With all the hype going on with the new Eduard Zero’s I had to think how I could justify building a Zero. As I already mentioned in Walt’s Rufe build, I have that one in the stash. So here we go!

A6M versus 109

How do a confessed 109aholic connect a 109 to an A6M?

With the increasing use of light metals in the aircraft industry in the 1930s, new challenges to protect airframes from corrosion surfaced. The Japanese experienced firsthand with their A5M in the Chinese mainland that he NMF suffered corrosion, especially during the monsoon season in 1937. Several attempts were made to remedy the situation.

Other nations faced similar challenges, even though not entirely as aggressively as these experienced by the Japanese by the Monsoon. Various iron, chromatic and zinc rich pigments were added to basic grey paints, resulting in warm or slightly yellowish/brown greys.

Protective paint developments found their way to Japan with the technical support manuals for imported types like the He 112 (designated A7He1 in Japanese naval service) and most likely influenced the paint applied to the Mitsubishi Zero and others.

And as we know the He112 was built in competition with the 109 to become the new standard fighter of the Luftwaffe.

There you have it – how to connect an A6M with a 109!

how about that – as usual comments are encouraged, and corrective info received with thanks

This is a nice connection, my friend @airbum 🙂 !
Looking forward to your build!

Nice start, my friend @airbum!
Great openings!

Thanx @fiveten and @johnb. The openings might be a bit too wide, but that is where Tamiya has them marked. Now an update with no real content:

Tape!

WHAT? Masking before primer?

Yep – I have spent a fair amount of time masking this one BEFORE priming

The reasoning behind it all is that the Zero were mostly built by overlapping panels, so really engraved panellines should not be there! The same method is used in several “modern” lightplanes, like Cessna 172’s and stuff – go check at your local airport unless you have a Zero in a nearby museum.

next up I hope to have this one primed a few times and then sanded to highlight the effect I am trying to achieve. Tune in!

Very interesting approach, my friend @airbum! Strapped in, too, to see how it will go...

Ok gentlemen, first round of primer – and unmasking the “not-rufe” @holzhamer, @fiveten and @johnb

Slant-priming

- or priming at an angle

Trying to get all the primer to just hit one side of the maskingtape

I primed the Rufe and a non-rufe, but only removed the tape from one of them to check the best method

Now that it is out in the open – what do you think; should I start a topic for the Zero, or include it in this topic? Comments are welcome!

P.S. I would go for a new topic, but, again, it's only my opinion, my friend @airbum... 🙂

This seems to do the trick, Erik @airbum
Excited to see how the end result will look like.