I am going to get started on my A6M5 for this GB this coming week. But I was going through my stash, when I came across this kit that my daughter brought back for me on her trip to Japan a couple of years ago.
While not necessarily a military subject, it is a Japanese subject. If appropriate for the GB, I will add it to my list for this one.
A very modest start on the Zero this morning. I drilled holes into the seat backing that I have found on photos of the real seat, and were part of the Tamiya kit as well.
Got the Type 97 Late underway last night and got some more time on it this evening.
Lower and upper hull mostly done and turret assembled. Gonna add the wheels after I paint,
a lesson learned from the 97 early I just finished.
And here’s a shot of the early version I finished this weekend
Ready for the paint booth. I will try to airbrush it. Guess if I don’t like it-out with brushes.
Maybe 3 hours or so to get this far.
Seeing your tank building process got me to thinking about the different mindsets of modelers and where we focus on detail.
Car modelers add a ton of detail to the engine, undercarriage and interior of their models. I’ve seen videos where the modeler painstakingly creates working trunk hinges from scratch because the kit hinges were too clunky. They even make sparkplug wires and distributers. Their engine compartments are amazing.
Us airplane guys add details to the cockpit and engin areas but not to that extent. We run hydraulic lines in the wheel wells and detail out gun bays but the level of detail is commensurate with scale.
Tank builds all seem to focus completely on the outside of the model. I can’t recall any that detail out engine bays or transmissions. You guys add all kinds of tools and equipment to the outside of the tank though.
This is where I am at with the Revell Zero before I head out to the bench in a little bit:
Lots of big gaps to fill. I mixed some sprue goo last night, which seems to be my new preferred filler (even though I just bought both a tube of Tamiya putty and some red glazing Bondo putty). My plan today is to get these gaps filled and remove seams, mask the clear parts, and put down a coat of primer. Bad weather for the day + my wife working much of this day = no Valentine’s Day plans (but she had last night off, so we did all of that then).
A bit of progress here on my end, I went down with a bit of preshading, marbling, and topcoat.
My marbling ended up a bit too opaque but the real wild horse of the show was the final paint color : it’s definitely a hard debate 
I think we are used, in general depiction, to a very light, almost creme color - sometimes it’s even white or light grey -
But it seems it wasn’t so at all.
Even the “grey green” scheme is apparently not entirely right !
I perused Nick Millman’s Aviation of Japan website ( a reference, as I’m sure people here already knew ) and a close match would be RAL 7034 Gelbgrau, a kind of yellow grey.
This particular paint was even created with Nick’s help.
Anyway it’s all well and good but now I’m here with my oh so green XF76 and I have to mix.
I basically went two ways : 10:1 XF-76 Grey/Green IJN and XF-49 Khaki, which wasn’t bad but too dark, so I quickly rotated to 20:10:2 XF-55 Deck Tan , XF-76 Grey/Green IJN, XF-59 Desert Yellow.
Still, it’s a very metameric mix that switches hue incredibly easily under different lighting, so I’ll just hope it looks good enough in the end because I have virtually no way to test final display conditions.
A cautionnary tale : the way eduard cockpit tub is build, it leaves gaping holes behind/under the instruments panel. With the nose still open ( I will attach the engine and engine cowl later ) I tought I’d “shishkebab” the model for easier handling during paint.
I didn’t fix the stick well enough and it went through the gaps and apparently flattened one of the pedals. I can only hope there isn’t any other damage inside. Fortunately, the canopy is not fixed, and with any luck I will be able to straigthen that pedal up in the end, but given that it IS a PE part, it may just break. Fingers crossed … I’m not there yet.
( I’m also very surprised they would make us paint stuff impossible to see behind or under the tub, but ignore the inside of the node entirely. Maybe I miss a step. Dunno. )
This particular kit is absolutely devoid of any interior or engine bay detail. It would require scratchbuilding the complete interior, something I don’t want to take the time with. I just finished a Revell 1/72 scale Morane Saullnier N that I reshaped the fuselage, repositoned the wings, and added some cockpit details to. A 12 year off and on project. I mostly build planes, so yeah, I add
all the stuff I can within the limitations of my ability (and mood at the time). Agree most tank builds focus on exterior additions and weathering.
Got started on the Zuikaku - Chunks of the hull in place, primer on, now starting on paint.
Akatsuki also in progress, providing an escort.
Oh, and shoutout to @CrashTestDummy - I purchased my new favorite tweezers after seeing his recommendation from some time ago. Appreciate the weight and especially the length - they are longer than what I had been using. The locking feature comes in handy, too.
The Revell Zero is progressing, now coated with grey primer for hopefully some dark black green and ash grey tomorrow.
Well, not always true. There are armor kits with full interior. Here is a Panther in 1/48 that I built last year
Good to know I can still help. I’ve found you have to be careful with those locking pick-ups, because they can provide some energy should the part slip from their jaws. =8-0. Lately, I’ve been using what are called ‘lollipops’, which are really tiny pick-ups that have 2-3mm hollow round ends on them, looking much like a lollipop, hence the name. Got them as throw-aways from the OR my wife works in. Had to straighten them a bit, but they have done well holding tiny parts.
That is outstanding work! Bravo!
@Aggieman you are making fast work of that old Revell kit. Very impressive I must say!
@DrKoin , Your zero is looking great. I see that you have fallen into the Pit of Pigment Perfectionism 
Yea, I made that up. I have done the same in the past and have to admit that researching these J-Aircraft schemes can be quite interesting.
Wow @freem , That was fast! Not a bad looking little tank. should be fun to paint!
Your early version look great. I might have to pick up one of these kits.
You are off to a good start @FlankMe. I Will be following this build closely!
Ill join with an Aoshima 1/32 Isuzu Erga Kyoto city bus. Was about 10% done up until a week ago if that counts.
Sure that is no problem at all. Welcome aboard. I will add you to the roster!
Nice alliteration! My English teacher wife would be very impressed!
