Hasegawa 1\48 Mitsubishi Zero

[Dave W]

After the disappointmentof messing up my Henschel 129,i've decided not to sulk and to move on to another build.This one is a very nice Hasegawa kit.Its got some of the best cockpit detail i've ever seen in a kit.Im building this because i havent done a Japanese aircraft for 40 years and i want to have a go at the salt paint chipping technique.

[ATTACH]37449.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]37454.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]37450.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]37451.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]37452.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]37453.vB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41630.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41631.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41632.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41633.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41634.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41635.IPB[/ATTACH]

[Dave W]

[ATTACH]37458.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]37459.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]37460.vB[/ATTACH]

The cockpit is consists of a floor,two sides,a back wall and other detail parts.The kit instructions say to fit the sidewalls to the floor assembly.Then join the fuselage halves and insert the cockpit from underneath.I was concerned that there would be a gap between the top edges of the cockpit insert and the fuselage cockpit opening.So after a dry run to make sure everything would fit properly i opted to glue the side walls to the fuselage sides.Then i had a problem over which interior colour to use.The instructions are not very clear about this.So i opted for the 'Aotake' colour.On Tony Yak faces advice i painted the cockpit and well wells/doors silver.After that had dried i mixed up some Tamiya clear blue and clear green.I thinned this with IPA and sprayed the gear bays and doors.As usual for me i did a bit of research AFTER i'd started the build.I found out Mitsubishi built Zero interiors were painted green!.So i've sprayed the cockpit interior green.Not sure what to do about the gear bays now.Would they have been the same colour as the cockpit or would they have been as i have done?.Im sticking with green for the cockpit.Just a few details to paint

[ATTACH]41636.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41637.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41638.IPB[/ATTACH]

[Guest]

Looking good so far Dave,the aotake looks perfect.

[yak face]

Should be ok just painting the cockpit again dave, from what i can gather the wheel wells were aotake on all variants , its just the cockpit that varied depending on which factory made it. Both mitsubishi and nakajima used a green colour for the cockpit but it was a different green for each factory, i think the mitsubishi green was a sort of medium olive green. Heres a link that has a good selection of paint call outs for all parts of the airframe , cheers tony http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=NFjEKC2RNbUC&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=a6m+zero +wheel+well+interior+colour&source=bl&ots=R9L7miDw IQ&sig=-NYnxxSc1jaqNPh-LGarpe6PPxQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=OlLvTsfXDcmChQfq-9zECA&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false P.S. the aotake looks great!

[Dave W]

Thats a useful link.Thanks Tony.

[Dave W]

The fit of parts on this kit is excellent .The fuselage seems only needed a light sanding with 600 grit and a polish with a sanding sponge.The cockit is well detailed out of the box.All i've done is drill the holes in the seat and add some Eduard seat belts.The experts on www.rivetcounter.com would be horrified as i've used USAF belts!.I figured it would be a waste of time trying to get some Jap belts through the christmas post.And i reckon they are better than nothing at all.This kit really is great value for £20.

the[ATTACH]37526.vB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41671.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41672.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41673.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41674.IPB[/ATTACH]

[Guest]

Dave great work on the office !

[Dave W]

Im at the painting stage now.Done the prop Tamiya 'hull red' as per Tony 'Yak Faces' suggestion.I've painted the engine and glued it inside the cowling.Then i spent some time masking the three parts of the canopy.Quite tricky as they are very thin and it would be easy to break them.I've then given the model a coat of Vallejo grey primer.Starting to use these paints more and more now.Im finding them a revelation after years of enamels.I buy the Vallejo Air ones as i can just put as much as i need in the cup of my airbrush and off i go.And clean the airbrush with water afterwards.Fantastic paints.Now i've got 'imodelkit' app on my iphone its easy to find the right colour.Once the primer is dry i will spray the model Vallejo Aluminium.Then im going to attempt the salt chipping technique.I will post the results good,bad or disasterous!.[ATTACH]37559.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]37560.vB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41704.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41705.IPB[/ATTACH]

[papa 695]

Looking good so far Dave good luck with the salt method i'm sure it will turn out alright for you

[yak face]

Top work dave,looks a really excellent kit, good luck with the salt , cheers tony

[Dave W]

Hopefully i will get to try the salt today.Am currently in quu at M & S.Picking up christmas grub!.

[Dave W]

[ATTACH]37747.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]37748.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]37749.vB[/ATTACH]

After a couple of coats of Vallejo Air Aluminium i decided to try using Maskol masking fluid instead of salt for the paint chipping.After applying the stuff with a cocktail stick i sprayed the yellow leading edge areas.Im finding these Vallejo Air paints good to work with.Only problem is they won't dry very quickly in my shed at this time of the year (cold).So i have to bring the model into the kitchen to dry the paint.That done i sprayed on Jap Navy light grey on the lower surfaces and Jap Navy green on upper surfaces.For this i used Tamiya acrylics thinned with Isopropyl alcohol.These paints went on very well and only took a few minutes to dry in my shed.Next i carefully removed the masking fluid with tweezers and a cocktail stick to expose the aluminium underneath.I think its worked ok,your comments as always are welcome

[ATTACH]41881.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41882.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41883.IPB[/ATTACH]

[Guest]

Hi Dave. congrats on your build mate-all thumbs way up!

I did the same kit a while back and it was an absolute blast to build due to the exelent quality.

I post a pic of the one I painted in Tamiya IJN grey acrylic over humbrol 11 silver and used salt chipping to show how easy it works with great results.

Just a a matter of interest to all (no critique from me mate) the weathering I see on the airplanes that I work on and re-spray will most of the time be on the leading edges of the wings, near the wheels. Undersides of the wings just rear the wheels and the same under the stabilizers due to debrise from the wheels. You might even see some oil or grease from moving parts in the same area.

Where ever a pannel is regularly removed eg. gunbays cowlings they take allot of wear and tear especially arround the fastners.

Another area that wears down to bare metal or primer in the walkways on the wings and the canopy sills as the parachute packs scuff them.

The bottom of the seatpan the same thing.

The Japanese planes seem to have had a problem with the primer ,hence the sharp "crisp" chipping rather than a more even wearing off of the paint.

The prop usually has paint missing on the leading edges and the back surface ,almost never the front (unless it was a pusher prop)

Hope it helps.

Theuns

[ATTACH]41924.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41925.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41926.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41927.IPB[/ATTACH]

[Dave W]

Thanks for your comments Theuns.Im a B1 licensed aircraft engineer myself and know what you mean about areas where the paint chips or is eroded on leading edges etc.I've tried to show this on my model without going over the top.The masking fluid i used worked quite well,but i put a bit too much on in some places.This is the first time i've attempted to do a bit of paint chipping.Hopefully the next one i do will be better.I fancy doing a Jap seaplane like the 'Rufe'.Loads of scope for paint wear on one of those.

[Dave W]

[ATTACH]37803.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]37804.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]37805.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]37806.vB[/ATTACH]

I've glued the engine and cowling on.Then i gave the whole model two coats of Kleer and applied the decals.I wasnt happy with my first atempt at the 'Aotake' paint, so have redone it in the flap and wheel wells.Next job is to gloss coat the model them apply a wash and some exhaust stains.My chipping may not be totally realistic but this model is really an experiment.Anyway,i like it.

[ATTACH]41930.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41931.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41932.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]41933.IPB[/ATTACH]