Hi guys… I am awaiting the arrival of my 1/32 Hasegawa Mitsubishi A6M5c… What I am after, is some information about paint jobs and color schemes… I have a feeling I will stick to the usual 2 tone green and grey Zero scheme. But I am also curious to what other color schemes were used with this model zero? I also like heavily weathered Japanese aircraft, and so I have that in mind also…
I thought I knew alot obout Japanese aircraft, but I simply cant make up my mind as to what I want to do… So I am interested in other opinions and idea’s…
Any info would be greatly appreciated, and or web sites that have color illustrations of different Zero’s and thier squadrons ect… I also have a Nakajima Ki-43 II that will be done in the heavily weathered aluminum with chipped green paint job…
I looked around a bit and by far most list the dk green/light grey scheme… I did run into some things on www.j-aircraft.com (a GREAT source of info for WWII Japanese aircraft) talking about an all over (uppers and unders) semi-gloss IJN Dark Green nightfighter version of the A6M5… also there was a blurb on an A6M5 with a bright orange lower surfaces with dk green uppers single seat trainer… there was a bit of dicord about it though as some claimed it was simply a retouched photo…
I have seen another which was white (light grey?) with dark green splotches on the uppers, similar in pattern to N African campaign camp on Nazi AC… but have yet to find anything historic to back it up… Not to say it didn’t exist because I am by far no expert on Japanese aircraft…
I would check out www.j-aircraft.com though as it will narrow your search a bit… they also have a forum which mught help you find the scheme you are looking for if you asked about it there…
IJN aircraft were fairly plain. The only time they had any interesting color was for Pearl Harbor. Early war was mostly overall gray and late was was the dark green over gray. The Japanese must not have used primer, or used very poor paint because paint chipping was common. Especially later in the war.
The IJA had some interesting camo patterns though.
The first reference I reach for on any aircraft subject is the Squadron “in Action” book for that aircraft (if it exists). I recall looking through the Zero edition a while back and they basically came in basic gray or green and gray.
The only references I can find show the the A6M5c Model 52 Zero’s were in the dark IJNAF green over IJNAF grey. I do have a couple of references for captured aircraft that are in unpainted, bare metal. One in RAAF & one in late war US markings.
Thanks guys… I did look at j-aircraft, and it is a great site … I guess I am trying to tell myself that I want to do something that isnt the usual… But as its a Zero, I guess I should do it the way god inteded it… So the green on grey will probably win out in the end… I will give it the worn chipped look for sure… I dont like Japanese war planes all shiny, as they wouldnt have been that for too long… The Japanese even to this day like to thrash the guts out of everything…
I also mentioned that I will be doing a Ki-43 II, and will have alot of fun playing around with that one!.. I normally do my models with gear down and on display. But I have decided to put the Nakajima up on a stand with a pilot looking around… I am very much interested in other info everyone still has on both!
Chris, A couple of years ago I built the Tamiya motorised zero alongside the ancient Monogram version, using the tamiya to upgrade & accurise the Monogram.
The Tamiya I mounted ‘on deck’ using thin strips of wood veneer & with a flagman alongside to control the launch. Quite effective in ‘Pearl’ grey & I was fighting off people who wanted to buy it, I gave in in the end.
The other, once modified, I primed & then sprayed in car acrylics ( GM silver) once that was well dry I applied thin coats of dark green & grey by brush. Once that was dry, a light sanding with a worn ‘Scotch’ pad revealed just enough silver to make things interesting, then it’s decals, etc. This one was standing on wood covered with sandpaper, pink enough to look like crushed coral. Again, I was beating people off
with a stick, I like to keep my stuff long enough to appreciate it. Then I get my money back & start again!
Good luck with yours, Pete
I’ve mentioned this before, but having had to do a mountain of research on the subject, I strongly agree with those who tell you to go over to j-aircraft.com. Especially look at the research papers and the work of Ryan Toews. You will be surprised to find that the IJN exterior grays, especially, are often nowhere near what is sold to us by the leading hobby paint manufacturers. You’d think, for example, at least Tamiya would get it right. But no.
And the interior colors in kit callouts and sold by the paint companies are, for the most part, not even close. For example, on Mitsubishi Zeroes, especially the mid-war types, the closest color match to the real thing (based on chips found in wrecks that haven’t been sunbleached or oxidized) is Model Master Japanese Army exterior green, which is similar to OD. And don’t believe anybody who tells you there were Zeros with Aotake blue cockpits. J-aircraft will tell tell you the whys and hows, and that’s why I like that site so much.
TOM
I hadnt gotten into that much depth on that site, but I certainly will now, thank you!.. Yeah, I am looking forward to this build, as my Japanese father-in-law loves the history of the Japanese military… He is like a little kid when he see’s something that I am doing. And I am sure a beautifull Zeke in 1/32 scale will bring a smile to his face!..
A while back I did a Betty Bomber (also made by MItsubishi), and after exhaustive research, it seemed the so-called latter-war underside grey was simply uncoated bare oxidized aluminum.
It turns out that as Mitsibishi was cranking out as manny aircraft as possible, and paint was hard to get, thanks to the U.S. Naval blockade of the area, as well as strategic bombing wiping out production factories, it was all they could do to get green paint on the uppers, with no promer whatsoever, hence the typical chipped paint for these aircraft.
So I would not doubt any reference to a bare finish scheme.
What I did for the bare metal was paint the underside of my Betty aluminum, and then go over it with a flat finish coat.
In looking back, though the Testors steel looks closer to oxidized aluminum then just a flat coated aluminum color.
That explains alot for me also… Thank you!.. Such a simple thing in life, and we murder ourselves as to getting it right!.. I have built plenty, and would say I am a better than average builder. But these 2 kits for some reason are starting to scare me, as I want them to to be true to form!
Just had a look at a Hasegawa 1/72 A6M5c kit that I did a while back, and it actually had a two tone camo scheme as the second color scheme… The problem is, for some stupid reason, instead of having the number for the colors, they have just put in a little box “A” & “B”… So I am still not sure what to make of that one??
I’ve seen somewhere a mention of a night fighter which was apparently different BUT :
_ you should have to add an upside firing gun behind the cockpit ( like in Gekkos or German night fighters )
_ the colour was mentioned as “night fighter colour” (sic); does it mean “overall green” or “black” or ?
Maybe someone else knows something about this ( I don’t even know how many planes there were)
I join the pack to advocate a visit to j-aircraft
Well that certainly is interesting!.. I would have assumed they had a night fighter group, but I have never thought of it at all… Interesting you raised that point!.. I sure would like to know what the colors on that instrction sheet are… It just seems strange they would put the second color scheme on there, but not give a color number… What “A” and “B” are supposed to mean is beyond me?
here ya go Chris - the night fighter version… the original didn’t have the upward pointing cannon. LAter ones had either a forward and to the left or rearward and to the left pointing 20mm
The color was overall semi gloss or gloss dark green depending on which article you read.
I’m far from being an expert on Japanese WW2 aircraft but if i can help…
The Gekko model builds I’ve seen in magazines have all been dark green, & these were the night fighter versions of that aircraft, mostly, I’m sure, the Tamiya kit (then again, I don’t think there is another?
As for white, the only ones I’ve seen in pictures are the rocket powered kamikaze a/c,
(lotus blossom?) (looks like a manned V1) & post war shots of Betty bombers which were painted white under the terms of the surrender. They were used to deliver the high ranking surrender parties to the Americans. I think they had green markings?
Hope some of this rambling helps!
Pete
You mean the Okha (aka Baka Bomb by the Americans)? They were painted light gray most of the time. Planes of Fame in Chino, CA has one captured on Okinawa.
I don’t think any Japanese aircraft except the surrender aircraft were painted white. The light colored aircraft were painted light gray.