than any kit! In any case here's a link to a 3D file to be used as reference for the seat and rear bulkhead (unless you want to pay 12 Euros and download it...): https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/various/mitsubishi-a6m-zero-seat-early 

 

10 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

 

I am not into whiffs, but this is tempting... Hasegawa's A6M5 is 6.50 dollars at Hobby Search right now: will try to squeeze one in my next order, just in case... BTW, the tiger seems inspired by pictures of the one painted on Ki-15 and Ki-46 of 18th Dokuritsu Chutai; the best pictures on the web can be found on this post in Nick Millman's Aviation of Japan site: http://www.aviationofjapan.com/2008/11/tales-of-tigers-tri-colour-camouflage_05.html

 

Something I left out of my previous post and is itching me, so here goes: if the insignia on the tail of Airfix's Zero sound familiar, is because tries to be the 68th Sentai (an army air force unit that flew Ki-61) tail marking, as seen in this well-known pic of a Ki-61-ko captured in Cape Gloucester, New Guinea. The insignia makes sense: is relatively easy to discern the number "6" between the arms of the inclined kanji "8" (八 , "hachi").

 

 

[PeterB]

12 hours ago, Zephyr91 said:

 

 

 

 

As I said earlier, I haven’t much idea about the A6M2 and its relatives because the Pacific part of WWII is way off my usual area of interest.  The box doesn’t give any details about the example being modelled.  I am happy to take it as a generic “Zero” but if anyone wants to point me at a bit more detailed info about what the markings represent, or can enlighten us here, then please do so.   

 

 

 

In May 1937 Mitsubishi and Nakajima received a request from the IJN  for the 12-Shi experimental carrier fighter to replace the A5M Claude. Only Mitsubishi submitted a response which was the A6M1 in one of the Navy designation systems - A for carrier fighter and M for Mitsubishi, and it was their 6th such fighter. The Navy accepted it subject to a change from a Mitsubishi Zuisei engine to a Nakajima Sakae one, and thus it became the A6M2.  It was also known as the Model 11 and Type O, The type number was derived from the year of the Japanese calendar that it was approved - in this case 1940 in our calendar was 2600 in theirs so the Navy abbreviated that to 0 and the Army to 100, hence the nickname Reisen - Zero Fighter. The model number was changed after a few had been produced as Mitsubishi made the wingtips folding to fit in carrier lifts, and the majority of A6M2 were therefore Model 21's. A distinguishing feature was the long intake under the cowling which only that model had.

 

The next production model was the A6M3  which entered service in early to mid 1942. This had the folding section of the wings removed and as that was a major structural change the first digit of the Model number went up one, as did the second as the engine was also changed, so it became the Model 32. However the loss of wing area caused problems with lift and range so the wing went back to the previous form, making it the Model 22 or 22A when long barrel cannon were fitted - confusing at times! The A6M4 failed to enter production so the next production type in 1943 was the A6M5 which started off as the Model 52. Armament changes produced the A6M5, A6M5a, A6M5b, and A6M5c ( actually the Japanese used their own alphabet so they were things  like Ko, Otsu, Hei etc to them not A,B,C...) I won't go on as I guess by now you have had enough. Suffice to say that the Zero was lightweight in construction, had little or no armour and no protection for the fuel tanks as originally built so it was fast, manoeuvrable and had long range in the hands of trained pilots. As time went by armour was added and fuel protection, armament and structure was beefed up and it rapidly was past its prime. Coupled with the loss of most of the pre-war pilots, it was seldom a match for a new generation of Allied planes and pilots though there were exceptions.

 

In terms of colours, at the start of the war the A6M2 was painted in one of two shades of light grey overall with a blue/black engine cowling - both Mitsubishi and Nakajima built them and they had their own take on the official colour. By the end of 1942 both the A6M2 and A6M3 would normally have received camo patches of green on their upper surfaces, and were starting to be seen in solid green in increasing numbers, somewhat later apparently than other IJN aircraft, due perhaps to the fighter pilots' reluctance to hide from their enemies. So if you want an early war one you should consider grey! I was going to suggest checking Sovereign Hobbies website for the colours but it looks like they have stopped making the Colourcoats range at least for the moment - I have sort of expected that given how thing were going recently in terms of price rises and colours being discontinued.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Pete

[Zephyr91]

Thanks all for the information.  Very much appreciated.  I'll sift through it eventually, but as a starter to a complex subject this looks great.

 

More by luck than management, I seem to have created a "good enough for me" seat when compared to the images linked by Daniel above.  I'll do a simple take on the IP, add some belts then leave well alone.  Despite the clarity of the canopy not much will be seen when it's in place.

 

Still tinkering with the cowling but will have to leave it alone for a day or so as we are off to the Lake District tomorrow - the weather forecast looks promising  and it's a lovely part of the country.  Back at the bench on Thursday.

 

Cheers for now.

 

Rob

 

[Johnson]

Hi Rob,

 

A great thread and interesting build. I’ll have to bookmark it for when I do my Zero, a sad omission from my shelf. Your nostalgia approach seems right to me, fits in well with the spirit of the GB.

 

Have a good holiday!

 

Charlie

[Zephyr91]

35 minutes ago, Johnson said:

Have a good holiday!

Thanks for the encouragement Charlie.

 

Not a holiday, just a day off.   We looked at the weather forecast and decided to go yesterday.  We're only just over an hour's drive from Ambleside.

 

 

Excellent day out.  Did a bit of strolling around and later in the afternoon wife and daughter had a swim in Grasmere.  Tried the panorama function on my new phone and the lake (large pond by international standards ) is shown above.  Heard lots of "heavy duty" aeronautical activity but only actually saw a 2-seat Typhoon and 2 F-35s fly over.

 

Rain today, so good excuse to get back to the bench.  Back to modelling next update.

 

cheers

 

Rob

[AdrianMF]

Nice pic, glad (edit) your hols are goingday off went well. Hope you took copious notes on the colour schemes

 

Like Charlie @Johnson I haven't done a Zero, but although it's an interesting thread, I won't be hunting down one of these...

 

Regards,

Adrian

[tempestfan]

On 8/13/2024 at 8:36 PM, Zephyr91 said:

Looks ok to me, although the pilot was rather quiet about it .   I'll see what I can do about an IP but not much as I'm sure it won't be very visible. 

 

Test-seating is very important when buying new office furniture.

If you want to go fully-nostalgic, you could look for the Aircam on the Zero, though I'm not sure it covers the M2. There was also a very nice "Modelling Manual" in one of the Koku Fans I bought at my first IAT - would have to look, but I think in a 1984 issue? But very likely beyond the scope of this build.

This photobox took me quite some time to find, way back in my ebay days. Some are still around aplenty, but most others that no-one wanted during the 80s are really hard to get; like pre-modification Canberra and Hercules.

[Zephyr91]

26 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

Hope you took copious notes on the colour schemes

er..............grey?     With possible other grey bits!  Bit fast to see other than general type.  

 

I mistakenly thought this was a simple kit that would go together rapidly.  This cowling is driving me nuts!   First off, it didn't fit.  Once that's sorted (and I will probably still resort to @Troy Smith's comments about tube glue to help) and setting aside any thought of dimensional accuracy issues, there are just no markings on the surface at all.  Oh, sorry, no there are the troughs for the machine guns...........which don't align with the guns on the fuselage.  Think I'm going to ignore that.   So I'm now trying to scribe a few lines to "allude to" the cooling flaps and access panels.    It's almost as if it's from a different kit, but the sprue shot earlier clearly shows it was attached.......

 

You're probably right not to try and find an example, although such "fettle fodder" is normally right in your ball-park Adrian!  So I'm a little surprised ......... 

 

I don't often get to this stage but I'm close!!

 

Cheers

 

Rob

 

[Johnson]

3 hours ago, Zephyr91 said:

We're only just over an hour's drive from Ambleside.

Fantastic! Great photo! I love the Lakes and have been many times. But these days the 5 (or 6/7) hour drive on the M5/M6 is generally too much.

 

3 hours ago, Zephyr91 said:

actually saw a 2-seat Typhoon and 2 F-35s fly over

. Never seen a F-35 - despite being on a low flying route - send one down here please!

 

Charlie

[Zephyr91]

17 minutes ago, Johnson said:

Never seen a F-35 - despite being on a low flying route - send one down here please!

I'll have a word with them immediately!!

 

They are big so-and-so's.  The moving part of  the tailplane (it's not quite an all-moving surface)  is nearly as big as the internal main wing-box structure of the Typhoon wing!  I realised this when I was lucky enough to be shown around the full airframe fatigue test that was conducted at Brough a few years back.  Impressive.

 

cheers

 

Rob

[AdrianMF]

2 hours ago, Johnson said:

the 5 (or 6/7) hour drive

My (un)record for South London to the Lakes was 12 hours at an average speed of 25mph! It was the Thursday before Good Friday and I'd started to get nervous when it had taken us an hour to get to cross Battersea Bridge, about five miles away from my house. I think that was the last time I went during a school holiday.

Sorry, too much drift. Back to talking about nothing in particular. I'm sure I will be able to find a Zero that needs some TLC, maybe old Revell or FROG, but for now your build is hitting all the right spots!

 

Regards,

Adrian