Hey Jason,
Thank you very much for the pix…!! Most appreciated… Like I said, I am not into the whole Japanesse a/c deal so my references are limited… For now that is[:P]
Thanks again and your seat configiration looks great!!
Flaps up,
Mike
Rangers Lead The Way
A small update tonight. I finished wiring up the starboard cockpit side, and opened up the reflector for the right cockpit light. I wasn’t happy with the ejector pin marks on the handles of the two prominant levers there either, so I removed the handles (after measuring them!), drilled out the mounting pins, and made new levers out of wire. After heating and balling up the ends with the torch, I cut them to length then installed them in the kit parts. The little kit plastic pieces with the levers removed are so tiny! Glad I was able to modify them without launching them across the room! [:O]
I also sprayed the inside of the fuselage with Alclad II, then sprayed the Aotake coating in the tail gear bay. While I was masking, I cut thin strips of Tamiya tape and masked the gluing surfaces all the way around the fuse halves. The tolerances are so tight when attaching them I didn’t want to risk sanding one too much and having a gap to fill that cleaning up would damage.
Hoping to wire up the Port side soon so we can paint the cockpit!
Looking good Frank…!! The extra effort is really showing… I am tinkering w/ the PE for my Zero’s seat…!! Fun freakin joy!! LOL
Flaps up,
Mike
Rangers Lead The Way
Looking sweet Frank. How much of the rear fuz is going to be seen on this?
…Guy
Thanks fellas! Any progress pics yet Mike? I’m excited to see more about your kit. [tup]
Guy- Not much of the fuse should be visible, so I just gave it a decent NMF finish so if the penlight people ever shine one down there, they’ll see it’s painted. [:D]
That’s a really breathtaking cockpit, Frank! Lightyears ahead of my abilities, but I love the fine details there![tup]
By the way, have you seen the speaker wires for my stereo?[%-)]
Thanks Roger! [:D]
Um, nope…[:-^]
Top-Drawer, all the way!
Uh huh…
[swg]
Looks awesome, Frank! It’s amazing what just a few little bits of wire will do for a model.
What color do you use to replicate aotake in the wheel wells? Whatever you’re using, it looks great. I’ve heard of lot of different - and fiercely held - opinions on that one. The Tamiya 1/48 Zero I have doesn’t give paint callouts for the wheel wells, either. [%-)]
Keep it up, this one is going to look sweeeeet!
Kevin
Thanks Kevin!
I agree, a little extra work and some wire can really add a lot to a cockpit. For the Aotake, I first sprayed some Alclad II primer then some aluminum. When that had dried, I mixed some Tamiya clear blue and a hint of clear green and sprayed that, slowly building up the effect. From what I have read, this elusive color ranged anywhere from a predominantly blue to an apple green. Time and sunlight morphed it from the original blueish hue to apple green. I figured the tailgear bay wouldn’t get much light, so I went with predominantly blue. I read over on J-aircraft .com that Polly S Metalline #501994 Anodized Blue Metal is a near perfect match for aotake, though I have never tried it.
For the wheelwells and inner gear doors on the A6M5, Mitsubishi used a color similar to FS 24201, which is remarkably close to German RLM02. Nakajima used the aotake lacquer. HTH! [tup]
Frankie loving this step-by-step approach to this build (yes, I don’t comment often on Spits and 109’s…but I always look!)
Really great food for modelers you are putting out. The paint mixing hints are extraordinary!
Wow!
I fancy building a Zero and your usefull tips are invaluable Frank. Top man. Hasn’t Tamiya just bought out Brand new tooled zero? Or did i just dream that.
…Guy
Thanks Nam! I just popped in for a minute to check out the forums. (Katie’s still sleeping!) Glad you are finding this helpfull. [tup] I am going to use a custom color mix for the Nakajima interior color. I found a good one over at J-aircraft, looking forward to seeing how it turns out![:D]
Guy-Thanks my friend, if you do decide to build one of the new 1/48 Tamiya A6M5’s, I would be happy to help you with references. Butz has a thread started here on that kit, looks to be another nice one from Tamiya.
I just did a search for Butz’s thread but couldnt find it… Boooo.
…Guy
Here you go Guy…[;)]
click here!
Frank,
I was tracking your post and finally I ordered my first Japanese aircraft [:)]
Tamiya 1/48 Zero , I know it is not 1/32 but I do not have enough space to do such large scale [:)]. Also thanks to you I started using Gunze paint. Pretty nice results. I am pleased with H Series from Gunze.
Thanks Frank !
Greg,
Thank you very much! Absolutely my favorite thing about this hobby is hearing someone say that I was able to inspire them to try something, or encourage them to build something they normally wouldn’t. I am glad to hear you like the Gunze paint line, incredible stuff in my opinion. Too bad it’s so difficult to get a hold of! My next build will DEFINATELY be a US aircraft so I can use my newly acquired bottles of Gunze Interior Green! [:D]
I am very excited to see you work on your Zero Greg!
[:)] Frank, ordering is pretty far from starting a build [:)]. I just started another one - hoping it will be a quick one: P-40E from 9FS 49FG in Australia - at least something near “Zero” [:)]. Tonight I am thinking of converting Hasegawa 1/48 F-86F-30 into E-10 [:)].
Howdy Frank, Its funny you should ask, I’ll post some WIP’s tonight of the Lil Brother for ya K? So far its a nice break from remodeling I tell ya… LOL So how’s your Zero coming along? Flaps up, Mike Rangers Lead The Way |
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