Today back in 1939, the very first test flight occurred of what would become the A6M "Zero".

Here is a kit that I recently purchased from Sprue Brothers. It's a very nice looking model in the box. It is a special edition boxing by Hasegawa.

Hasegawa has included several new plastic sprues to incorporate the parts needed to build one of the two Zero Prototype planes.

The prototype differed from the regular A6M series, in that it had a two blade propeller, a different engine and cowling, and the associated carburetor air intake. The fuselage was also quite shorter on the prototype. There are decals provided that will allow you to build either one of the two prototype aircraft.

From what I have read, the second A6M-1 used a different engine and it also has a larger air intake below the engine cowling. It also had a slightly different vertical fin and rudder, along with a small "keel" located under the rear of the fuselage.

Here are the decal instructions.
This is for the 1st prototype, which is the one I will likely be building.

These markings are for the second prototype aircraft.


The clear parts are also included for the prototypes. They look like they are clear, very nice and thin, typical Hasegawa stuff here.

I'm not sure if there were any changes to the canopy framework, between the prototype and the production A6M-2, but soon we shall see !

To cover these changes, Hasegawa tooled up to make a completely new fuselage section, like what we are seeing happen with Eduard today.

This is a plane I wanted to build as soon as I found out it existed. Having built the Fine Molds Ka-14 "prototype" for the A5M Claude, this model will look great sitting next to the Grand Dad of all Zero's. It was needed to complete my A6M collection.

I will be working on this kit in between some other projects I have going on, so please stop by to check for updates.

As always, comments are encouraged.
Thanks for stopping by !

Coool - I'm strapped in. It is interesting how all the early versions of the many early-war planes had twobladed props, and that alone makes them very different. Looking forward to your time permitting work to go ahead on this one.

Spiros, @fiveten
I failed to mention another difference between the prototype and the production fuselage and tail section... This is something That I just learned myself. 🙂
The stabilizer assembly was positioned lower on the the fuselage on the prototype. On the production version, the horizontal stabilizer was moved up higher. It is something that is visible once you know to look for it... Secondly, the actual size of the horizontal stabilizer was increased on the production aircraft. It still retains the same shape, it is just a little bit bigger. You can see a minor difference on the trim tabs also and how the ribs for the stabilizer were spaced a little bit differently too. This stuff isn't noticeable until you compare the parts side by side.

I will try to take some pictures showing these differences and post them in a few days...

Erik, @airbum
Yes it is very interesting to see how these machines developed over time. As the prototype is with it's two blade prop, it reminds me of the Vought OS2U "Kingfisher" float plane. Look at the prop and shape of the cowlings on both planes... They are very similar. I am fairly certain the prototype used a licensed copy of the Hamilton Standard two blade variable pitch unit.

Woody, @wkubacki
Why don't you break it out and build it up ? You can add it right here along with mine should you so desire. Like you, I still have a lot of Japanese planes left in the stash. Last time I counted it was right around 64 or so, not counting the ones that I have started. There are some neat kits I have in the stash that you never see built up, like the Otaki "Willow", a Nichimo "Spruce", three of the new tool Hasegawa F1M "Pete's" and a new tool Hasegawa E8N-1 "Dave" that are all biplanes and all in 1/48 scale for starters...
Unfortunately I have not had much time to devote to research lately, but I did manage to sneak in a little progress last night.

I'll post it up next, so please stay tuned.

Thanks !

Lined up and ready for the assembly line style comin' next Louis!

Nice kit Louis! I think I’ll have to add this one to my stache. I like your assembly line process for painting the parts also.

A few days ago I cracked open the box again.

and promptly started cutting and gluing some parts together after studying the instructions. These are the engine parts for the first prototype. They are different from the production A6M-2, as this is an entirely different engine (and propeller) that were used on the prototype Zero. These parts are included on a new parts tree, separate from the original Hasegaw A6M-2 engine parts (that are also included in this kit).

In this picture, I have taped the fuselage together, after installing the forward upper MG deck plug, and work has started on the engine. The engine is merely held in place by friction, so I could take the picture. It has since been removed.

The fuselage halves have been glued together. I placed the main fuselage wing assembly joint, (where the separate tail section on the real Zero is bolted on the main assembly), in line with a yellow line on the cutting mat. You can see how much shorter the original Zero was from the later production versions.

This next picture shows it up even better...

I hope to have more updates posted soon.

Until then, comments are encouraged. Thanks.

Spiros, @fiveten
Thank you for the kind words.
Using a combination of my Iron Werke and Erik's "Kindergarten" style of building, I have recently made some progress on the prototype Zero. Here are some pictures.
Currently I have three Hasegawa A6M's on the bench, and about five more in queue as part of my Operation Vengeance Yamamoto intercept mission.

Here are three of the Hasegawa cockpits recently completed. These are box stock with no additional work.

I have installed the cockpit and added some reinforcements on the bottom of the fuselage where the lower wing connects.

The cockpit look presentable once installed. I have seen others really add a lot of detail here, but I am crunched for time.

Here are the latest Hasegawa Zero kits. From left to right:
A6M-5 far left.
A6M-2 in the middle. This one is going to be a Pearl Harbor Zero, AI-154.
The prototype A6M-1 Shi is on the right.

Here is how the A6M-1 Shi prototype looks now. The wing is completed, and I will be working on smaller details next.

As usual, comments are encouraged. Thanks for stopping by.

Great progress, Louis @lgardner
To me your cockpit does have a lot of details already, no additions required.
Great to see so many beautiful Zero's being produced at the moment.