Tamiya A6M2bZero 1/32

[Guest]

Well, I've made a start on this amazing kit. Opening the box was an experience, I'd already looked at a few build threads and YT vids, but I was still gobsmacked by the ooze of quality that lay before me!

I'm building this OOB, with the one exception of a resin seat - a CMK one that was £3.95. I've decided not to weather it heavily, just subtle wear and tear, and will be painting it as the aircraft of Tsuguo Matsuyama, from the carrier Hiryu, which leads me to the only real anomaly of this kit, the main colour specified on the paint call-out is clearly a bit askew! Now, call me mr picky, but I reckon anyone who is prepared to shell out upwards of £80 - £130, depending on where you buy it, for a kit, is prepared to mix their own paint. Indeed, it is demanded for the Ayotake surfaces and there were paint mixes called out for my previous build - F4 - but more on this later!

I'm following the instructions to the letter, can't afford to balls this one up...

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So I've painted the insid of the fuselage as per, and then went on to the cockpit, which is a pretty complex project on its own, but perfect fit and a pleasure to build!

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This is now weathered and fitted from underneath to the fuselage, no drama so far!!

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Now onto the tail control surfaces...

[Guest]

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There is a fret of Photo-etched steel, which is fair bit thicker than our usual brass PE, and a decent diamond file soon makes short work of the nibs left from cutting it. My advice to anyone who is thinking of building this, is to ignore the CA glue option and tack these tiny hinge elements with a tiny drop of canopy glue - once the two surfaces are glued together, the PE higes are locked in anyway, and it avoids getting CA on the moving parts (ask me how I know, grrrrr!!). All is well now, and I wanted the elevator to be deflected anyway ;-)
I now have to make a big decision - do I want to go downt the retractable undercarriage route? Common sense says don't go there, BarryW - your thoughts please!!

[rickoshea52]

Can you post a picture of the box please John?

[Guest]

Very nice work on the cockpit John.
Looking forward to more.

[Guest]

Can you post a picture of the box please John?

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[dave]

Looking good John.

Mixing your own paint is fine so long as you remember to make more than you need and keep it in a dropper bottle for those inevitable touch up requirements.

[Guest]

Looking good John.

Mixing your own paint is fine so long as you remember to make more than you need and keep it in a dropper bottle for those inevitable touch up requirements.

Oh don't worry, when I mix up the base coat colour for this, I'll make at least 10 ml in a jar. I have a recipe for the "perfect" i.e. closest mix using tamiya paints, this came from Nick Milman, who resides on Britmodeller, and has done extensive research on IJN colours.

[papa 695]

Looking good John, a great start.
I would stick with your common sense. about the undercarriage.

[BarryW]

Hi John. You have made a great start. This kit really goes together so well.

As for the retractable uc. Well it works well in theory but in practice! You will find all sorts of issues about getting it all tucked up and then the potential for a breakage! My advice is to run with it and not fiddle too much with it when done.

[BarryW]

John. In respect of paints. Take a look at the AK Interactive IJN set. It has the anti glare blue black and a good representation of the Amber Grey camo colour.

[Guest]

Nice work on the office John.
Looking very good so far

[colin m]

That's a rather smart cockpit John. All looking really nice.

[Guest]

Hi John. You have made a great start. This kit really goes together so well.

As for the retractable uc. Well it works well in theory but in practice! You will find all sorts of issues about getting it all tucked up and then the potential for a breakage! My advice is to run with it and not fiddle too much with it when done.

My gut tells me to glue it in place. I've just not got to that part quite yet, and clearly need to understand how it all goes together, before considering how I'm going to modify it!

[Guest]

John. In respect of paints. Take a look at the AK Interactive IJN set. It has the anti glare blue black and a good representation of the Amber Grey camo colour.

I've not yet been able to find colour swatches of this set, even taking into account the vagaries of online colour swatches, I'd like to see if it approaches the detail that I now have, having bought Nick Millman's 35 page guide - which is really well done. I've already made the paint up in a small quantity (5ml) and been fooling around with it on a paint "mule", and would like to stick with Tamiya paints if I can. The only odd one is their clear range, from which I made the Aotake colour from, it has an odd viscosity to it, that requires much thinners to use in an airbrush. I suspect I'd be better off thinning it with yellow cap (cellulose), but it does work, if a bit slow drying!

[Guest]

John. In respect of paints. Take a look at the AK Interactive IJN set. It has the anti glare blue black and a good representation of the Amber Grey camo colour.

I haven't even decided whether to go for black basing or pre-shading!