Quick build: Iwamoto's zero airfix 1/72

[M.F.Lunder]

Hi guys,

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

 

As my F-16 is not going to be finished sooin, I just weant to build something fast, just glue and paint something.

So I pulled out a box I have for sometime, Hasegawa's super ace box, in which there is a zero fighter type 21 and type 52 each.

 

In the box actually it's the airfix kit, I have built the type 21 to test the AK J3SP paint. This time, I am going to build type 21 with cherry blossom with the airfix kit.

 

I pick this because the machine is a Nakajima built zero, so I can test my new purchase AK real colors: D1 deep green black and Nakajima interiror green,

 

Before gluing anything, I painted the interior and the wheel wells alumium. 

 

A couple of hours later, clear blue with a touch of clear green is sprayed,  to simulate the aotake color.

 

When dried, I painted the interiror with Nakajima interiror green. I also drilled out the light reducing hole on the rear wall and the seat.

 

Then the cockpit is assembled and lightly weathered, I only added the Nakajima setbelt. The push hold at the front wasn't filled - they can't be seen when fuselarge closed.

The cockpit detail is not as reifined as Tamiya's, but much better than Hase's offering.

 

 

Fuselarge are glued together, some filling and sanding is needed for the underside. The blank for the tail hook is Tam leftover, and was trimmed, glued, filled and sanded.

 

That's first couple days work.

Thanks for watching 

Chris

 

[M.F.Lunder]

Hi guys,

 

Here is the update:

The canopy is masked - this time I didn't do the tedious work of cutting mask tapes, I painted the masked area with water thinned mask fluid. Hope that works!

 

The crowl, capony frame, anti glare area and the deck behind the seat was painted semi-gloss black, another Nakajima zero feature. I only preshaded the moving parts, I think the panel lines are wide enough to create its shade.

 

I spayed the under side with white primer. In my previous build I found that in a certain light the J3SP color showing a green hue, I was not sure whether because of the grey color of the plastic, so this time I gave it a white background.

 

And AK J3SP air brushed. According to Mr. Nick Millman, Nakajima change their color to close to MItsubishi late 42 or early 43, so I just added a teeny tiny bit of middle stone to the paint, maybe not significant haha.

 

And the upper surface was masked and painted, with another test color, the AK D1 deep green black.

 

Now I am waiting the paint to dry through before decaling.

Thanks for watching, 

Chris

 

[Thadeus]

Nice work. I abandoned WWII props a long time ago, but nowadays I feel a bit of urge to do one or a dozen. And a Zero is very high on the list.

With that masking fluid thing on the canopy I hear mr. Hobby masking sol r can be cut up after drying. Didn't test the thing that way, but seeing how it works with masking tape it might actually be true.

[M.F.Lunder]

16 hours ago, Thadeus said:

Nice work. I abandoned WWII props a long time ago, but nowadays I feel a bit of urge to do one or a dozen. And a Zero is very high on the list.

With that masking fluid thing on the canopy I hear mr. Hobby masking sol r can be cut up after drying. Didn't test the thing that way, but seeing how it works with masking tape it might actually be true.

 

Just go for it! I mostly build 72nd kits, in last couple of years the makers released so many props, including my favrate Mastang and Dora, I bought half a dozen Arma Mustangs and IBG Doras each! I just order the new Eduard P-51D, one thing about the eduard kit is that the common sorue always comes with spare parts for other variants that can be used for other ktis, like I used the Nacht Jager parts from the A5 kit on the Hase A8:

 

As for zero zen I would recommend Tamiya's kit, which has much better detail than the airfix kit I am building, just ignore the paint instrction and use Eduard 48th one! Another thing is when I was masking the canopy, I found the airfix kit has roiund coner of the windows, insteae of square ones on the Tamiya and Hase kits which I thought was right. 

 

As for the masking fluid, you can cut it when it dries, I tried that already, just be careful not to peel the whole thing off.

 

Chris

[M.F.Lunder]

Hi guys,

A hic-cup, the id band decal brittled when I applied the softer, maybe the Hase decal is just too old, To make things worse, some paint came off when I tried to remove the broken decal. Touch up is needed...

 

As it's been raining lately, I will have to wait for a dry day to do the re-paint. Then, I found a Revell Fw-190F-8 in a pile of models, I didn't even remember why I bought the kit. But hey, why not another simple built?

 

Kit parts had an Onsen and dried overnight, they are simpe, two sprues for a FW and small one for the bombs.

 

Dry fit of the main parts. The detail of the kit is quite nice, comes with molded gun sight, instrument panel details and so on, even has the landing gear indicator on the wings. What I am not satifsfied is Revell molded the solid part of the canopy as part of the fuselarge, maybe they choose to do so for the (oversized) rivets arould the glass, anyway, no good.

 

So the molded canopy is the first thing to go. After that, I added the hand wheel thingy inside the cockpit. The kit doesn't come with exhaust pipes, I added them using some metal tubes. Oh, if you look inside the left fuselarge part, there is a small protrusion there, which, is supposed to be the throttle. I found it when I tried to added the part in the cockpit tub.

 

 

The exhaust pipes, you dont't really see them unless you look from the behind, but it;s fun to make.

 

The cockpit tub, I filled the location holes for the head armour. I also found the molded rudder padels, so I added the foot straps using copper wire. As I said the detail on the kit is quite nice.

 

Now move on to the wings. F8/A8 have different wing config. I found a picture of the white 11 on internet, but it doesn't show too much.

 

I found a picture of white 6, it shows the bulge for the outer gun.

 

Besides, looking at the Eduard and airfix F8  instructions, they all show bulge on upper wing and blank panel under wing. I am going to trust them and glue the parts accordingly. I also open the inner gun ejection port.

 

 

Well, that's the progress so far. I am still waiting for a less humid day, As always, all comments are welcomed.

 

Thanks, 

Chris

 

[M.F.Lunder]

Hi guys,

 

It's still rainy so I took the risk and painted the cockpit, and weathered it after waiting overnight. I also added the seatbelt which was from TPO.

 

 

Then the fuselarge are closed and wings on.

 

While waiting the glue to dry, I added the brake line to the landing gear...

 

...and small spriing, which, from a article I recently read from Hyperscale, is crucial to the gear, haha. All half an hour's fun work.

 

Last, today's new arrival, Dearmmodel Ka-52, with 3D print gun and what's the word...rotor hub?

 

Small gift from the shop, guess what it is...

 

Thanks,

Chris

[M.F.Lunder]

Hi guys, 

Let's keep going.

 

There was a big gap between the wing root and the fuselarge, I thought it was for the anhedral, but when I bent the wing upward, and compared to the front wiew of the instruction, hmm, probably not...

 

Then I filled the gap with stretched sprue and sanded it smooth. After re-scribed some panel lines, I replaced the gun with copper tube. Most of the fuselarge is done now.

 

I made a mistake by sanding off the lip of the belly pylon, so I replaced it with the part from Hasegawa, the bomb rack is from Eduard, the Revell part is crude anyway.

 

Next to tackle, aye yai yai...

[M.F.Lunder]

Hello everyone,

 

Let's keep going. 

I took some time to find a suitable slide hood for the model. So now I can say: Hasegawa A8/Airfix A8/IBG D9 (considered to be accurate): too narrow too short. Tamiya D9: width and length OK, but front of the hood is about 0.5mm taller, and have a curve online that doesn't match the revell winshield. AZ and Italeri D9: too narrow and way too short. I couldn't test the Academy D9 flat hood, as I used it somewhere else I couldn't remember, but their blown hood doesn't fit. Well that tells something about each kit. A candidate is the eduard A8 hood, if the angle of the revell windshield changes a bit:

 

But I need that hood for the Eduard kit, so the easy way out is to use its open hood - I always know I can use it, that was why I cut the revell molded hood part whthout any hesitation.

 

Then the revell windshild was sanded, polished, and dipped into AK's glass coat for a transparent look. I don't like the kit head plate so it was replaced by the Hasegawa equivalent.

 

A side story: I painted both sides of the eduard hood before I remembered I have only masked the inside, and have to remove the ouside paint. Luckily, the eduard part is quite bearable to the thinner, not to much damage was done.

 

Next the gun sight was painted and I added a piece of clear film for the glass.

 

The last detail I added was the trim tab on the aileron, then the whole model was painted gloss black, it's ready to paint now.

T

 

See you next time, 

Chris

 

Edited July 29 by M.F.Lunder

[M.F.Lunder]

Hi guys, 

 

I took a look at the white 11 picture again before painting, and found some interesting features: 1, there is a white bar on the wing, coiuld be the over-painted white cross showing or photo quiality? 2, the exhaust stain seems to extend to the "11" and on the wings, 3, the antenna wire droops when the canopy is openning.

 

Let's get some paint on. I painted the RLM76 in thress layers, first Gunze  c117 out of bottle for the basic marbling, second a lighter shade to highlight inside of the panel and some details, third basic c117 again for touch up and overall color unification,

 

Next, the upper surface pre-shading. To saving time I use both gunship grey and white. I tried to do not only marbling but also highlights on some panels and details, a sort of color modulation. i can see the painting was not perfect, and decided to go with that. "We can fix it in post", as George Lucas says, or in his cases, re-shoots, which I certainly hope not!

 

The sand color on. I just did passes with thinned paint, allow it to build up to my satisfaction. In afterthoughts, I could use one or two layers less, but, much better than the above photo, right? 

 

 

Then I did the green mottling, I tried to follow the instruction as much as possible, but that was not easy. 

 

Thanks,

Chris

 

 

 

 

[M.F.Lunder]

Hello eveyone, 

 

There are different theory for the unit ID: yellow under cowling, white wing tip, both or neither, even Eduard's 72nd and 48th instruction have different suggestions.

I chose yellow under cowling because I read a post from Britmodeller that states yellow quite sure, and, it's colorful on a plane!

 

Then other small features were painted: over-painted ID band, exhaust panel, and other parts.

Now the painting in completed.

 

 

Next I will do is to give it a gloss paint and decal.

See you next time,

Chris