Thanks Bernard for the compliments.

I wasn't happy with how the spray masks had turned out. So I tried the same technique but in reverse... I cut out round circles and applied them over the existing paint work.

This didn't turn out as expected either, so I simply re-sprayed the Ame-iro color.

I gave the model another coat of Gloss Coat clear.

After the clear had sufficiently dried, I applied the kit decals (which I probably should have done to begin with...).

Then I had to cobble together a set of rudder and fin numbers and letters that would eventually read "DI-108" on both sides. So for this I used a mixture of letters and numerals from a Hasegawa set of A6M decals from another kit. I had to cut the center section out of the "B" to convert it to a "D". All that was left to do was take a small part from another letter "I".

Finally the decals were applied in order. After some time I was able to get the pieces for the tail codes lined up pretty nicely. The last two pictures show the end results.

As usual, comments are encouraged...

Tonight's progress.

Yesterday I sprayed the canopy flat black after I had masked it off using frisket film and Scotch invisible tape. Today I sprayed the canopy again, but this time I used the "Ame-Iro" color over the black. Hopefully this will give the illusion of black interior canopy frames.

Next was more detail painting on the pilot. I'm really not too good at this... I also touched up the blue-black color inside the cockpit area on the top of the fuselage.

This was followed by installation of the antennae and loop on the rear cockpit deck.

Next I installed the canopy after I removed the masking material. I used white glue for this step.

Overall view so far...

The landing gear came next. I used "Ultra Bright" Bare Metal Foil on the landing gear oleo strut. I cut a small section of foil and wrapped it around the strut to simulate the real shock struts. Once this was completed, I installed both of the main landing gear struts and supported the model so that they could dry overnight.

In this picture you can see how the kit engine looks without any additional details added.

On to the propeller assembly...

I originally sprayed the entire prop with Model Master "Metallizer" Aluminum Plate color. It looks good on the spinner, but the early War Zero props were highly polished. It just didn't look right to me. So I covered the front of the blades in "Ultra Bright Chrome" Bare Metal Foil.

Here's how it looked after I covered the front of one blade. You can look at the other two blades as a comparison, sort of a "before" and "after"...

This photo shows how the propeller looked once all three blades were covered in foil.

Next up were the small decals.

Here are the propeller warning stripes. They are too wide and I will trim them to the correct length once the decals have completely dried.

The landing gear decals were next... They need to be trimmed a little too. The clear carrier film is too wide. I used a flash here to give a better impression of the "Ame-Iro" color.

My "Koga" Zero is getting much closer to being completed now... I still have a few small details to take care of. Things like the small landing gear position indicator struts and fuel tank caps still need to be painted red.

Here's a close up of the landing gear...

Followed by a frontal view of the engine and propeller.

Now I need to find out if Koga's Zero had a radio antennae or if it was simply cut off.

Another bit of research will have to be done to see if this plane indeed had a wide yellow fuselage stripe behind the Hinomaru, and a smaller horizontal yellow stripe below the "DI-108" numbers and letters on the fin / rudder assembly.

If anyone out there knows for sure, please let me know... Thanks.

Enjoy, and comments are encouraged.

Thanks Chuck !

That's exactly what I was looking for. The Blue Black color on your Zeros does look to be very close indeed.

FYI, I simply used Model Master FS 35042 Dark Sea Blue, which is a WW2 U.S. Navy color...

I appreciate the reply, and your A6M's look very nice !

Thanks for the compliments too. I hope to have this one done in a day or two. Then I'll get cranking on the SBD and TBF Accurate Miniatures kits next.

Take care bud.

Tonight I was able to get the Akutan or "Koga's" Zero completed ( I think) . It seems like the little details really take the longest to complete... I didn't weather this plane at all since I'm fairly certain the JNAF planes were very well kept during this stage of the War.

I'm still undecided about the possibility of yellow stripes on the fuselage and base of the fin / rudder assembly. I've been studying these original B & W pictures of the plane to see if I can make out any details.

Here are my observations:

In this photo with the plane inverted in the marsh land, if you look really hard you can see what appears to be a lighter color stripe (it shows up in the picture as a slightly darker gray) that goes around the circumference of the fuselage just ahead of the stenciled on data plate. The color appears to be a very similar shade to the "Ame-Iro". Whether or not this color is a painted over stripe using a similar color, or if it's a pale yellow stripe, I really can't tell so far.

I know that the planes from the Pearl Harbor attack had similar stripes, (sometimes a double stripe) to denote which carrier the plane was assigned to. These stripes were in Red, White or Blue colors.

This Zero flew from the Japanese carrier Ryujo. I don't know what stripes (if any) were assigned to this carrier. The Ryujo did not take part in the Pearl Harbor attack.

In this original photo of the Zero upright on a barge, if you look close at the base of the rudder and fin assembly, you can see what appears to be a stripe that runs lengthwise just above the stabilizer.

From what I can tell from this picture, it simply could be a reflection of natural light on the outer metal skin. The Zero had a metal former that was a part of the fin located in this area. I believe the rudder and fin were bent pretty badly when the plane overturned. This could cause this area to look as if a stripe was painted here, when in all actuality it probably was not.

If memory serves me, only leader's planes had yellow horizontal stripes in this location. This combined with the damage to the fin leads me to believe that this is merely a trick of light on the metal, since Koga was not a flight leader.

So for now, until I can find out for sure about these two striped areas, I'm leaving my plane as painted without the yellow stripes. I can always go back later and add them if necessary.

I will post more photos of this build during the "Midway Group Build" reveal in June.

Take care, and thanks for watching.

Now back to the Accurate Miniatures TBF Avenger and SBD Dauntless...

Louis, Osprey Modelling 25, "Modelling the Mitsubishi A6M Zero", 2006. ISBN-13: 978-1-84176-866-3 US contact: [email protected]
Good looking Zero you got there. I like the Tamiyas better than the Hasegawa, for all that they have more and varied variants. First rate!

Wow, that was a really smooth build! I wish that one of mine went on this quickly from the start to finish.

Sweet looking Zero and thanks for the awesome history lesson Louis 🙂

Thanks for the input Chuck.

I am about 90 percent sure that the Japanese leader planes operated from Aircraft Carriers during the Pearl Harbor through Midway time period, had numbers that ended in a"0" or a "01". Koga's Zero ended in "08".

For this reason and from what I have studied from the pictures is why I have opted not to add the yellow stripe on the rudder and fin assembly.

Now having said this about leader planes having "01" or "0" markings, I'm sure that I will stumble upon a picture showing otherwise.

I will need to really dig into this and try to find out for sure. Thanks again.