Kit#: 61016.
Price: Can´t remember.
Decals: Five options.
Notes: None.
History:
From the instructions: The Zero fighter was the main fighter of the Japanese Navy throughout the Pacific War. The development of this fighter started in 1937 when Mitsubishi design staff led by Jiro Horikoshi proposed a model that would meet the strict requirements issues by the Japanese Navy for a fighter capable of high speed, excellent maneuverability, long range, superior climbing and lethal armament. Drastic measures were taken to meet these big demands and lighten the plane as much as possible. Features employing new techniques such as lightweight duraluminium alloy main beam, a constant speed variable propeller and a streamlined droptank that allowed it to fly over 3000km were used.
The armament consisted of two 7.7m machineguns in the nose and two 20mm Type 99 cannons in the wings.
Zeke's prototype was completed with a Mitsubishi Zuisei Type 13 engine on March 1939 and made its maiden flight the following month. In July 1940, the engine was replaced with a 940hp Nakajima Sakae Type 12 engine, giving birth to the Zero Type 11, which overwhelmed the Chinese Air Force's Soviet built I-15 and I-16.
The Zeke was modified to be a carrier borne fighter in December 1940 with the employment of 50cm folding wingtips, hook and homing equipment, Hence the birth of the new Type 21, which became the main Japanese fighter of the Pacific War. This version took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Philippine Islands invasion, and the Indian Ocean campaign where it clashed with countless Allied fighters.
Besides Mitsubishi, Nakajima also built the Type 21 Zero under license. A total of about 3600 Type 21 Zeroes were produced.
The Kit:
Tamiya's Zero comes in a top opening box, with a single bag containing all the sprues. The parts had no flash and there werent's that many, so that meant it would be a short build.
There're a total of five decal options included:
1) Lieutenant Commander Shigeru Itaya, Akagi Aircraft Carrier Fighter Group, Hawaii, December 8th 1941.
2) Warrant Officer Yoshiro Hashuguchi, 3rd Air Group, Kendari Base, Celebes Island, March 1942.
3) Petty Officer 1st Class Saburo Sakai,Tainan Air Group, Denpasar Base, Bali Island, February 1942.
4) Warrant Officer Tetsuzo Iwamoto, 253rd Air Group, Tobera Base, Rabaul, January 1944.
5) 261st Air Group, Kagoshima Base, February 1944.
Construction:
I began the kit by painting all the cockpit parts with Interior Green/Revell 48 (wrong green, but I don't want to buy another one). Details were picked out in black. After the cockpit's paint was dry, I glued all the pieces together. I then glued the cockpit to one side of the fuselage and trapped it with the other half.
The fuselage halves were left to dry, and while that was happening, I glued the wings together. Before gluing the wings to the fuselage, I decided to test fit them first, and discovered there would be a gap, so I added a spreader bar under the cockpit to eliminate it. The bar didn´t eliminate the entire gap, so I added some CA on it to finish the work. I then glued the engine and cowling in place, and glued at the same time the horizontal stabilizers.
Colours and Markings:
I wanted to paint my aircraft as Saburo Sakai's machine, that meant painting it in the early Japanese Pacific War colour. After searching a lot, I came to the conclusion that using RLM 02 would put me in the approximately correct colour, so I painted the entire aircraft with Revell 45 (RLM 02). After the paint was dry, I painted the blue markings of Sakai's aircraft instead of using the decals. After that, I glossed the aircraft to apply the decals. The decals performed well after being sunk in hot water. After all of them were applied, I matt varnished the entire aircraft.
Final Construction:
I painted the landing gear struts in black, the landing gear doors in RLM 02, the wheel wells with blue, and attached them all into their corresponding place. After that, the aircraft was finished.
Conclusions:
Tamiya's kit is a good alternative to the Hasegawa kit, in spite of the raised panel lines.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario