Hello, guys. I'm a newbie modeller here who has yet to complete his first model. I have actually started building a Hobby Boss Ju 87 Stuka here. But seeing that it has three different paint colors, I've decided that it might not be the easiest paint job for a newbie. So I started a kit that seems easier, Hasegawa's 1/72 A6M3 Zero Model 32 "Hamp" and this one is part of the "Rabaul Combo" set with an A6M3 Model 22. I will be painting this in a single-tone color scheme of the captured unit with tail code Q-102.






Now I have a question here. I know that the inner parts of the landing gear covers should be the same color as the underside since the Model 32 were all Mitsubishi-built, but what about the wheel wells? Should they be in the underside color, or should they be in that aotake?

Some progress in the past two weeks!

Test fitting:




Last weekend, I've painted the cockpit and the interior of the plane and applied to instrument panel decal. I actually forgot to apply one of the decals right by the side of the seat because I was excited to seal everything in.

Somehow this makes me realize how little detail can be seen on a 1/72 cockpit. Hasegawa's cockpit side walls are empty but it barely bothers me because you can't see much.



After I sealed in the fuselage halves, I did another test fit with a masked canopy.



And as of today, I did the primer application via airbrush. I used Mr. Surfacer 1200 thinned 50-50 Tamiya Lacquer Thinner, and I was very impressed at the result. I had a few rough patches on the wing roots where the primer and air would "bounce" at the corner hence creating a very rough texture, but I managed to sand it very smoothly down with a 1200 grit sandpaper. Mr. Surfacer 1200 is so fine, you can still see the panel lines!



Hopefully tomorrow I'd get to touch up the spots where the primer got sanded off, and maybe I'll try to apply the first base coat of paint!

Base coat applied. I need to be consistent with my paint coats. I can't exactly say how many coats I applied to the entire plane, but I'm sure the wings had way more coats than the fuselage. Base coat is about 80% Tamiya XF-14 J.A. Grey and 20% Tamiya XF-49 Khaki.

Hopefully I can paint in the cockpit decking and anti-glare next weekend, and probably gloss coat everything so I can apply the decals and probably do a wash during the weekdays.

As for a wash, that remains to be seen. I'm not confident that my finish is smooth enough, and the wash might end up going everywhere.

Hi Vincent,

Sorry for the delay. Nice looking Hamp there.

Best as I can tell, the wells should be airframe color.

Flying Heritage has a Model 22 and the incomplete gear shot indicates that.

All that said, I just did a bit of research. Some restored A6M3s show airframe color in the wells. However, the "Blyad Zero" show aotake in the wells:

http://www.j-aircraft.com/research/ryan4-0.htm

This one at the NZ Fighter Museum shows airframe color: http://www.j-aircraft.com/walk/rod_larson/new_zealand_fighter_museum.htm

I don't recall if one is Mitubishi and the other Nakajima-built.

Vincent,

Nice work on your zero, your overall color looks great. Looking foward to seeing it finished, can always stand to have more zeros around! I believe the mitsubishi built zero's had underside colored wheel wells but I admit to being rusty. Maybe I should pull a zero from the stash and freshen up

@Frederick thank you! I did quite a lot of reading on Zero colors and I decided to go airframe color on the wheel wells.

@Mike thank you! I've got quite a few more Zeros to build too. I've put my 1/72 Stuka on the backburner for now so I can practice more on painting models which have lesser major colors. The next one that will follow this would be a Model 22 Zero since this is part of Hasegawa's two-pack Rabaul Zero combo.

I aim to finish the painting next weekend, and then do the decal application and chalk wash during the weekdays, and then the final protective top coat on the next weekend.

Update, but not much for this weekend. Saturday has been rainy, and I was busy for the whole of Sunday, but there was no work for today in observance of the Chinese New Year.

Prior to today's paint job, I have cut off some masking tape using the canopy's front and back shapes in order to mask the cockpit decking and anti-glare of the Zero, which I then painted in the blue-black color (50-50 of Tamiya's Sea Blue and Semi-gloss Black). I've also painted the engine cowling in the same blue-black color.

Then I used some white glue to attach the canopy (which has been masked for quite some time now) and painted the canopy in the same airframe color.



Next weekend, I aim to finish painting the rest of the parts (landing gears, engine, propeller) and gloss coat everything in preparation for decal application that will follow in the weekdays.

Spending Valentine's Day with a model! A scale model!

So far I've painted the landing gear, the engine, and the propeller for today. I'll be applying the gloss coat next weekend in preparation for decals and weathering.

Impatience got the better of me tonight. I know it's best to leave off subassemblies until you're almost done, but I really wanted to see how to attach the Hasegawa 1/72 Zero landing gear to the fuselage without waiting for five more days.

Apparently I had a bit of a struggle because the struts don't have a tight fit so I had to hold it in place until the super glue dries.

Luckily I had a decent alignment after the glue dried.

HI Vincent, very nice work for nearly your first build. Your paint job looks clean and well executed. As you are finding out, in model building patience is a virtue. As you build more kits and improve your skill I think you will come to appreciate each step as; and that is one of the beautiful things about this hobby, the journey is often as enjoyable as the finish.

Ernest

thanks, Ernest. My patience is growing stronger with this hobby. Hopefully next time I will be able to wait until the end before attaching the landing gear. I still have another Zero to build after this. Which is the Model 22 that came with this one as part of the Rabaul combo set.

Okay some more progress! Laid out a few layers of gloss clear paint, and then it was time for decal application. A lot of online reviews said that Hasegawa decals are thick, but to me they're not. The backing paper is thick, but the decals are fine enough that they'd sink into the panel lines without the help of setting solutions.

But nonetheless I still used Mr. Mark Setter and Mr. Mark Softer. The latter of course helped the decals sink in further into the lines for a better appearance.



And then just now, I started to hand paint some parts as said in the instruction manual. Silver for the tail light, then black for two rectangular slots in the underside (I think those are the holes where spent ammo casings fall out?) And then a layer of silver, then a layer of clear red/clear blue for the wing lights.



I have to say I'm done with the coloring work with this. All that's left to do would be another layer of gloss coat to protect the decals, the panel line wash, and then the final top coat for the finish.

I'm happy to present my first ever completed military scale model, a Hasegawa 1/72 A6M3 Model 32 "Hamp." This one is based on a captured Zero with tail code Q-102 in Buna Airfield, Papua New Guinea.

A few hours ago my plan was gloss coat this model in preparation for a panel line wash, but I decided not to do it since I felt like the panel lines were just subtle enough for a model in 1/72 scale. So I just took out my flat clear paint and finished it up.

Really happy with how this turned out even though I can easily spot areas where I could have done better. These flaws would hopefully be improved in my next model. It's my first work so there is definitely a lot of room to improve on. I haven't even done any weathering on this.

Excellent first build Vincent, your Zero turned out very nicely.