Tonys Tamiya 1/48 A6M2 Zero

[Mini Me]

Very "crisp" work on the Hinomarus....that compass cutter must be deadly sharp!! :thumb2:

[Tim Marlow]

Lovely work. Markings look great.

[flyjoe180]

Markings are looking very good Tony, great paint work

[Geoffers]

Very nice Tony it’s coming along very well.
I agree with the other guys, the painted on markings look superb :thumb2:

Geoff.

[colin m]

Brilliant work. Do tell, what magical thing is this compass cutter you have.

[langy71]

Love those painted Hinomaro's Tony, :thumb2: I did try to cut mine out but my cutter wouldn't go down that far... :anguished:

[Lee Drennen]

As usual the weekend is about the only time i get to the bench , so progress has been slow . An hour today saw me finish off the chipping and wear and get the cowling primed red . This will be hairsprayed like the airframe and lightly chipped after its had a coat of blue black . As the machine i’m doing is a mitsubishi built one ,the hinomaru are plain red ( the Nakajima built machines had a white surround ) . So as its a simple mask job i decided to spray them instead of using the decals .Out came the Compass cutter and wide masking tape was applied to some shiny label backing paper , making an easy mask . Meatballs anyone? :smiling::hungry:[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1201601[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]n1201602[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]n1201603[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]n1201604[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]n1201605[/ATTACH]

Awesome work Tony looks very nice and clean.

[yak face]

Brilliant work. Do tell, what magical thing is this compass cutter you have.

colin m
Here it is colin , a cheap enough little tool , very useful. It only goes down to about 9mm diameter though , so below that youre into punch and die territory . It comes with about 4 spare blades too . John used to have them in the SM shop but theyre marked as discontinued , i found this one on Ebay though https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233467665...mis&media=COPY
Cheers tony

[Jim R]

The red circles look great. Much nicer than even the best decals.

[yak face]

Bit more done today . After looking at the decals and paint guide I realised that there were more markings that I could mask up and paint. Theres a red band around the rear fuselage and two yellow bands across the tail .The easiest way to mask up a 8mm parallel band like this is to cut a piece of masking tape the width that you need then apply it to the model making sure its straight . You will get a bit of creasing at the back edge but this doesnt matter as its only a guide for the actual masking . Now cut some thinner strips of masking tape , about 1-2 mm and apply these upto the edges of the 8mm piece . Once done take out the 8 mm piece and finish masking up ( in this case after i had added a bit more masking i just used cling film to protect the rest of it . Same goes for the tail bands .

[Mini Me]

Damn fine workmanship Tony! this whole build has been bumped up several notches, I suspect you'll be hearing from the committee shortly as the "Dog's" is defo in the future of this one. :thumb2:

[Mini Me]

I have just contacted the head of the Committee Tony so we'll see what happens.......PCO Sir.

[JR]

Yes Tony the Committee have been made aware of this very fine build. They are now watching intently.

So I'm late in, been busy in the garden .
Must agree with the gang some really fine work .

[yak face]

Thanks everyone for the fine comments . Mini Me & JR thanks for the nomination , ill try and keep a steady hand now , with the beady eyes of the committee watching over my shoulder !

[yak face]

Masking now off the tail and leading edge chipped , its now ready for the very few decals ( one each side of the tail , one on the port rear fuselage and some little ones on the undercarriage doors and propeller blades ) ive also been addressing the scoop under the rear of the cowling. Tamiya have just left it open , whereas i think the real thing had a filter screen . To simulate this I robbed the wifes sewing box and got some Bias binding . Dont know what this stuffs supposed to be for but I do know it makes a good mesh when painted and drybrushed ! This will be cut to shape and possibly backed with a bit of plastic card . More on this tomorrow, cheers tony