I just finished my Hasegawa A6M2 type 21 Zeke for the Pearl Harbor group build, so I thought I’d share some pics with you. I added Verlinden flaps and wingfolds. The color is from information in the j-aircraft site (a MUST for anyone building WW II Japanese aircraft). The Aotake blue, an anti-corrosive, was made by painting the parts MM non-buffing Aluminum, followed by a coat of Gunze clear blue. I wasn’t too happy with the fit of the Verlinden parts, and my color mix for the airframe could have used more green. Hope you like it, and thanks for letting me share it with you.
That’s really good work there, Pix! How did you get the white nice and even? Oh, and did you saw off the rudder yourself or was that a part of the verlinden set? If only i could build half as good as you! [:D]
Great looking Zeke. Another masterful build. Can’t tell from the photos, but wondered if you thought the process you used for the Aotake Blue was better than just using the Model Master premixed color. Being inherently lazy, that’s what I usually use, but the Forum is beginning to make me want to sharpen up a bit.
Thanks for the comments, fightinjoe, rattrap, shrikes, John, Rick, & Dan !
shrikes - there isn’t any white on the aircraft. It was painted with a mix of Polly S old concrete & Color of Eagles Brit. int. green. I could have added more green to the mix, but I completely repainted it once already, & I didn’t want to fill the panel lines. I really didn’t care for the Polly S. It lifted with drafting tape (drafting tape couldn’t lift Alcad !).
Rick - I was a little lazy (and cheap) with the Aotake. I prefer Alcad for metallics, but the MM didn’t require a primer. I think this way (metallic covered by clear blue) is a much more effective way of painting Aotake. I can vary the shade, and even do the shade that’s much greener.
Here’s a link to some info on some of the Pearl Harbor Zekes. The markings I chose are at the top of the page. This was one of the aircraft shot down on Dec. 7th.
rattrap - here’s a link to a lot of color pics of type 52s, in museums. If you click on “Home Page,” you’ll find a lot of period B&W pics of just about every WW II Japanese Navy & Army planes. http://www.warbirdpix.com/armynavy.htm
hey Pix, that zero is number one!
-very nice job… can you further explain the use of green on the body of the aircraft - I remember reading one time that some kind of amber coating was applied to Jappanese naval aircraft.
Jack - the amber color to which you refer may be the coating that was said to have been applied to the A5M “claudes” operating in China. This page from j-aircraft
shows pics, profiles, & info about the Pearl Harbor Zekes.
Filibert - I wanted to keep this bird clean. It was shot down on Dec. 7th, and I’m sure that the planes were in top shape before they left the carriers. They were representing the pride of the Japanese, and the officers on board probably made sure that the planes were meticulous.
Thanks again ! Now, if I could just decide what to build next…
pix, it is easy to sing praises of your builds. and thanks for the links. hadnt been to j-aircraft in a while. they have lots of new things to look at.
Looks good pix. How do you get your cockpit’s looking so good. My cockpit on my Trumpeter 1/32 Wildcat looks atrocious. Not any better than I did 30 years ago.
Tim - I first airbrush all the components with the cockpit color, then apply Future. After its cured, I paint the details with a #000 brush, under magnification (I have one of those lamps with the big lens & florescent ring). The paints are enamels, so I can clean up the edges without disturbing the base coat. I then spray more future for the wash. I use an enamel wash of the base color darkened with black. When this is dry, I clean up the wash with a #000 brush, with just a whiff of thinner on the bristles. This cleans up any rough edges in the detail painting (knobs, instruments, etc.) It then gets a dullcoat (Testors), followed by a drybrush of the individual colors, lightened with Titanium white oil paint. The last things to be painted are ant metallics (switches, etc.)
For the cockpit in this Zeke, I used the kit decals for the instruments.
Glad you liked it, and thanks for all the kind words !
