Airfix Mitsubishi A6M2b Zero (A01005)

[GarethCrossland]

SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

I started building models (badly) when I was a young lad. I was always impatient and I could never wait for the glue or paint to dry which lead to some of the most grotesque model aeroplanes in the history of the world. All smeared paint and fingerprints. I tried to make some of them look as though they were shot down by sticking hamster bedding from the exhaust to look like smoke. My dad commented with "Why have those planes got beards?" Ahem. They hung from my bedroom ceiling with fishing line until my dad knocked them down by accident and stood on them. The last model I built was a Monogram Blue Thunder when I was about 15. It didn't turn out well and ended up in the bin. So I haven't built a model for about thirty years. A couple of weeks ago I decided try again. Older, wiser and more patient perhaps? I bought an Airfix Mitsubishi A6M2b Zero 1/72 (A01005) as I'd heard lots of good comments about the kit on the interweb. I bought an airbrush (Badger 155 Anthem) and a Badger compressor (BA1100) fairly cheaply off eBay as I hate painting with a brush. My dad used to be a panel beater and had got me a DeVilbiss airbrush and compressor (cheap through work) when I was in my teens, but I hadn't used one since then as I sold it straight after the "Blue Thunder" debacle.

So here we are. The Airfix Zero is finished. My first finished model in over thirty years. Straight out of the box. The only thing I did was to drill the holes in the seat. So what did I like about it? The new tooling is outstanding. The molding has hardly any flash or seam lines and it went together very well with a minimum of filling and sanding. Nothing like the Airfix kits of old which you needed to fill the gaps with a trowel. There's quite a lot of cockpit detail for such a small model too.

I primed the model with a Tamiya rattle can. It was ok, but I think it sprays a bit too fierce and you have to hold it further away. For the next model I'm going to try Ultimate primer as I can shoot it through my airbrush.

I tried pre shading, but it didn't show up too well as I put too many coats of paint over it.

The decals were, for the most part, a pleasure to use. The yellow leading edge stripes took a lot of persuading to fold around the leading edge. If (when) I build this model again I might try painting them on.

So what don't I like? Well the stuff I don't like is mostly down to me. I managed to destroy the gear doors removing them from the sprue, so gear up! The panel line wash is ok, but I probably should have used a darker colour on the green. I do like how the underside has turned out. Nice and grotty. Maybe a bit too much though. I used Humbrol oil stain wash for the fuel streaks from the drop tank and red filler caps and I like how that has turned out.

I tried using the sponge method for the paint chipping, but I think I've overdone it. I might try the salt chipping technique next time to get a more subtle effect. I'm happy with the way the exhaust and gun stains turned out, though they may also be a bit overdone.

The canopy. OH HELP ME CHEESUS! I thought I'd be able to get away with painting it freehand, but no. It looks awful. Next time I'll buy a mask.

I'm sorry for the long winded intro and for the photo quality (phone camera).

All constructive critique and suggestions are more than welcome.

Thanks for reading,

Gareth.

[ElCapitan]

Hi Gareth,

After reading your intro and self-criticisms, when I scrolled down to see the photos I expected...well i'm not sure what I expected! As a matter of fact I was pleasantly surprised, I think it looks great! This is how I'd like my own models to look!

Now to get some fishing line?

[strawnobi]

Welcome back to the hobby!!! You did a very nice job for your first time in such a long while. I must say that I can relate to your story. I started building models at age 8. I've built everything from model rockets to R/C aircraft which re my true love (18 years of experience with R/C building and flying although I haven't done much since moving to Japan). But until I was about 17 I suffered from lack of patience and it's the skill all modeler's need more of and can't seem to quite get as much as we want. But as you achieve success in a build you gain confidence and more patience comes with experience. This is a very nice zero. The only advice I would offer is if you want a slightly more subtle look to your soot, try Tamiya's smoke color it's X-19. It's a very effective color to add burn marks and soot near your guns and exhaust. I also use it for post shading over panel lines. I hope you stick with it as this is a glorious hobby.

Cheers from Japan,
Matt

[sheppsea]

I think its a great outcome

[TommyKillander]

Hi Gareth,

Welcome back to the hobby!

I was laughing out loud when I read about your adventures as a young scalemodellist, I recognise a lot of that from my own youth. No patience, lots of tube-glue and aircraft that looked like something from a horror-movie. The models that where not killed by my mothers vacuum-cleaner where set on fire or shot into tiny pieces with firecrackers or my buddies airgun. Yeah,. that's how I rolled in the 70-ties



You did a marvelous job on the Zero "Zeke" !

The weathering on the bottom side is really good and the chipping of the engine cowling looks really cool. I can image that brushpainting the canopy was a tough job... It's still hard using a precut canopy mask (those lines between the windows are really really thin).

I hope to see more of your work in the future.


Tommy

[GarethCrossland]

Thanks for the kind words and advice guys! I'm going to try Tamiya X-19 on the next kit for the smoke stains.

[Davethepitch]

I may do a plane build one day as yours has inspired me.

[GarethCrossland]

I may do a plane build one day as yours has inspired me.

It's funny, but I haven't really built anything but planes. I built a Millennium Falcon kit when I was a lad. I tried to make it look like the film with damage and dirt. A friend commented with "Have you spilled paint all over it?" Hmmm...