Not quite sure how to bring over all the responses from viewers and give proper credit - be assured that I acknowledge all the interest and input from Brian , Joel , Damian Tim, , H.G. and others - Thanks all for the compliments !
Some more progress - cockpit done and fuselage buttoned up.
A lot of re scribing necessary as there were odd kinks in some panel lines in the rear fuselage . It would seem something went amiss when the fuselage was ejected from the mold.
solid tail navigation light sawn off and replaced with new filed from clear sprue-
- and wingtips sawn away in preparation for the folded wing bits -
Hi all - wing is mounted after a careless drop to the floor which broke it in half.
I think all will be good after some sanding and surfacer.
photo etch ribs added from the Wolfpack folding wingtips set - outboard ends of ailerons still need finishing.
fabric boot around tailwheel made with epoxy putty -
fuselage nearly complete - all filling and rescribing done with the exception of the horizontal stabs which have just been glued up on the glass plate with machinists blocks to keep all square …
and the engine done - Eduard photo etch ignition wires added. These are a little lame . As this was a 14 cylinder radial with 2 plugs per cylinder there should be 28 leads. Hasegawa also did not include the little bosses on the ignition ring where the leads exit so the Eduard piece just lies behind all - not real convincing.
Fuselage and drop tank done and primed in Stynylrez gray - engine done and cowl primed in Stynylrez black .
Resin folded wingtips have had kit navigation lights installed with CA and sanded flush & polished .
Main gear doors mounting brackets have lightening holes drilled.
Thanks Phil for the compliments and interest.
The paint I will be using will be Vallejo Model Air IJN Ash Grey. If you will be doing an early Zero you might want to consider getting Nick Millman"s excellent e-guide " Painting the Early Zero" which is available through his wonderful site @ aviationofjapan.com. 40 + pages of very scholarly work on what can be a contentious subject at times.
I printed mine out as a hard copy for convenience.
I did the interior with Tamiya Mitsubishi Interior green as I had it on hand . I don’t know if the aircraft I am doing was Mitsubishi built or Nakajima . As I had no Nakajima Interior green ( a darker shade than Mitsubishi ) I used what I had and will paint the rest of the aircraft in the fashion that Mitsubishi used.
I’ll call these things out as I progress .
Regarding the cockpit , fortunately nearly all of it can still be seen .
I hope you will post some pics of your Zero when you build it - there can never be too many Japanese aircraft blogs !
Cheers ! Richard
Some goodies arrived today - sawn basswood decking for the carrier deck base , Rob Taurus canopies & Master Type 97 7.7mm barrels
After a brief delay because I clicked on the wrong Rob Taurus canopy - seems I ordered for the Tamiya kit instead of the Hasegawa - I am now back to work as the correct ones have arrived.
Rob Taurus Vac Canopies are superb - thin with sharp detail ( some have more detail than the injection kit parts) and they are styrene so they will bond to the fuselage with styrene cement.
I like to use a product called Durham’s Water Putty to make male and female fixtures to support the vac canopies while cutting and fitting. The male casting for cutting the canopy from it’s matrix and the female to support the canopy while tuning up the edges where they meet the fuselage.
Durham’s is a plaster base product and could not be easier to use . It dries quickly - an hour or so and comes in powder form- simply mix with water to a pourable consistency and pour into canopy for the male fixture and around the canopy for the female .
A simple box formed of foil does nicely.
I’ve also begun work on the carrier deck base - a piece of MDF will be covered with sawn basswood sheet decking and will be using Tom’s Modelworks photo etch IJN tie downs. I’ve begun to lay out the tie downs on paper but waiting for more reference material on the Kaga to arrive .
Thanks to Tim Reynaga for help with the type of wood her decks were made of - Hinoki Cypress . I think the natural basswood will represent the light color of the deck very well.
Some more progress …
I meant to includes this in the previous post regarding the cast forms for the vac canopy. The female form should be carved away down to the line where the canopy meets the fuselage in order that the canopy’s edges can be worked by filing, scraping , sanding etc. as needed . This is easiest to due when the plaster is still green - it will have a hard cheese like texture and can be easily worked with a utility knife.
The canopy has been installed and seams worked with Tamiya surfacer
and masked with Bare Metal Foil.
… then shot in black for the interior frame color …
… and then more grey primer …
Looks like it may need one more go around withe the primer then on to pre shading .
Thanks for looking - RT
Thanks Joel & Oliver for the kind words & interest .
I’ve received the reference I have been waiting on -our regular mailman is on vacation and his replacement real bolluxed things - besides missing our entire street two days in a row , this book was delivered to someone on the next block who kindly brought it to me this morning .
I have completed the plan on paper and have roughed out the basswood decking to be glued up to the MDF base block
Decking will be natural although I will have to do some staining to make it look like individual planks - yet to be worked out.
next up pre shading on the Zero.
Thanks for looking in- RT
Decking glued up , edges dressed and lined with white styrene -
Paste mixed up of Durhams , water and Stynylrez black primer for tarred seams in deck -
Paste screeded into seams with utility knife blade -
Finished surface will look like test sample on right - bare decking given 2 coats of acrylic satin polyurethane , paste worked in and then scraped down when dry -
