FineMolds A6M5 Zero 48th scale

[ya-gabor]

12 hours ago, Mr.Happy said:

Hey Ya-Gabor,

 

Man! Oh! Man!

 

Thank you for breaking down this well written approach and tutorial to this Fine Mold’s kit of the Zero.

 

This thread is definitely going to be bookmarked.

I’ve out of the loop since December. So I’m catching up and loving this overview/ build.

 

Keep up the awesome work and great synopses too.

 

Mr . Happy

 

Hi Mr. Happy,

 

Thanks! Good to have you here and glad that you like it.

 

On 2/27/2025 at 2:13 AM, Ikon said:

There is some really great detail on those FM Zero! I have several from Tamiya to Eduard, but not FM and have yet to build any. This is making me want an FM one too!

 

Hi Ikon,

 

As I have said at the beginning I am a "Zero Virgin", never in my close to 50 year modelling past having built one. Have no Tamiya or that East European makers version, so have no comparison. But sure I like what I have in the Fine Molds box.

 

 

The build is on, but at the moment have some other things also to arrange so a bit slower right now. Have to do some extras for the engine and it take a little time. 

 

Next weekend we will have the first modelling show/competition of the year, try to have with me something to show to friends from this kit. Of course will have photos here also. This year I am not taking any of my ejection seats with me, so it will be just going around, speaking to friends, and in general having  a good time.

AFTER ALL THIS IS WHAT THIS HOBBY SHOULD BE ABOUT!!!  : )  : )   : )

 

Best regards

Gabor

 

 

[Mr.Happy]

Thanks and Right back at ya! It’s great to be back after a painful back surgery.

 

Mr. Happy

[ya-gabor]

Had a little time, so here are some new pics of the cockpit in different stages of assembly. Most of it is still dry fit since there are a lot of bits and pieces missing at the moment that I want to put in there.

If I can find a way to transport it in safety then will take it with me to this weekend “start of the year” model show.

 

Best regards

Gabor

[ya-gabor]

On the Czech forum there were questions raised about the Zero seat shown above and the straps on it. My answer could be of interest here also.

Here it is.

The seat is from the kit. All I did was to add some detail to it with the holes in the sides, some support plates and at the end a bit of Mr. Pain colours. That is all.

 

The seat belts are from Fine Molds Nano set NC2. They are injection moulded plastic parts, but EXTREMELY thin! Since they are plastic, a softer type of plastic, it is possible to bend them to shape. Not easy, but possible. The trick is to bend them to the shape you will want them to be on the seat, check it against the seat, bend it again, check again, bend it again, check again. . .  Only after it is considered to be as good as you can get it should they be painted. 

 

I am sure there are other ways to do it, but this is how I did my examples. 

 

In the NC2 sets box you get four sprues, each sprue with the 4 different straps of one seat, so it is basically contains seat straps for four seats. If something goes wrong during bending you will still have three more sets to work with.  : )  : )    No body is perfect and accident do happen! : )   : )   : )

 

The trick in bending them is to try to bend around a round support and NOT at a sharp angle. Since it is injection moulded plastic you can get it broken just as with any other plastic. But if the bending is carried out in stages then you can get a very nice and natural looking result!

 

As “some” people say: we are modellers so we should be able to do it.  : )  : ) 

 

All is left to do is to paint them. 

 

Best regards

Gabor

[ya-gabor]

Here are some close-ups (going step by step closer) of the Fine Molds Nano NC02 set I took this morning to illustrate just how small and how detailed the straps, the fittings on them. The straps overlay each other, the buckles are three dimensional and not just a flat image and there you can see those nice stiches.

 

As said before the straps parts are extremely small so special care should be taken when working with them!!!!!!  I actually use a big black cardboard as a work surface so that even if the parts “fly off” in direction of the carpet monster I can find them. They are very thin and the soft plastic could act as a spring when handled. So take care, but Fine Molds provides 3 spear sets of straps which helps if disaster strikes!  : )  : )   : )

 

Best regards

Gabor