Greetings from
Singapore!!
If you are into WWII
aircraft then, you must have the Zero in your collection. There are many Zeros
out there. This being Tamiya’s A6M5c Model 52. The ‘c’ version was the
last of the Model 52 series and it had an improved and modified armament system.
The typical 7.7mm machine guns in the cowling of the Zero were relocated to the
wings where they were paired with two 20mm canons (1 pair in each wing). A 13mm
gun was then installed in the cowling, taking up the right hand space. This gave
the ‘c’ a much better punch than its preceding half-sisters. The ‘c’ can
also carry four air-to-air rockets OR four 30kg air burst bombs OR two 60kg
conventional bombs.
This is one of
Tamiya’s older kits, with raised lines. However, quality was still good –
just what you expect from Tamiya. I re-scribed the lines which turned out to be much
harder than anticipated to the point I regretted ever starting the dam exercise
in the first place. Fit was also good as I encountered no oversized gaps. The entire kit was
built OOB as I was in a bit of a hurry to finish the kit
before going on a short holiday with my CO (AKA the wife). The only
non-in-the-box item added were the seatbelts from Eduard's IJN set
Click on
images below to see larger images
I applied Tamiya X-11 Chrome
Silver as the base coat which was later protected with a coat of Future.
Since
the kit came in green plastic hence difficult to spot blemishes, the silver
was like a godsend. At this stage, re-scribing several panel lines was necessary before I
applied the typical green top (Tamiya XF-11 JN Green) and grey bottom (Tamiya
XF-12 JN Grey). Weathering was by sticky-tape and blade peeling before
applying 2 coats of Future.
I decided to depict the kit as the
one flown by ace pilot CPO Tanimizu Takeo, 303 Squadron/203 Flying Group,
Kagoshima Air Base in 1945 (markings provided with the kit). Tanimizu survived
the war - one of the few great IJN aces that lived through WWII - having
accumulated 1425 flight hours (in Nates and Zeros) and credited with 32
victories.
I tried
something new with the weathering. I used the Tamiya Weathering Master Set B to
tone down the gloss finish you’ll get with Future. I used a sponge-head
applicator (similar to a Q-tip but with a sponge head) to apply ‘snow’ from
the weathering kit directly onto the Zero, panel by panel. It dulled the finish
and provided for some difference in tone without having to add a different coat
of paint. It was tedious but worth it. Thanks to the brothers here, I tried for
the first time the art of panel washing by using artist’s oil paint. It was
surprisingly easy to do and the effect looked great. Thank God I followed
through with the re-scribing!
On a more personal note, I am
very thankful to the experts in ARC who posted their tips, odds and ends. It was
tremendously helpful for me. I found myself trying their ideas on the kits I
build. Sure as hell beat having to do research!! Thanks bros.
Rai
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