This may be a first for me, building the same subject back-to-back. After building a Hasegawa Model A6M3 Model 22 (ok…not exactly the same), I decided I needed a Pearl Harbor Model 21 Zero in my collection. During research for this endeavor, I came across a story I read about years ago. It involved Airman First Class Shigenori Nishikaichi, who piloted A6M2b “BII-120” from carrier Hiryu during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Nishikaichi was part of the second wave attack on Pearl Harbor and was tasked with bomber escort and subsequent attacks on airfields. His plane was hit and was losing fuel rapidly. Instead of trying to make it back to Hiryu, he opted to make an emergency landing on Niihau Island, which is the western-most Hawaiian island. Japanese intel mistakenly thought the island was uninhabited and chose it as a destination for damaged Japanese planes to land and await rescue. On Nishikaiachi’s landing, his wheels caught a fence and the zero bellied in which damaged it beyond repair. He would later try to burn the plane but only succeeded in destroying the cockpit (below).
After the landing, a local farmer on the island took the dazed pilot’s pistol and papework. What happened over the next few days would be one of the deciding factors regarding the controversial interment of Japanese Americans during WW2. To condense a relatively long story for our purposes here, Nishikaiachi enlisted (more like brainwashed) the assistance of a local farmer of Japanese ancestry and the pair made vain attempts at trying to get his paperwork back from the initial farmer so Nishikaiachi could escape. Locals eventually became aware of the attack on Pearl Harbor and had no interest in aiding Hishikaiachi in his endeavor. Nishikaiachi, along with the Japanese farmer, then chose to use intimdation and force to retrieve the property. They found some guns and even retrieved the machine guns from the Zero as an additional persuasive measure. They held the islanders hostage and a confrontation eventually took place where Nishikaiachi was “body-slammed” into a stone wall by an immense Hawaiian Cowboy named “Ben” Kanahele. During this struggle, Nishikaiachi managed to pull a pistol from his boot and shoot Ben three times in the process. This apparently only angered him further. Ben’s wife then slit the injured pilot’s throat which then ended his life. His Japanese cohort then took his own life.
Interestingly, Ben Kanahele was awarded a Medal of Merit and a Purple Heart for his actions. Nishikaiachi was recognized as well and a statue in his honor has been erected in his hometown in Japan. As I indicated earlier, US authorities got wind of what happened and it allegedly played a part in the decision for the interment.
These are the type of stories that inpsire me…modeling history. I shall endeavor to build BII-120 as it appeared on the Hiryu before take off on the day of infamy.
Now on to the model. I found a Model 21 on Ebay relatively cheap. It’s the training version but has the necessary parts to build a normal Model 21. I have an old Berna decal sheet left over from my Sakai build which will allow me the ability to piece together the markings needed. Aftermarket will consist of an Ultracast seat.
I figure BII-120 was an early Mitsubishi-built Zero and was probably in new condition. I will weather accordingly. The cockpit was first. I used XF-71 Cockpit Green with a touch of XF-49 Khaki to brown it up a bit. The dials are the kit decals. The OOB pit decent and the Ultracast seat goes along way in improving it. If you would like to see how I do my cockpits, there is a step-by-step tutorial in the following build thread…http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/160714.aspx
It wasn’t long before I got to the airframe. These are fairly simple. Here we have a test fit.
All looked good on test fit, but I ended up have some minor wing root issues when I later primered the joints. The wing was slightly thicker than the root itself which left a step, so I had to do some sanding. Perhaps operator error, but I recall similar issues with my Sakai zero. .
Next I rig the Sakae 12. Stay tuned…
Joe
