Tamiya 1/48 A6M5 Zero dead

[mz3]

That must have been the paint I was using because damn it didn't stick for nothing!

Anyways... time to get serious!

Canopy installed...






Added the radio antenna in first, painted the entire deck again in nato black. Then used Elmer's whit.... excuse me, politically correct Glue-All for the canopys. That way if I need to remove them in the future (with the way this build has been, WHEN I need to remove them in the future).

With the antenna, it was missing the vertical "bar" in the middle of the circle parts. So I just found the smallest piece of styrene and glue it in to give the appearance it's there. I left it long to help with glueing it in place. Obviously I cut it before painting. 

[mz3]

I forgot to add that the masks on the inside didn't line up real good. But no worries as the paint there is just basicaly not going to be easy to see. I also cleaned the inside several times to make sure there were no finger prints or gunk. I've read alot of posts and watched a ton of videos where people have been skipping that step then have to go back and fix it.

[tcoat]

Oct 11, 2023 18:06:54 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

I would just say that one, this photo dates from roughly mid 1943, so not exactly late war. The quality control issues of later in the war hadn’t started yet as the sub campaign still had the bad torpedos. And two, I suspect that the green paint was never even applied in those areas that you’re referring to. They are not high traffic areas for the mechanics or armorers.

Neither is the fuselage but it was painted.

It was just an example of how these can be modeled with bad paint for crying out loud.

[mz3]

Round 2... ready....




Same paint as last time, haven't buff ot yet.







I've got 2 different ways I can go. I think I found a good topcoat to actually seal the paint properly. It's mr color premium topcoat gloss. Seems to work so far on the tests I did on the under side of the tail wings. If that doesn't work, I will bypass the hairspray layer and chip it like I did before. I bought some Saipan unit decals and I have the COLORS TO PAINT THE CAMO ON MY ZERO(them are fightin' words!!!🫢

[tcoat]

If it fails again there is an option!

[mz3]

Don't tempt me!

[mz3]

Ok....



The gloss worked about 95% on the first spray. I used a piece of the painters tape to remove the 5% of topcoat that didn't seal, re-rubbed the larger areas and sprayed a second coat. Seems to have done the job. I'm waiting for decals to arrive, they were supposed to be here today, but usps sucks here and I probably won't get them until monday. Once I get them I will start spraying the camo. I might just skip the hairspray. I'll try scrapping the paint like last time. I painted the fuel tank exactly the same way the plane is painted, so I can play with that before going on to the plane.

[406 Silverado]

Oh wow! I like THAT right there mz! Just so you know.......you were a major part of why I bought a Zero kit not too long ago.

[deafpanzer]

I am rooting for you win this time!!! Looking good by the way.

[mz3]

I hate usps!

[mz3]

Like, really hate!

[deafpanzer]

USPS lost another package?

[mz3]

No, they have it. The post office here in Bozeman is probably the worse one in the world. They were supposed to deliver it on friday. They left a "sorry we missed you" tag at the mailboxes, I live in an apartment, they never even tried to deliver it to me and get a signature. Was home all day. So they were supposed to redeliver it Saturday Monday and Tuesday. Nothing. I call the post office customer service and they tell me it was supposed to go out Saturday Monday Tuesday. This f'ing office sucks. I scheduled a delivery for today over the phone, nothing! This isn't the first time either.

[kyledehart5]

Man that is a serious bummer. I sure hope they get it delivered soon. We've had some similar things happen and we live out in the middle of nowhere. "Sorry we missed you" note when no one came to the door all day. Sure is frustrating.

[406 Silverado]

Oct 25, 2023 19:50:43 GMT -5 mz3 said:

No, they have it. The post office here in Bozeman is probably the worse one in the world. They were supposed to deliver it on friday. They left a "sorry we missed you" tag at the mailboxes, I live in an apartment, they never even tried to deliver it to me and get a signature. Was home all day. So they were supposed to redeliver it Saturday Monday and Tuesday. Nothing. I call the post office customer service and they tell me it was supposed to go out Saturday Monday Tuesday. This f'ing office sucks. I scheduled a delivery for today over the phone, nothing! This isn't the first time either.

Man that DOES suck! I wonder if you can stop by their building just pick it up? Sounds like the Postmaster General needs a phone call......

Sorry you're going through this MZ.

[mz3]

Well, tomorrow I'm going to the post office and making a scene. I've received 4 other packages since last friday. Calling customer service obviously didn't do ish!

[handiabled]

Oct 27, 2023 20:31:56 GMT -5 mz3 said:

Well, tomorrow I'm going to the post office and making a scene. I've received 4 other packages since last friday. Calling customer service obviously didn't do ish!

We've been tempted to just get a PO Box due to the error rate of things not making it to our mailbox and getting peoples mail from 4 or 5 miles away with addresses not even close to ours. Remember the guy that has to know if your 2012 Chevy pickup has air conditioning to sell you wiper blades?  He delivers mail now..........

[mz3]

He seems to be working in alot of different places these days.

[mz3]

Look at what the post office finally deemed me worthy of...





Only 11 days after it was supposed to be delivered. Just sitting in front of my front door, no knock, no notice online. Thanks usps, your the best!

[kyledehart5]

Oct 31, 2023 17:50:51 GMT -5 mz3 said:

Look at what the post office finally deemed me worthy of...





Only 11 days after it was supposed to be delivered. Just sitting in front of my front door, no knock, no notice online. Thanks usps, you’re the best!

Hey, they finally got it to you!! I’m glad. That’s ridiculous, even for usps

[stikpusher]

Personally I don't mind a no knock delivery... unless it's something perishable in the desert heat here. Otherwise with knocks/ringing the doorbell, our two dogs go ballistic over any deliveries...

Those decals look good. The Saipan Zero's are an interesting subject group, as they were captured in fairly good condition and brought to the US for flight testing. At least two survive to today, one in the Smithsonian, and one at Chino that is airworthy and still has the original Sakae engine.

[mz3]

Ok, let the frustrations begin anew..




Grey green on. 🤬

[adt70hk]

Hope it works ok this time!

[mz3]

I'm going to force it to work this time. I really want to move on. I have a tomcat lined up next that I've been itching to start.

[stikpusher]

So far, so good on the re do.

[handiabled]

It's great to see this one moving again! Fingers crossed the gremlins are gone now

[moparmadness]

Good to see this fella back on the bench!

[tcoat]

[mz3]

Sigh... psh... alright, let's finish. I'm sick of looking at this piece of..... plastic










blah....blah... and blah



I did find if you mix xf-11 and xf-70 50/50, the 2 colors tamiya says are ijn colors for zeros(which both seem off), you actually get a decent representation of the green needed. Close enough for me anyways.

[kyledehart5]

Alright!! Glad to see this one getting back to the Bench. I do love a zero. Green looks awesome!