Ok 'tong mga kits na 'to for practice. Cheap and readily available. Marami pa akong mistakes dito pero I learned a lot from this little plane. Comments, especially from the Braille scale gurus, are very welcome.

Hi Jeepney,

That's one good-looking plane my friend. I'm not an expert on modeling but I've attempted to build the very same kit (hindi ko lang natapos). Anyone who finishes a kit is an expert in my books. Did you use Tamiya paints?

Hunter

Thanks Hunter! Pure Tamiya acrylics gamit ko (halata ba sa lineup sa background? hehe). Tamiya JN Green and JN Gray for the camo and custom mixes sa iba. Mali nga color ko sa gear wells. Dapat metallic blue or something. Sige lang practice lang naman

Jeepney,

OK lang iyon. For me, it doesn't matter what the so-called experts say, basta tapos iyong model. I'm building for my enjoyment and that is paramount. Color & markings inaccuracies are secondary, di ba? Of course, if you are building for a competition that is another story. Sige lang, gawa lang ng gawa.

Would you mind bringing it the next meeting (if you are attending). I'd like to see it.

Cheers,

Hunter

Hi Jeep,

First of all, it's a nice build. I can't see details very well because of the shadows in the pictures. Anyway, I guess you still don't have some future for the clear parts. Apply it on your cockpit will do wonders for your plane. There's some guys at the IPMS_BAC that might have some for sale. Next meeting ask around.

Again, I can't see the details well but the wings and mufflers need weathering. Are you planning to add a stretch sprue aerial antenna? Alternative would be a strand of hair. maybe you can find some in your wifes' hairbrush or pluck some from your own. Glue at each end with CA and voila you will have a very fine and strong antenna wire.

Hope the above recommendations helps,
Wanze

Will try to bring it along on the Feb meeting Hunter

Thanks Wanze! Di nga maganda lighting sa table ko next time try ko ibahin ang setup. May precioussss bottle ako of Future pero isang coat lang nilagay ko sa canopy. Ilang coats ang kelangan para todo ganda? Wala pang weathering yan except the usual household dust. And marami akong sources ng hair galing sa hairbrush nya so no worries there

Hi Jeepney,

That's a great model you got there and like what Hunter said, as long as you enjoy doing it and you finished it. I am an avid IJA and IJN modeller and if you need any details or references, color shemes, shades and camo let me know.... Let me share with you some comments in modeling the Zero:

A6M5cs were built by both Mitsubishi and Nakajima. The colors of these two aricraft vaired in shades as both companies used a certain shade of greens. So they are classified as IJN Green (Mitsubishi) and IJN Green (Nakajima) and IJN Grey (Mitsubishi) and IJN Grey (Nakajima). The demaraction lines form the upper surface and the lower surface differed depending on who produced it. Nakajima had a curving demarcation to the tail while the Mitsubishi based a/c had a slanted demarcation towards the tail. That's one way how to determine if the Zero was produced by any of the two companies. The other is thru their data plates. The cowling should have a blue-black color for Mitsubishi aircraft and Black-Grey for Mitsubishi. The shade varied due oxidation and for being exposed to the elements.

If you used XF-11 (IJN Green) -- that color is the Nakajima IJN Green shade.

As for the wheel wells,the best way to simulate the metalic shade is to spray the wells with silver and then mist it ith either a clear blue or clear green (or a mix of both). Note that the real zeroes had natural metal wheel wells and that it was covered with a clear varnish with a tinit of blue or blue green to prevent corrosion or sparks (that explains the metalic blue green appearance).

HTH and FWIW,
El Jefe

Hi Jeepney. That ones a pretty good build there. I'm no expert sa modeling lalo na sa aircraft but I tried it once while I was still there, I dipped my F-15's canopy not in Future but into some J&J acrylic floor polish(forgot the name) then placed it on a tissue paper to remove the excess liquid. Then I covered it to protect from dust & let dry for about a day. The result was a clear & shiny canopy.

Great post El-Jefe! Very informative! I thought the demarcation line only differed between planes of different squadrons. Academy's painting guide only says that the cowling should be painted flat black. Your tip on how to paint the gear wells will be very useful. Methinks this will not be the last IJN plane on my shelf

Na-scratch din siguro canopy nito after handling it a lot of times, cardinal. Baliktad ata tayo kasi ako na nandito Future gamit, ikaw na nandyan Wipe and Shine . Kinda ironic. Anyway, one of my mistakes dito, nakalimutan kong i-mask ang windows sa left side! Pansin nyo may ibang panes of "glass" na puro gasgas hehe

That'll be attributed to battle damage Jeep.

Looks very nice! I like the even paint job. And the decals look crisp and properly placed! The rivet detail is also very apparent. Good build! Me likes it... me likes it a lot. :-)

Hi Jeep,

Cardinal's dip technique is spot on. Try it out!

I agree with El Jefe and Hunter; enjoy the hobby and build for yourself and your collection. Most of my collection is 1/72 OOB with a few obvious modifications and each one came out the way I liked it.

In contests, the motivations are relative to one's objectives. If you want to win, attention to detail is a must from reference, paint, weathering, and other nerve racking stuff. Even them one must enjoy the build!

Thanks GI! It does look cool on the shelf.

Wilco Wanze! Actually na-dip ko na 'to once sa Future. Ilang coats ba ang optimal?

Enjoyment really counts a lot. May mga kits ako dito na nawalan na ako ng gana at di matapos-tapos. Nandyan pa rin sila waiting until gaganahan na naman ako. Kung kelan yun di ko alam

Jeep,

Usually once OK, na. I guess that the photo does not do justice to your model. Are the scratches really bad? There is a technique to remove/reduce scratches but I have not tried it (Involves sanding the scratches away by sanding progressively using very fine sandpaper and then dipping it in Future. Scary stuff!!). Try asking asking Buck or El Jefe.

Sweet my friend! I like it! Ang ganda ng emphasis mo sa panel lines. I really need to practice the wash technique. Medyo marumi yung glass parts. I can see some scratches. Will post more later. Nasa school ako kaya medyo madilim yung pics. Laterz!

Thanks SR! Actually walang wash pa 'to. Hiniwa ko lang ang decals para mukhang painted on

Regarding removing the scratches, basically what Wanze said. You use different grades of sandpaper, usually from 600 down to 800 until you use a buffing (?) cloth. It involves using toothpaste (not the gel type, rather the pure white substance) as the rubbing compound and you sand the scratches away in small, slow, circular movements, doing so progressively using the coarsest sand paper (600 wet) down to 800 or even 1200 wet, and after that, the cloth. When the scratches are practically gone, it's time to dip the canopy in Future. Viola! No more scratches.

Now I can see the beauty! Ganda ng panel lines nya! From that angle, para syang nilagyan ng wash. Pansin ko lang na masyado atang malinis yung pod sa ilalim ng AC.




Now where did you get one? :-)

Drop tank yang nasa ilalim. Totally wala pang weathering 'to. Mas gusto ko naman ang squeaky clean look for now

Future? Secret!!! #:-)

I traded an Academy Humvee kit for it and I'm guarding it with my life

Astig! Kakainggit! #:-)

That's nice to hear that your A6M5 is not the last IJN plane in your plans. Be glad to help you out as that's right up my alley.... Flat black is a safe color for the cowling. It's only when you get a little techy that you tend to go down into details. Remember dont get caught with AMS (Advance Modeller Syndrome)-- most of us dont finish models becaue we dont have the reference or we are looking for an aftermarket detail set. .. Like the Nike Slogan: "Just Do it" but with an Asics touch "Do it better"...

Again, great work on your Zero

BTW, highly detailed ba ang interior nya?

I was refering to the time that I was back there in 'pinas & didn't have any idea where to get Future so I improvised. Right now I do have Future but I use it mostly when applying decals. I haven't built any aircraft model for quite some time now. I do armor but am always open to try out something new. Like what GI said, you could make any imperfection in the canopy as sort of like battle damage or worn out look. I like to see battle damage done to my armor models so I always experiment in doing it to them. Unfortunately I don't always get the effect that I want, maybe if I have one of those Dremel tools, hmmmm.

Jeep,

I like it!! Never got to build a Zero, but I like this one. Cant wait to see it "in the flesh". Dont be too hard on yourself, Jeep. Thats a great looking model you built.

Lemme guess, you used Tamiya Cement 'no? Hehehe!

El-Jefe: AMS afflicts us all. Hirap nga gumawa ng OOB lalo na kung maraming ka nang references

SR: Usual stick, seat and basic consoles lang ang interior. Di ko na nga pininturahan ang details dahil closed canopy naman. Nakalimutan ko rin yung round antenna sa likod ng pilot

Cardinal: Pwede ko sigurong sabihin na nasuka ang piloto sa canopy hehe

Buck: Tnx! Paano mo nalaman Tamiya cement gamit ko??? #:-)

Tell me about it.