Rabaul based A6M2 Zero-Sen

1
January 15, 2023
Project inventory so far. Will add at least textile seatbelts and maybe resin wheels
2
February 5, 2023
Started cutting the baffles for the Sakae engine with my Silhouette.
The holes need to be punched - a tedious task
3
March 6, 2023
pipes and wires added to the engine's front row
4
March 6, 2023
made a start on the ignition distribution ring.
More stubs to be added
5
March 16, 2023
Finally completed the ignition distribution. 28 Stubs made from 0.6 mm brass tubing and 0.3 mm annealed copper wire for the ignition cables
6
March 22, 2023
metal primer and gloss black base
7
April 2, 2023
RDF controller shouldn't be there in land based Zeros - built a new shelf from scratch
8
April 2, 2023
Spinner painted with Tamiya Silver and Prop with Alclad Aluminum
9
April 2, 2023
Engine painted and pin wash applied (need to clean that up)
10
April 16, 2023
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April 16, 2023
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April 16, 2023
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April 16, 2023
14
June 24, 2023
building a land based Zero means leaving off all the radio related parts
15
June 24, 2023
lots of shelves and attachments point scratch built.
Not a 100% sharp/perfect but best I could do so far
16
June 25, 2023
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June 25, 2023
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June 25, 2023
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June 25, 2023
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July 22, 2023
21
October 16, 2023
What a tedious work: adding the rope on the rudder pedals
22
October 16, 2023
23
October 16, 2023
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October 16, 2023
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October 16, 2023
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October 16, 2023
27
October 21, 2023
RB model brass barrels - a quick, inexpensive and worthwile update
28
October 21, 2023
raised weld lines from stretched sprue and Archer rivets applied to the drop tank.
boatload of patience necessary there
29
October 23, 2023
tank with black basing, followed by a quick sanding to remove some blemishes;
then decided to add a fuel filler cap from styrene
30
October 23, 2023
Type 97 guns added and cockpit assembled
31
October 30, 2023
Aires wheel wells epoxied in place
32
October 30, 2023
best I could do. Not perfect, not even good, but hopefully won't be visible
33
October 30, 2023
drilled out the wrong fuel filler port - it's in fact a small window for the cannon's magazine
34
October 30, 2023
changed the rear wheel cutout from the kit's Mitsubishi shape to the more wavy Nakajima one
35
December 22, 2023
Thinned down the landing gear doors and added a small strip to simulate the stiffener
36
December 22, 2023
added weld spots by drilling small holes
37
December 22, 2023
Placards from sheet glued on and smoothed out with CA
38
December 22, 2023
more of them on rudder and alevators
39
December 22, 2023
Rivetrs filled with perfect plastic putty - not my preferred solution so far
40
December 22, 2023
Tsting the Quinta rivets
41
December 22, 2023
42
December 22, 2023
Raised rivets are on!
43
December 26, 2023
44
January 1, 2024
Starboard wing root dry fit - should be okayish with glue and some pressure
45
January 1, 2024
This one needs a lot of elbow grease
46
January 1, 2024
Same on the other side - the Aires wheel wells push the lower piece down
47
January 1, 2024
Starts to look like a Zero-Sen
48
January 1, 2024
49
January 1, 2024
Cockpit glued in
50
January 2, 2024
temporary spreader
51
January 2, 2024
not perfect, but at least the fuselage closes up now. Will trim and sand the wing root around the wheel well later
52
January 2, 2024
engine test fit - still a little tweaking necessary

Opmerkingen

30 15 January 2023, 08:15

István Szücs
That engine is amazing!

6 March 2023, 09:04

Joachim F.
Thank you very much István - although it's a minimalis's approach for the closed cowling.
An openend one would require a lot more detailing!

6 March 2023, 11:44

Zoltan Grotz
Sieht Super aus!!!
Bin gespant aufs Endergebnis.

16 March 2023, 09:09

Roberto Rocat
Beautiful work!

25 June 2023, 15:15

Rui S
Great scratch 👍 I'm in

25 June 2023, 22:55

Joachim F.
Thanks mates - I'm finally back on track. There's just so much small stuff to do for an accurate Nakajima Zero.
Definitely not the quick out of the boix build, I was hoping for.

26 June 2023, 07:44

Michael Kohl
Some nice detailling going on here.

26 June 2023, 08:42

Spanjaard
wow, engine is beautiful. and cockpit will probably be as good. i am certainly in. i love the idea of the twisted and flattened cable for the chain in the cockpit.

26 June 2023, 09:13