Nakajima A6M2-N type 2 "Rufe", Tamiya 1/48

Started by Erik Gjørup · 61 · 2 years ago · 1/48, A6M2, a6m2-n, airbum, floatplane, Mitsubishi, Nakajima, quarterscale, Rufe, Tamiya, Zero
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    Erik Gjørup said 2 years, 10 months ago:

    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

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    John vd Biggelaar said 2 years, 10 months ago:

    Looking forward to that, Erik @airbum

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 2 years, 10 months ago:

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

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    Erik Gjørup said 2 years, 10 months ago:

    @johnb and @fiveten, thanks gents - I shall try to make it worth to follow (and I shall use your combo Hasegawa log as an inspiration)

    Let the fun commence

    AM parts and first cut

    As I am nowhere near knowledgeable in Japanese WWII planes, I thought that I might get away with building a Zero!? Well, long story short – I wanted to build something for the EoJ GB.


    I had the stash filled with a few Tamiya offerings, and washed them some 10 months ago, but my builds were slowing down considerably back then.

    So with Walt (@waltosoaring) as an inspiration, I decided to get going with the Nakajima.




    I have purchased a few AM items – more will probably come? The masks are for a Tamiya A6M5, but the glass for this and the Zero and Rufe are the same (as long as you do not get the masks for the newer A6M5)

    Walt inspired me to open a few holes



    And with that it is officially started

    Famous last words; that looks easy

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 2 years, 10 months ago:

    Nice start, my friend @airbum!
    Great openings!

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    John vd Biggelaar said 2 years, 10 months ago:

    Your build will definitely be worth to follow, Erik @airbum, like always.
    The start is great with the open vents.

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    Erik Gjørup said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    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



    Most people have seen the detail on eduard’s extremely nice kits, if nowhere else, then in pictures like @holzhamer / Pedro’s Saburo Sakai build, and this is a experimental approach to improve the Tamiya kits.

    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!

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    Pedro L. Rocha said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    @airbum
    Erik, this one slipped my radar until now, fortunately all your work so far is throughly explicit and easy to follow 🙂
    This masking for primer technique you use here is rather tedious but will no doubt produce the results you seek to get. Daunting task getting 2 so similar yet so distinct airframes in one go. Good luck!
    Got my seat and drink to follow your work on these

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 2 years, 9 months ago:

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

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    John vd Biggelaar said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Eager to see how this turns out, Erik @airbum.
    Great thoughts to get that realized.

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    Erik Gjørup said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    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



    See what I mean? – building up primer along the raised panellines

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


    As Pedro already indicated it is an A6M2 Zero that is in progress too. I think I need to prime at least one more time before sanding the Rufe to get a thicker layer.

    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!

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Really interesting, my friend @airbum!
    I am getting excited on what looks to be a great home made improvisation!
    Getting impatient...

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 2 years, 9 months ago:

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

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    Erik Gjørup said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Well @fiveten, paint takes the time it takes my friend 🙂

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    John vd Biggelaar said 2 years, 9 months ago:

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