Sooooooo I've joined yet another campaign (surprise surprise) this time it's the China Burma India campaign. I've decided to do Saburo Sakai's Zero that flew out of Formosa (now Taiwan) during WW2 This particular example flew with the 252 Naval air group. I've got several of these old Hasegawa kits in the stash and thought it might be fun to build it and see what I can achieve with it. I'm not thinking of going nuts with this but who knows?

I've started out by assembling the engine and replacing lost detail. I've also added some missing detail that was simple to fabricate specifically the tubes that brought the ignition loom to the front ignition ring. I've also added ignition wires to the cylinders. There is no detail to speak of for the back of the motor. I'm using the open cooling gills for the engine and I'm thinking of fabricating the opening and closing mechanism for it. It may be beyond my skill set but I'll give it a shot. I'm also debating whether to add the equalising tubes between the pushrods and the stiffeners that go between the cylinder heads.

Here are some shots of the kit and some progress shots of the assembled motor.

Chris,
Nice start on that Zero! Sakai was the first Japanese ace I ever read about. Might have been in a military history magazine or something like that in the 70's.

Gonna watch you do this!

Gaz

Will be tagging along on this one Chris . Nice job on adding the details to the engine .




Terri

I'm tagging along for this ride as well Chris, looking forward to seeing what you can do with this one mate.

Cheers, D

@Gaz:- A pleasure as always to have you along for the ride my friend! I look forward to hearing your input as I move forward.

@Terri:- I'll make sure I have pepsi and popcorn in the house Terri (we're coke drinkers here, sacrilege I know!) and I'm grateful for your company on this "odyssey" of mine. Love to hear your input as I go it's good to have another set of skills along for the ride.

@D:- Hop onboard my friend! Look forward to your feedback about what I'm doing or not doing and I should be.

Good start with the engine, Chris. Guess the Hasegawa Zero is a good build despite its age.

Chris,
Nice start to Hasegawa 1/32 scale A6M5c Zero. The wiring on the engine looks pretty darn good.

I'll be following along with much interest as you're building in my new scale of preference: 1/32 scale.

Joel

Edit: nevermind - Yahu instrument panels.

Good start!

Hi Chris,

Will follow this one. Very interested in the 'old moulding quality'.

Kind regards,

Robert Jan

@Bernd:- Thanks my friend for the encouragement! The detail is soft but reasonable. Fuselage halves have warped and will take some serious work to get them to align properly.

@Joel:- I thought I might see you here my friend! My thanks for the encouraging comment about my work on the motor. I did think the scale would entice you in.

@Matt:- Thanks Matt always a pleasure to have someone of your abilities on board.

@Jan:- Great to have you along! I really like building the old kits and seeing what a little TLC can do for them.


Anyway an update for you all!

I've been working on the cockpit and the fuselage halves. I've found that the seat is a total fabrication nothing like the original with no raising or lowering mechanism. I've got a replacement one coming from CMK with moulded on harness so two birds one stone so to speak. But I'll have to scratch build the arms for it and remove the tabs that the original sat on.

Little interior detail past the cockpit but I doubt much could be seen with this kit but I'll confirm just what can and can't be seen. The IP has soft detail with moulded on dials which may or may not respond to judicious dry brushing. I'm considering replacing it if I can find something that won't cost me my first born.

Here are a few pics to illustrate what I'm up to.













The engine isn't glued in yet still doing a little research before deciding what to add.

Chris,
Nice work so far. I have to admit that I hate it when I find parts that don't even resemble the original in some way.

But when it comes to AM I'm a bit of a cheapskate. Good luck on your choice.

Gaz

Hi Gaz I hear you buddy! The idea of getting this kit was to save a bit of cash I don't want to spend a similar price again for aftermarket! If I wanted that I'd simply buy the Tamiya kit in the first place. But I don't mind investing a little time on building detail for it. I'm adding what I'm guessing are balance tubes between the cylinder heads on the front row because only they'll be seen. Got a little more work to do and possibly some other additions like the carburettor intake for the motor because that's rather prominent and can be seen or not seen if it's not present.

Chris,
the engine in the cowling does look rather good. Can't wait to see it painted and a wash to bring out those cylinder fins.

Like you, I rather try to modify kit parts, or attempt to make my own then buy AM parts. But sometimes it's the only way to go. I did modify the F4F's kit seat and got it fairly close, but you went with a AM one with molded on seatbelts and harnesses, so you're the clear winner for sure.

Honestly, my major concern is that IP after seeing it. It's so thick, and the gauges are molded right on top o fit. yes, you can dry brush them, but I'm not sure that there is enough depth to the faces for a Pledge/Krystal Kleer lens. Normally I would just thin out the IP from the back, drill holes and add decals from Airscale. But in this case the IP is molded right on the bulkhead. Is there any AM IPs out there?

Joel

Not sure if Eduard does a PE cockpit set of the older Hase kit . The lots for the new tooled kit though . The simple cockpit set might work for the instrument panel and a few other details .




Terri

Thanks for that Terri. I've been looking at the Eduard Zoom set for the Hasegawa kit I think I can make it work with the older kit as it's just the I.P. and some of the controls.

our welcome Chris , don't think you will have any trouble making the parts work and the zoom set would be in your price range




Terri

Chris,
I took a really good look at the IP and it looks like down the left side there is also a few gauges. There just isn't any way to salvage those. I'd go for the Eduard AM set for the Hasegawa kit. You've more then got the needed skills to make it look like it was designed for your build.

Joel

Hi Joel Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm going to go with the Eduard zoom set as it's just the I.P. and a few controls which I'll also look at using in the pit as it'll make things a great deal "busier". I'm also going to attempt to either scratch the breech blocks of the MG's or detail the hell out of the slabs of plastic that are there now. I've got aftermarket barrels on their way for the 7.7mm, 13mm and the 20mm cannons. That will improve the look of the the kit. I've also realised that tubes on the second row of cylinders is actually visible so I've added those in as well. I'm not going to attempt the heat shielding around the cylinder heads however I'm not that much of a glutton for punishment.

I've also got a CMK exterior set for the Tamiya A6M5 Zero which I'm pondering the use of I may just use the tail wheel set. But it also contains a set of wheel wells, fuel tanks for the wings and some access hatch details as well. Not really sure if I should jump in with this or hold onto it for the Tamiya Zero that'll eventually grace my stash. (Currently rather cheap to purchase ex Japan with free shipping)

Anywho enough waffling I've thrown some paint at the motor which is looking a tad garish but will tone down nicely after some detail painting and washes etc.

Good progress so far, the ignition harness on the radial is a worthy while visible addition.

The cockpit is indeed a bit sparse but with some care and skill you will turn it into a fine rendition.

These older Hasegawa kits can t compete with newer releases but i have enjoyed them all while they were good builds and they looked the part.

Hi Bernd my thanks! I'm going to try a few ideas in the cockpit to liven things up the last of which will likely be a painted photo-etch set if my ideas don't pan out, only time will tell.

Chris,
Nice work on the engine detail!

Gaz

Chris,
Excellent start on the engine. Looking forward to your upgrade of the cockpit and IP.

Joel

@Gazza:- Hiya buddy! Thanks for popping along I appreciate your compliments and presence.

@Joel:- Thanks Joel appreciate your compliments and presence as well. Not quite up to your level Joel but I'm catching up!

Covered the engine in a wash or two and I'm going to detail paint now then possibly another wash to tie it all together. Using the open cooling gills make the control system for them visible so I'm going to create it. The ring behind the engine is I'm assuming part of this but has way more mounts than needed so I cleaned things up a little. I'm hoping I'm doing the right thing but details in this area is sparse in my household.

While working on the Hurricane I was looking at the cowling and realised that the intake could use a little work as in this scale it shouldn't really be blank. So I created the carburettor intake trunk and opened up the inlet on the front of the cowl.

It also dawned on me that the release catches and panel lines for the two halves of the cowl are missing. So I'll have to create them somehow whether by scribing or some other method. Also the right hand rifle calibre machine gun was replaced with a 13.2mm one. This requires the opening to be enlarged I'm working out the process to widen it now, Oh what fun I'm creating for myself!

Chris,
1st and foremost, your work is every bit as good as what I'm doing. You guys only get to see the final results, not the countless screw ups I usually have to deal with and redo, sometimes more then once.

As for another wash for the engine, I certainly concur as there is so much Natural metal to deal with. Just one suggestion, I would paint the ignition wires if they are indeed colored in the 1:1 version. That would really make the engine pop.

Nice job scratching out the cowling intake.

Joel

Thumbs up !



Terri