Tamiya 1:48 Mitsubishi A6M3 (Captured)
This is my entry into the "The Empire of Japan 1919-1946 GB" This aircraft was restored to flying condition by the joint USAAF/USN/Royal Australian Air Force Technical Air Intelligence Unit (TAIU) at Eagle Farm, Brisbane, Australia in late 1942 and early 1943. The aircraft was sent for evaluation at Wright Field in the US and wearing post-1943 style US insignia. Fate unknown. According to an article on http://www.j-aircraft.com/ , a war-time report said the over-all colour was "dove grey".
Build here...https://imodeler.com/groups/the-empire-of-japan-1919-1946/forum/topic/tamiya-148-mitsubishi-a6m3-captured/
Jeremy Millan said on July 4, 2020
Looks great! Pretty cool seeing a Zero with US markings.
George Henderson said on July 4, 2020
Thank you Jeremy
Doug Humphrey said on July 4, 2020
Great looking A6M3. Did you paint the landing gear struts flat black, or is that just the way the shade from the light makes it appear? Neat build.
George Henderson said on July 4, 2020
Thanks Doug. The gear are actually semi-gloss black as per Mitsubishi. The insides of the gear covers are flat black but this may or may not be correct. Normally Mitsubishi painted these in the underside camouflage colour but if you look at the photos in my build thread they are quite dark. My reasoning for going with black was that this was rebuilt in Australia and some times but not all, RAAF fighters like Spitfires had these areas the same colour as the landing gear. When it came time to repaint the aircraft, they went with the "norm". Some time soon someone will correct me on this
John Healy said on July 4, 2020
Great model, George. Those wings made me think it was a FW-190 at first.
George Henderson said on July 4, 2020
Thanks John
John vd Biggelaar said on July 4, 2020
Nice build, George @blackadder57
Thanks for sharing your building details.
Will for sure try your filler way of working.
The cockpit has a lot of details, well done.
George Henderson said on July 4, 2020
Thank you very much John
George Schembri said on July 4, 2020
Nice build George - even in an overall Grey there is no mistaking a Zero.
I don't know which one I like better - Pt1 or Pt2! Both look great!
It was nice to be able to follow your build in the GB. Nice finish with the flared out cowling.
George Henderson said on July 4, 2020
Much appreciated George
Eric Berg said on July 4, 2020
What a coincidence. I was just looking at some photos of a captured Zero one in the air and on the ground with that exact grey and here's your post. Looks just like the photos of the real deal I saw. Great work as always and good GB choice.
George Henderson said on July 4, 2020
Thanks Eric. I found the photos I used as reference by complete accident; looking for photos for my current GB. I'm a great fan of captured aircraft and these ones caught me by complete surprise.
Tom Bebout said on July 4, 2020
Well done George, actually looks good in the gray scheme.
George Henderson said on July 4, 2020
Thank you Tom
Robert Royes said on July 5, 2020
Nicely done George !
George Henderson said on July 5, 2020
Thanks Robert
Haslam Yeoman said on July 5, 2020
Very distinctive colour scheme George. It looks very different to the Japanese green/grey colour somehow making it look less zero like.
George Henderson said on July 5, 2020
Thank you
Louis Gardner said on July 5, 2020
Hello George. @blackadder57
I followed your build from the very beginning. It was a lot of fun to watch and very informative. Finding captured aircraft photos, and the corresponding information that goes with them is part of the fun for me... I also like your custom mix of "Dove gray".
Well done buddy, and I hit the liked button too... Thanks for participating in our EoJ group build !
George Henderson said on July 5, 2020
Thank you very much Louis. I could have swore I typed in a thank you for the invite. I had problems posting this so it must have been left out on the third attempt. So now….thanks for the invite.
gary sausmikat said on July 5, 2020
Simple, clean, yet very striking to the eye. Nice build, George.
Ben Walmsley said on July 5, 2020
Great build George, very tidy. An interesting subject I was not previously aware of.
Spiros Pendedekas said on July 5, 2020
Hi George @blackadder57!
This is an amazing build and I am glad that I had the pleasure to follow it all along.
This Zero looks absolutely stunning!
Dan Lee said on July 5, 2020
Unusual looking Hamp. Very crisp looking model and paint job.
George Henderson said on July 5, 2020
Thank you very much gentlemen
Reinhard Spreitzhofer said on July 6, 2020
Lovely model! A scheme you don´t see built very often.
George Henderson said on July 6, 2020
Thank you Reinhard
Greg Kittinger said on July 6, 2020
Nicely done! It's a tad awkward seeing a Zero with stars and bars! Makes for a unique project.
George Henderson said on July 6, 2020
Thanks Greg