My "Final days of the war" Japanese Zero

[Gigatron]

Hey gang,

I really wanted to build a "beat to heck" bird, so I figured a Zero would be as good a candidate as anything else.

This is an interpretation, not meant to be historically accurate. This is built on the premise that the pilot and crew felt the end of the war coming and they were more concerned with keeping the bird in the air more than how it looked.

The kit is the Hasegawa 1/32 Mitsubishi A6M5c Type 52 Zero.

Anyway, on to the pics

As always, constructive criticisma and questions are welcomed.

Enjoy!

-Fred

 

[Darth Brass]

No criticism - just very very cool!

 

[belleauwood]

Everything looks good, except your decals for the
"no step" areas on the wings look too fresh next to everything else. Thats the only thing that jumped out at me as unbalanced, otherwise, FANTASTIC work.

 

[Lord Abaddon]

Very well done and not that far from the truth! In some of the last island hold-outs and near the Chinese incursion the planes did start to let go. Some of my military books have pictures of them in that shape basically as most of the good pilots, mechanics, etc. were dead or imprisoned so they were just trying to get them in the air.

 

[tobiasrichter]

Very nice work - especially with the rusty areas. I wouldn´t climb into that...

Tobias

 

[PHArchivist]

Awesome model and subject matter!

 

[Gigatron]

Thanks for the compliments, guys

Belleau, I can see what you're saying about the no-step decals. I went back over them with a sanding sponge to cut back on the shine and dull the color a bit. Looks good now :thumbsup

Thanks,
Fred

 

[Lord Abaddon]

Thanks for the compliments, guys

Belleau, I can see what you're saying about the no-step decals. I went back over them with a sanding sponge to cut back on the shine and dull the color a bit. Looks good now :thumbsup

Thanks,
Fred

I was browsing Zero pics as you picqued my curiosity and found someone who had a similar idea:

 

[streetjudge79]

Very nice build. It's nice to see something other than starships all the time. I love WW2 fighter planes.

 

[swpropmaker]

Now thatsa nicea lookin "Meatball!" I love the look of a tattered worn plane. The Pacific theatre was horrible on the ZEKE's paint. (so was 6 P-40 50 cals!)

One thing I did notice that when the paint would chip to that extent you would see the shiney AC alluminu underneath. Maybe put a hint of that in maybe the high traffic areas around the cockpit and the wings leading edge ect.

Look great!

Today... REMEMBER ALL THAT ARE CURRENTLY SERVING and those that HAVE SERVED and have paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedom! SALUTE!

Steve

 

[Gigatron]

Hey LA,

I think Zeros had notoriously poor paint adhesion, so there are probably quite a few models that will show chipped paint.

I just wanted to be different and show the primer underneath as you hardly ever see that modeled. I got the idea from seeing pics of recovered Zero parts that showed the primer. So I fugured, what the heck, it's a little more work, but it might make for a cool effect. I'm glad it worked out.

What I'm looking forward to is a few days off before starting my next build :lol

-Fred

 

[Gigatron]

Thanks, Streetjudge. I always feel this place can use a break from sci-fi every once in a while. Always trying to do my part in introducing a little bit of reality around these parts :lol

Now thatsa nicea lookin "Meatball!" I love the look of a tattered worn plane. The Pacific theatre was horrible on the ZEKE's paint. (so was 6 P-40 50 cals!)

One thing I did notice that when the paint would chip to that extent you would see the shiney AC alluminu underneath. Maybe put a hint of that in maybe the high traffic areas around the cockpit and the wings leading edge ect.

Look great!

Today... REMEMBER ALL THAT ARE CURRENTLY SERVING and those that HAVE SERVED! Happy Memorial Day! SALUTE!

Steve

If you look around the wing roots, left side of the cockpit as well as the leading edges of the wings, the tail and behind the cowl, you'll see plenty of bare metal, it's just not shiny - it's weather beaten :cool. I don't think a bird that has seen that much action would have any shiny parts.

-Fred

 

[GKvfx]

Actually, the metal would be really shiny in those high traffic areas. The metal was aluminum and walking on it would buff it out pretty good. Another good place to place the chipping effect is around the removable panels - things like the gun ammo covers and any radio or acess hatch that would have to be removed regularly for servicing.

For some reason the red paint they used in the "meatball" had better adhesion than the various green paints that were used. Look at some references and you'll see relatively few chips on the meatballs as compared to the rest of the body. I'm not sure that the Japanese used primer on the exterior surface of the zero, which could explain all the chipping.

Nice work.

Gene

 

[Tordoc]

I'm no expert but I thought Zeros were made from wood and cloth and didn't rust.... please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Gigatron]

Actually, the metal would be really shiny in those high traffic areas. The metal was aluminum and walking on it would buff it out pretty good. Another good place to place the chipping effect is around the removable panels - things like the gun ammo covers and any radio or acess hatch that would have to be removed regularly for servicing.

For some reason the red paint they used in the "meatball" had better adhesion than the various green paints that were used. Look at some references and you'll see relatively few chips on the meatballs as compared to the rest of the body. I'm not sure that the Japanese used primer on the exterior surface of the zero, which could explain all the chipping.

Nice work.

Gene

I have never known metal to get cleaner by stepping on it, epecially with dirty boots and dragging tools and equipment. If anything, the grit in the boots would cause micro scratches, which would be pits in which dirt, grime and water could accumulate thereby making it appear extremely dirty and dull. A pitted surface reflects light in several different directions and that's what gives it a dull appearance.

I'm no expert but I thought Zeros were made from wood and cloth and didn't rust.... please correct me if I'm wrong.

Zeros are/were metal. Metal rusts. My bird does not show rust, but the red oxide primer used over the metal and beneath the top coat.

Possibly, on some early incarnations of the Zero, the control surfaces (flaps, elevators and rudder) may have been covered by cloth. Some early war american aircraft were built this way, but they were changed to metal about mid-war or so.

Here's a picture of a recovered Zero wreck showing nothing left but the primer

http://www.bingo-ev.de/~eb2948/Museum/Duxford12.html

-Fred

 

[Jedi Dade]

This is a EXTREMELY MINOR constructive criticism. The paint looks a bit "rough" in some patches like it was starting to dry as it hit the surface. I find that a Thinner mixture of paint applied in lighter coats from closer to the subject eliminates that. But honestly you probably can't see the roughness unless your very close like your camera was so... take it for what its worth :confused Other then that I think it looks great!

Jedi Dade

 

[Gigatron]

This is a EXTREMELY MINOR constructive criticism. The paint looks a bit "rough" in some patches like it was starting to dry as it hit the surface. I find that a Thinner mixture of paint applied in lighter coats from closer to the subject eliminates that. But honestly you probably can't see the roughness unless your very close like your camera was so... take it for what its worth :confused Other then that I think it looks great!

Jedi Dade

It could be a combination of things.

Since I did some salt weathering prior to the top coat, it could be some leftover salt still under there. It could also be the flat coat I put on before the Future top coat.

I'm not really sure what's happening, but it seems to be a problem with the Future because that's when it always happens. I'm not sure if I should thin the Future or not, though.

-Fred

 

[ZOMBIEREPELLENT]

I tried the salt technique but it left a white residue that I couldn't get to wash off, since then I use sand. Now I have no residue and the paint chips aren't the uniform square ones.

 

[motivealloy]

I think he's going for a look like this...

 

[Gigatron]

I tried the salt technique but it left a white residue that I couldn't get to wash off, since then I use sand. Now I have no residue and the paint chips aren't the uniform square ones.

Try a stiff bristled brush. If you move it in small cirles, it should get everything off. Since I was going for a wind beaten look, I used a cloth and pulled straight back. The salt came off, plus the pulling action created a little extra weathering. As for the square shape, it sounds like you were using kosher or sea salt, which tends to be be a larger crystaline. I like regular table salt which is much finer. If you only have the other stuff, throw it in a blender for a few seconds (or use a mortar and pestle).

I think he's going for a look like this...

Yup, that's pretty close. Too bad there aren't many color photos. Otherwise, you'd most likely see the red oxide primer like in the post I linked to above.

-Fred