1/48 Tamiya Zero A6M5c

[KSaarni]

Not bringing out the hammer yet, Lyle?

No, but it is all charged up and ready to go...

- Kari

[Stuart]

Yeah, flat is a good shape for it

Great start Lyle, you managed to get going before I did. Thankfully the 'Stang is finished so I should be able to get going tomorrow!

[LyleW]

For some odd reason it still lives...for now.

[mustang1989]

These are good kits Lyle. Will be watching this.

[LyleW]

I believe that kit has good bones, but not so much if you are ham-handed, which I tend to be. It just happens. The cockpit tub assembly went together easily. Thought all was good. When installing in the fuselage, I could not get it to seat at first. Finally did, or so I thought. It was off just enough somewhere the. Fuselage would not close properly at the tailwheel, ten either the upper or lower fuselage so, open.ed it up and started sanding..this issue affected the air scoop join, the wing fit, the starboard wing leading edge and the piece to fill in the gear bar. All were off by just enough to cause issues. I think I got them fixed enough to proceed.

The Horizontal stabilizers pretty straightforward to attach, as is the rudder...but the point of attachment to the fuselage seemed weak to me...given my penchant for how I handle things, whether intentional or not. It just happens. The ailerons, rudder and elevators are just butt joints that fit into a hollowed out area. Recipie for trouble with me.

That is pretty much it.

[LyleW]

Will the Eduard masks for the Tamiya A6M3 zero fit the A6M5c canopy? Can't find any additional sets on ebay, scalehobbist, tower, sprue brothers and hobbylinc. Eduard's store has them, at a reasonable price, but one number i saw for shipping was over $25.00. . . nuts for what is basically a letter sized piece. I've asked Eduard for a cost.

I can find the A6M3 masks on ebay and others.

[LyleW]

Any thoughts on the above question? Anyone? Anyone....or I start posting more dad jokes.

To give a picture of my day. Well, the last few.
Stripped and repainted the Mustang spinner yet again This iteration is ugly but I’m not doing it again pics later.

Somehow, lost the ip on this one. Poof...it was gone. Contacted Tamiya USA and he is, or will, check in a few day upon return to the office. Ordered a replacement kit. Looked at my shelves two days ago and there sat another of the same exact kit. Golden and back on track.

And finally went to finish the 51 by adding the prop. Guess what idiot put all the markings on the backside and it did not fit into the spinner properly. Stripped the prop, reprinted decals and will try again.

The hammer was cocked, but stayed in the stowed position. Hope you guys enjoy my foibles and realize how good you have it.

[keavdog]

Bummer about the IP Lyle - poking around a bit I found these (indicates the canopy would be the same).
I have used these masks before and they're good. Shipping is the same as the mask but all tolled its around 10 bucks - not terrible

https://www.ebay.com/itm/MITSUBISHI-A6M ... 2598618201

[speedgraflex]

I just subscribed, Lyle. Apologies. I thought the hammers were still swinging in the direction of baby blue Airfix plastic. I love the early Tamiya kits. I almost bought a float plane this morning from their website. Like this, a beautiful kit.

You asked a great question about masks. I think regardless of intended kit, you can make a good set of aftermarket masks perform very well. Very well. Is there a particular reason why you want to avoid making masks? No worries, regardless

The last few days have been picture-perfect summer ones here, with temps in the low 80s. I was at the beach today. I chose a secluded section south of Santa Monica pier because I wanted some face time with Carlotta.

Beach looked like:

[jeaton01]

Kyle, all Zero canopies are the same for the windscreen and sliding section. There is a difference in the very last section of the fixed aft part but I think it was only different on the A6M1 prototype, and the difference is easy to correct for as it does not affect the outside lines.