Tim’s 1/48 Eduard A6M2 Type 11 Zero

[Tim Marlow]

Well, I’m running very late……there were several hundred unexpected hold ups on the Tarpon…….but here I am, with about six weeks to go. Will I make it in time….probably not, but it’s not the winning, it’s the taking part.

What I would say is that in thinking about building a single engined fighter after a humungous torpedo bomber you really have to adjust your sense of scale…..this thing is an order of magnitude smaller than the Tarpon…..how you 1/32 guys cope is beyond me.

The subject of this build will be the 1/48 Eduard type 11 Zero.



Sprues look very good


Airframe….


….and all the little bits you can knock off during the build…..


Clear sprue looks excellent. Sharp and very clear.



Surface detail looks very sharp, and there is absolutely no sign of flash…

Being the Profipak boxing it comes with masks and etch. Mask, in particular, is essential for this sort of glasshouse canopy. Transfers look good as well. One for unit markings and one for stencils.


Excellent high quality instruction book, with what look like extremely clear instructions.


Lastly five very nice colour profiles, that unfortunately are all extremely similar. I do like the inclusion of the sun faded ones though, because that is probably the ones I will go for. It will make a change from those beaten to death examples with virtually no paint…..

Hopefully start sticking plastic this weekend….

 

[Jim R]

Great choice Tim. I do like these Eduard Profipak kits.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Great choice Tim. I do like these Eduard Profipak kits.

Cheers Jim, this is my first I think, but it looks very good.

 

[adt70hk]

I have this in the stash!

 

[The Smythe Meister]

Excellent Tim,
Great to see you're getting ready to join in,as you say, there's plenty of time yet,mind you, it's a model....so the actual GB timeframe is irrelevant really .
These Profipack kits are great,and, with the "extra" stuff already included,a real good buy IMHO,(I was put onto them a while back by Andrew,and have invested in several now).

 

[adt70hk]

Excellent Tim,
Great to see you're getting ready to join in,as you say, there's plenty of time yet,mind you, it's a model....so the actual GB timeframe is irrelevant really .
These Profipack kits are great,and, with the "extra" stuff already included,a real good buy IMHO,(I was put onto them a while back by Andrew,and have invested in several now).

Don't blame me for your lack of will power!!

 

[Tim Marlow]

I have this in the stash!

Good choice, it looks excellent.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Excellent Tim,
Great to see you're getting ready to join in,as you say, there's plenty of time yet,mind you, it's a model....so the actual GB timeframe is irrelevant really .
These Profipack kits are great,and, with the "extra" stuff already included,a real good buy IMHO,(I was put onto them a while back by Andrew,and have invested in several now).

I know the timeline is irrelevant…..but I think the only time I could keep up is if we did a little blokes group build Agreed they are a great buy as well. I have my eye on a couple of others for later on after this….probably next year though.

 

[stona]

Nice one Tim.

If it's any consolation, you are way ahead of me

 

[Tim Marlow]

Nice one Tim.

If it's any consolation, you are way ahead of me

Cheers Steve. Made me smile did that

 

[Tim Marlow]

Well, progress has been made……

Waiting interior painting now. Hopefully that will start tomorrow, so i can continue to progress.




Detail excellent so not much of the supplied PE has been used yet. There are some control box and IP fronts which will go on after painting…..
Moulding and fit are excellent. Fit and finish wise this is about as far from the Avenger as you could get. There is no flash, precious few ejection pin marks, and the mould gates are on the unseen sides of the parts. I would say this is better than Tamiya so far, it’s a real joy to put together.

Oh, and after the Avenger this feels like I’m modelling in 1/72, not 1/48…..it’s actually about the size of a hurricane, but feels tiny.

 

[The Smythe Meister]

Looking really crisp there Tim ,
The PE that you have added brings that "extra something" for sure.
I know what you mean about the quality of these Profipack kits,the ones I have look sublime..... so much so,that I can't decide which one to do first!!
Looking forward to the next update..

 

[stona]

That looks great and good to see you clear the starting line!

Eduard always seem to make a good job of the small details and surface detail, and this looks to be no exception.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Looking really crisp there Tim ,
The PE that you have added brings that "extra something" for sure.
I know what you mean about the quality of these Profipack kits,the ones I have look sublime..... so much so,that I can't decide which one to do first!!
Looking forward to the next update..

Cheers Andy. Just pick one, you won’t regret it…..

 

[Tim Marlow]

That looks great and good to see you clear the starting line!

Eduard always seem to make a good job of the small details and surface detail, and this looks to be no exception.

Cheers Steve. Yes they do. The plastic they use is also a joy to work with. It brings out the detail excellently, but it also just the right consistency to work with, neither too soft or too hard. It’s not brittle either.

 

[Jim R]

Glad you like it and it's going well. Detail looks great.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Glad you like it and it's going well. Detail looks great.

Cheers Jim

 

[Tim Marlow]

Okay……cockpit done……




Really fun to work on. Everything just fits and paints up really well. Never used all the PE, but then, I never do anyway. Some kit parts looked better so got left.



Cockpit sidewalls look fine as well. The metallic turquoise primer used by the Japanese looks really cool I think…..probably won’t see much of it when the fuselage is assembled though…..


Lastly the floor at the back…..in that nice primer again.

This kit has truly been great to build so far. Detail is excellent. The parts fit well with no fiddling. There is no flash, and barely any mould lines. The plastic is crisp and easy to work, and the colour call outs are very clear and easy to follow. All in all this is a great kit. Probably the best 1/48 aircraft kit I have made so far, and that includes several Tamiya examples.

Of course, like all aircraft, the bit that really shows off the design quality employed is the wing root joint, so keep watching and I’ll let you know how that goes…..right now I have absolutely no fears on that score though.

 

[adt70hk]

Looking very Tim. Very good indeed.

And good to hear that the lot is living up to their reputation! Good job to given how many I have!!

ATB.

Andrew

 

[Tim Marlow]

Looking very Tim. Very good indeed.

And good to hear that the lot is living up to their reputation! Good job to given how many I have!!

ATB.

Andrew

Cheers Andrew….I’m aware of a couple of their kits with some issues, but this certainly isn’t one of them….as far as I know the dodgy ones were withdrawn and updated so are now fine.