Tamiya 1/32 Mitsubishi A6M2B Zero Fighter Model 21 ZEKE

[Bzzymatt]

Bzzymatt 2012 Summer Project!!!! (Out of the box review)

 

[TRM]

Nice review!!! Looking forward to the build! Good luck! I have a Zero build planned for June 1st possibly!!!! Going to be a Japanese Summer it seems!!! ;D

 

[Bzzymatt]

Here are a few photos of what you get with the kit

 

[Chris S]

Cool ...look forward to this

Chris.

 

[Glorfindel]

Bzzymatt that's a great looking kit there. There are some nice panel lines there that I can see.

 

[Bzzymatt]

Thanks!! and yes there are very well detailed panel lines. I'm going to be heading to an IPMS competition this weekend to talk to my friend who is an expert on Japanese aircraft. I'll be able to get some color mixtures and everything for the metallic blue and such....I already have a technique for the metallic blue, but I want to see what my friend has to say. I may have to darken the metallic blue just a little bit.

 

[Bzzymatt]

O.k. here is the process so far. I'm enjoying the build, but the seat belts are just so irritating some times.

The seat belts are made of like a piece of tape with a very poor adhesive on the back, but I'll have to glue them on when I finish assembling them.


Still need to patch a few places


Copper wire was added for more detail







More updates will be available probably by early next week.

Matt

 

[FlipFlop]

Nice quick start. Will be following.
Subscribed and liked.

Cheers.

 

[Chris S]

The cockpit is looking very good ...as are the belts . Keep at it

Chris.

 

[Bzzymatt]

For many who did not know, the Japanese used this metallic blue as a primer...as it aged it would start to turn green. They used a red primer for the outside of the fuselage and wings, but note that the red primer was not used to make there insignias. My mixture is a layer of floquil old silver, then a very light coat of GTW Blue. After that dries I apply a very light coat of Tamiya clear green. The clear green will show up in areas that are still silver. To top it all off I applied a light layer of MIG black.



Checking to make sure everything is in order



This is a better view of the clear green. Again it will show up where you didn't apply a lot of blue.

 

[adampolo13]

Hey Matt,

Looks good buddy, I really like the blue green technique, kinda like a filter (I think...)

Anyways, any more progress on this one?

Later,

Adam

 

[Chris S]

Adam ,Japanese aircraft were painted a funny electric blue inside

Sorry I missed the last bit ...coming on nice .

Chris.

 

[Bzzymatt]

O.k. so there is one disadvantage to being my age....and that is school I've been stuck doing test, reports and so much more that my work was being held up on this project. So here are some pics of the progress so far.



All the parts are starting to come along nicely



This was as good as I could make the seat belts from this kit. I don't really like these seat belts, but the only advantage they have over photo etched seat belts is that they are very flexible and the details don't chip off as easily as colored photo etch.



Giving the model a dry fit of the cockpit and fuel tank.

I know this is not a big update, but the model is coming along nicely Now that school is almost over the project will be coming along much faster!!!

Matt

 

[okb1982]

awesome! i love the cockpit details chief

cheers!

Iking

 

[Chris S]

Nice to see you back on this one Tidy work on the belts ,they look great . Keep at it ..when you can ,school comes first

Chris.

 

[Chiefpettyofficer]

Ah, the M2b. Nice Start on her

BANZAI!

 

[Bzzymatt]

So. I finally got plenty of spare time back!!! The cockpit is finished, but I have to add some more oxygen tanks and several other details before the cockpit is placed inside the fuselage forever!!




For those who didn't know, I am also a remote control pilot!! and since my mind is all about Japanese zero aircraft, why not get this monster for my collection!!! It is a 1400mm A6M2B Zero "Zeke" just like the one I'm working on right now. It is made entirely of EPO foam, has retractable landing gear, and split flaps!!

More updates on this project will be available soon. I'll be heading off to summer camp for a week starting this Sunday.

 

[Bzzymatt]

So I've had plenty of spare time to work on this zero once again!!! So far I finished the final touches on the cockpit, glued it into the fuselage, built and installed the vertical and horizontal stabilizers, and I'm almost finished with the engine!!! Everything is coming along great!!!

So after looking around on the internet, I saw something that I want to try with this model that I think will be pretty cool after it's finished, but I want to keep it a surprise, so you'll have to wait until I'm done. I'm not sure if what I'm wanting to do will work, but rest assured it will not harm the model.









More updates soon!!!

Matt

 

[JMac]

Good to see the Zero moving along Matt. Looks really good.

 

[greyphantom1000]

love the seatbelts