John, @johnb
The work you have done on the cockpit looks very nicely done. I like everything about it, from the way the color looks, to the weathering, chips and dirt effects. By the looks of things, you are well on your way to catching up with Spiros. But be warned, he is a very fast builder ! 😉

I will also try to find some pictures of the Hiyo Zero 2-1-128. There has to be something floating around. (I hope). If I do get lucky and find something, I will definitely share it with you.

Spiros, @fiveten
The seams look flawless on your Zero. These Hasegawa A6M's go together nicely, as do the Tamiya kits which are at least 40 or so years old now. They are just not as detailed as the Hasegawa kits are... but they were ahead of the times and set the "new" modeling standard back in the day.

That being said, I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the all new tool Eduard 1/48 Zero's. This doesn't mean that I will be tossing out my old kits... in fact just the opposite. I currently have all of them under construction in typical "Iron Werke" style. They have been placed on a temporary pause until the F-84 gets finished.

You guys are both doing some excellent work here, and I look forward to seeing your next postings.

Stay safe.

How much I envy your "contraflow" , but unfortunately I have to restrain myself, the three models on my bench leave me no room. Excellent choices, Zero after all give many opportunities for unique presentations.
Looking forward for next updade !

@lgardner, Thanks Louis, if you find a picture, I'm very interested. Ofcourse I will continue searching as well. Hasegawa should have gotten their information somewhere.

@faraomike, thanks Michael, usually I only work on one kit at a time so this time it is doubling my workload. 🙂 It is however great to have those combo builds together with our friend Spiros (@fiveten).

@fiveten, thanks, your sanding result looks impressive. No seams left.

@faraomike, would love to see your progress as well Michael.

Progress on the interior took place this morning.
I added some seatbelts which I had in my sparebox, so they definitely looks not like originals.
What surprised me was that there was only one shoulder belt on the Zero.

Gunsight looks very detailed as well as the handles for the machine guns.
I painted those handles brown because looking at old pictures, they seemed to be made from wood.
Quickly took some pictures before everything got closed up.


And with the last sidewall attached, nearly no interior visible.
Now on to dry fitting the fuselage or try the way like proposed by Spiros @fiveten.

Nice progress, my friend @johnb!
I believe the time for your Zero has arrived, my friend @faraomike : looking forward to see your (definite) masterpiece!

Thanks my friend @michaelt!
The fact that our combo built sparks motivation means a lot! Yes, time is limited indeed (too many models, too little time?).

Looking great, my friend @johnb!
Looking forward to see the cockpit attached!

Looking great, my friend @johnb!