Tamiya 1/72 Mitsubishi A6M3 3a Zero

[Mickc1440]

Post holiday progress, both main colours now applied, hoping to get some more progress made after my night shift tonight.


the blobs under the paint are for the start of some chipping and not a disease the thing has caught.

 

[The Smythe Meister]

I must admit,I did wonder Mick!!
... Some good progress there buddy,and great to see you back at the bench

 

[Mickc1440]

I must admit,I did wonder Mick!!
... Some good progress there buddy,and great to see you back at the bench

Good to be back at it

 

[Mickc1440]

The gaffer went out with a pal this morning leaving me some free time when I got up. Well I say free time, when I'd walked the dog, finished some shopping and cut the grass again
I got a clear coat on and dried, got some decals on and had a look at the start of the chipping. Quite a few reference pics I've seen of Japanese aircraft show lots of bald patches where the paint has come off, was that poor painting, the theatre they operated in or did I just choose some bad pics?
Anyway here we are

Hopefully after my sleep in the morning I can start tidying it up, add some more weathering and add the last few pieces.

 

[langy71]

Looking good Mick...
The paint chipping was down to poor paint application, the early zero's were all designed to be used from aircraft carriers and as such a lot more care was taken in the paint stages of the construction.. for example, they all had a coat of primer laid down before the main paint coat to help protect against corrosion from the salt water, however the later 'land based' zeros never had this 'primer applied' ..probably in part due to the lack of availability of raw materials as the war progressed, so when they changed the overall colour of the planes to the green it was painted onto bare metal, and as such it was less resistant to wear and damage resulting in the huge amounts of chipping and paint peel you often see on pictures..

 

[The Smythe Meister]

The gaffer went out with a pal this morning leaving me some free time when I got up. Well I say free time, when I'd walked the dog, finished some shopping and cut the grass again
I got a clear coat on and dried, got some decals on and had a look at the start of the chipping. Quite a few reference pics I've seen of Japanese aircraft show lots of bald patches where the paint has come off, was that poor painting, the theatre they operated in or did I just choose some bad pics?
Anyway here we are
View attachment 487134View attachment 487135
Hopefully after my sleep in the morning I can start tidying it up, add some more weathering and add the last few pieces.

That's looking great Mick
Planes always suddenly "leap into life" when the decals go on eh?.... The chipping has come out great too......, something I'm going to have to consider on my Raiden.

 

[Mickc1440]

Looking good Mick...
The paint chipping was down to poor paint application, the early zero's were all designed to be used from aircraft carriers and as such a lot more care was taken in the paint stages of the construction.. for example, they all had a coat of primer laid down before the main paint coat to help protect against corrosion from the salt water, however the later 'land based' zeros never had this 'primer applied' ..probably in part due to the lack of availability of raw materials as the war progressed, so when they changed the overall colour of the planes to the green it was painted onto bare metal, and as such it was less resistant to wear and damage resulting in the huge amounts of chipping and paint peel you often see on pictures..

Thanks Chris that explains it nicely

That's looking great Mick
Planes always suddenly "leap into life" when the decals go on eh?.... The chipping has come out great too......, something I'm going to have to consider on my Raiden.

Totally agree pal, they do suddenly bring a model to life.

 

[Mickc1440]

Final push now. I have a couple of 1/72 Bandai models but i think I'm done with tiny models. Added a bit more chipping and attached the very fragile wing mounted machine guns. The model has had another clear coat in readiness for a bit of dirt. Then undercarriage and aerial wire and that's it.

 

[scottie3158]

Mick,
That's a nice looking build mate.

 

[Mickc1440]

Mick,
That's a nice looking build mate.

Thanks for that Scottie, it's a great little kit

 

[The Smythe Meister]

Yep, that's looking splendid

 

[Mickc1440]

Yep, that's looking splendid

All finished