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Going for zero Tamiya 1/48 A6M3


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Good evening everyone,

 

Some of you may have seen my post on purchasing a 1/48 Monogram Delta Dagger a few weeks back. It was advised that I should build something easier since I'm a modeling novice. Okay, I have built more then a few Gundam kits however never really jumped into the next level. Last week I went to the only hobby shop in Tucson. An ultra unfriendly Hobbytown USA that was rude as could be. Not impressed with the service considering I made a largish purchase. Sorry for getting off track I was a retail manager so bad customer service bothers me. 

 

On to the fun part! I picked out the Tamiya 1/48 A6M3 or code name Hemp. The box caught my eye and from my research I decided to try a Tamiya kit first. All they had were Tamiya Zero's and a 1/32 Phantom which I don't believe I'm ready for just yet:thumbsup:

 

I am starting from the ground up as far as modeling goes. I found a lot of my crafting supplies and nail things work well for modeling. That being said I did buy some decent Tamiya brushes and Tamiya acrylic paint. Before going to buy the kit I went ahead and researched the paint I would need and had to settle for Testors acrylic also. Since the Hobbytown was really spartan on plastic modeling supplies. Anyway here is my humble group of supplies.

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Ivan the Russian Blue also wanted to help me.

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First thing I did was test fit the fuselage. It appears it will only need a little sanding. I am impressed considering the kit is almost ten years older then me!

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Also working on tiny parts with gel nails is really hard...

 

Next up was the cockpit which wasn't any trouble.

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I brushed painted all the colors since I don't have an airbrush yet. I originally planned to use Tamiya XF-4 yellow green however found it a little too light for the images I found online. I ended up mixing a little green to darken it up. It looks a lot lighter in the pictures then in person. Doing research Japanese aircraft seem ot have worn pretty badly on occupied islands. Using a really old paint brush I scuffed the floor and console things. Most likely a little overboard, however I am putting the pilot so its fine with me.

 

That is all I have done so far since time is in short supply at the moment. I'm hoping to work some more tomorrow after seeing Star Wars.

 

Thank you for reading,

 

Lisa 

Edited by ZombieQueen
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Lisa, I have 3 cats (all rescues btw) and my Dilly LOVES modeling. He particularly loves to steal things such as wheels, bombs and the like. If I am not watching him at all times, he'll sneak up on my desk and the next thing I know Dilly has a new toy. So I have to make sure that nothing is left in the open when I am not actively modeling.

 

As far as gel tips go, I don't know how you get anything done with those, let alone modeling! :rolleyes: Anyway, good start so far and Happy Holidays!

 

Rick

 

 

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I think you will like the Tamiya kit,I have the A6M2b version for Pearl Harbor and it is a very good kit.:thumbup:

 

Edited by PFlint
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Coolio! I like what i see.

 

Something that works really well for simulating chipped or scratched paint, is a silver Prismacolor artists pencil. It's not quite as bright as silver paint, and if you put too much on, you can swab it away with a Q-tip and Windex. Not particularly expensive either, and it gives you lots of control to put on scratches in very tiny amounts.

 

-d-

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Nice work so far.   

There is another hobby store in Tucson as well.  I was there mid November and it was pretty nice and the people there were nice as well.

http://www.135hardware.com/hobby-place/   Its attached to an Ace Hardware at:  7071 E. 22nd. St., Tucson, AZ 85710

 

Not from Tucson, but was impressed enough to pass along the store info in case you werent aware of it.  (Was passing through town visiting Pima and the Titan missile museum and my Brothers wedding.) 

Your lucky to live so close to Pima, lots of great planes there for model references..

Edited by jameslp
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Hi ZQ.

Glad you've got your foot in the door. I just want to say that you don't necessarily have to weather the heck out of your A6M3. The photos I've seen of the planes in New Guinea are of derelicts that had been sitting in the jungle for months. At the time of their actual combat, which often only lasted a month or two, the Zeros (or at least the Type 32s as depicted by the Tamiya kit) were wearing the early-war overall grey-green paint, which was glossy when applied and which stood up pretty well to the elements. The extensive paint chipping was found more on Army planes, and in any case IMHO is often way overdone by many modelers. I built a Type 32 a couple of years ago, and I found out that the plane I was modeling was only in service for 21 days between its delivery to the area and its crash landing in Rabaoul, so I limited the weathering to flattening the glossiness somewhat and using a faded hue for the fabric control surfaces.

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Looking good so far!   We've got a kitty we were told is a Russian Blue, named Tasha.  We're not really sure of her actual pedigree or age, as she was passed along to us by some folks who took her in as a stray.  

 

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But my usual modeling companion is Tux, who likes to snooze in the computer chair next to me when I'm at the workbench.

 

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He was originally supposed to be my wife's cat, but decided pretty much from Day One that I was his human.

 

Looking forward to seeing your progress!

 

Steve

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Hi guys! I'm going to try writing this on mobile. Let's see how badly I mess up!

 

Lutz thank you! And Rouge One was really good better then last year's effort. It made me cry at the end lol!

 

Rick, well the cat is technically my sisters cat. However he's decided I am his human as well. So far he's attempted some sabotage.

 

As for gel tips I ask my selve the same question every day. I only get them done because I wear gloves in my lab five days a week and the gloves destroy my natural nails.

 

PFlint, thanks!

 

Falcon50EX, I'll have to look into that pencil. Thank you!

 

DonSS3, thank you!

 

jameslp, thank you! I've noticed that hobby shop showing up on Google and never looked at it for some reason. I'm taking a vacation day tomorrow so I think I'll go check it out.

 

I'm still new to Tucson only been here nine months. So still trying to figure out where everu thing is.

 

Seawinder, thank you for the info. I've been trying to navigate all the info on the Zero wow there is a lot on it!

 

Steve, thanks! And those cats are so cute!!

 

I haven't done much on the Zero this week. I put the instrument decals on and glued the fuselage together and wings. It became obvious that the fuselage and wing joint will need some work. This put me at a stop since I need needle files go continue progress.

 

Lisa 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On 12/20/2016 at 4:54 PM, Steve N said:

He was originally supposed to be my wife's cat, but decided pretty much from Day One that I was his human.

 

 

46 minutes ago, ZombieQueen said:

Rick, well the cat is technically my sisters cat. However he's decided I am his human as well. So far he's attempted some sabotage.

This pretty much sums up cats in general. When I was a teenager (probably 13 or 14), my younger sister brought home a Maine Coon kitten that someone gave her. In her eyes, it was her cat and I was indifferent at best. Around this time I was just beginning to allow myself to beguiled by human females, so I had my mind on more important things. Well, it wasn't long before that little orange and white kitten was sleeping in my bedroom and basically adopted me, much to the consternation of my sister.

 

Much later in life my wife and I found a stray DSH cat under a truck one day, that had suffered a wound on its' leg. We brought it home, got it treatment at the Vet and nursed her back to health and eventually after appox. 2 months, it became part of the family. However, this little kitty was understandably very skittish and basically lived in a closet for 2 months or so, until I came home from the hospital after having major neck surgery. This kitty (Kyra, rip babygirl) soon came out of the closet (literally) and slept next to me on the bed while I recuperated. From that moment on she "nursed" me back to health and going forward decided I was her human, every night sleeping next to my pillow until the day she finally passed. This sounds weird and maybe even callous, but I took her passing much harder than I did my Mother's. Anyway, now that I've thoroughly taken this thread off topic, let us resume.

 

Happy Holidays Lisa and everyone! May your stockings be filled with all sorts of modeling goodies!

 

Rick 

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Rick, I can understand taking a passing of a pet much harder then a parent. My thirteen year old Maine Coon and father both passed away four months between each other. I took my cats passing much harder for some reason.

 

Happy Holidays to you as as well and everyone else.

 

*

 

I haven't gotten anymore work on the model done since my last update. I took a vacation yesterday and went to a different hobby shop. Much better experience then HobbyTown even if the old guy at the counter was sort of rude. I ended up buying a lot of supplies paint, sanding sticks, glue, knife blades etc Also picked up a Tamiya 1/48 FW-190 I can't recall the version at the moment. And a Monogram ME410. Along with that I found two Squadron books on clearance F-106 Delta Dart and TBD Devastator in action. 

 

I spent last night organizing my tools and just looking everything over. I have the next three days off from work and since I don't celebrate the 25th I have a lot of free time. So hopefully I'll make a lot of progress.

 

Lisa 

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As far as Hamps are concerned, they came from the factory with a paint job very much like the prewar Zeros. Good quality paints, properly applied, amnd maintained. I would go very light on the chipped paint. If the bird had spent much time on the islands, you might look to fading, and dirt, such as exhaust stains and gun carbon smears. (Don't forget the spent shell ejection ports).

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