F-Toys 1/72 A6M2 Model 21
The F-Toy A6M2 Zero ain't no freaking toy……but it can be a lot of fun.
This is an impressive kit with more components than a couple of 1/32nd scale kits I've built. The F-Toy name may be misleading as this is no toy, with engine assembly being delicate and involved. The kit comes pre-painted, including finer optic details such as navigation lighting and fuel caps and canopy components. There is the slightest bit of flash throughout the molding with the finer parts needing some cleaning up prior to assembly. With a few areas needing a bit of paint to cover the flash removal and the minimal sanding, I decide to completely paint the model focused on finishing it as Tiger-110 from the 261st Kokutia. Referring to a Hasegawa Zero kit colour key, the required mixed shades appeared to be close to Mr. Hobby H60 IJA Green and H423 RLM82 for the upper surfaces with H61 IJN Gray for the undersides. The camo scheme was traced on making tape, masks applied and colours sprayed with thinned paints. All banding and stripes were sprayed. Decals from TechMod and Hasegawa spares.
The only true critique of the kit is the action folding wing tips, as they remind me of old Matchbox kit folding tips. They have double tabs on each tip and are inaccurate of the actual folding mechanism. If you decide to fill in the gaps on the folding tips, be careful to regain any panel lines filled in. Everything else on the kit looks finely detailed.
In order to allow viewing of the engine and machineguns, one cannot glue the cowling and prop but these components do fit snuggly in place and don't really need glue. The control surfaces can be positioned in place to add more activity to the finished build.
Full review can be found on the May 15th post of the Modeling Madness Website
Very cool. Love the engine details. Nice finish as well!
Thanks Brian (@bapowellphys), it's a Mighty Mouse of a kit. Small but a lot of punch.
Very nice result on this little Zero, George @georgeswork
Never heard about F-toy before but it seems like they created a very decent kit.
Thank you John (@johnb), so glad I grabbed this kit when I saw it on the shelf.
Great looking build, George.
Thank you Gary (@gwskat).
That’s a nice looking little Zero, George. So much detail packed into a small package.
Thanks John (@j-healy), it sure is a lot of components in a tiny package.
Really cool, George (@georgeswork). I have always thought that F-Toys did 1/144 models, but apparently they do some really nice 1/72. The detail and paint came out really well.
Thanks George (@gblair), I have seen their 1/144 kits and wanted to give them a try and 1/72 is the smallest I'll go in single prop aircraft.
Congratulations, George! Excellent result and equally excellent article!
Thanks Spiros (@fiveten), so glad I got back on the M/M website.
I always feel a sense of accomplishment when I have the time to write for M/M and getting it posted.
Looks great! I've not seen a Zero with that two-tone green camo - I like that for something different. F-toy...never heard of that brand.
Thanks Greg (@gkittinger), I think you would really enjoy this kit.
First 2-tone Zero for me, glad I chose this colourful scheme.
Great job on this build George, the paint scheme looks great! For a 1/72 scale kit, there are a lot of moving parts. Lots of nice details to show too. This reminds me of the old Nichimo kits from the 60's with all the moving flight controls surfaces, canopy that can move into the open and closed position and in some cases, use an electric motor to rotate the propeller. But your F-Toys Zero blows them away with so much more finer details and looks!
Thanks Bob (@v1pro), Nichimo does come to mind now that you mention it. I thought this canopy was going to break when I put it in place, such a tight fit.
Thanks for the nice comments.