I received the Hasegawa A6M7 for review, both as an in-box and a build. I am trying out villiage.photo so hopefully the images will come across properly.

The build starts with the pilot. Assembly is straight forward and with the same parts breakdown found in typical figure sets-torso front and back, with separate arms and legs. The neck is cut straight so any of the three heads can be placed looking forward or to the side. Fit of the parts is decent but does need a little work. As he will be seated in a tight cockpit I am not too worried about the fit in the hips.

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IMG_9334 by russell amott, on Flickr
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Cockpit is simple. Left and right side walls and rear wall have nice details.

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So far no issues.

The instrument panel calls out for a small part to be attached to one side. Problem is it goes on the panel for the A6M5c and not the new panel for the A6M7. The cockpit photo for the A6M7 on display in San Diego has the panel shown for the A6M5c. Which is correct? I read over a fairly heated argument in which it was claimed that the restoration crew at San Diego worked with what parts they could find, including those from other aircraft. I went with the panel for the A6M7.

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I then assembled the cockpit floor and fixed the seat in place.

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Dry fit of the seat cushion and life raft, and pilot.

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I'll figure out what wiring I want to add and then paint. I picked up the Tamiya XF-71 interior green which is supposed to be good for Nakajima interior green. The fuselage comes next. I'm going with a wheels up display so I have to figure out how I am going to set that up. So far, everything has gone together very well.

More Zeroes!?! Now we're talking!! Im definitely going to keep an eye on this one. Your pilot is outstanding Russ, the colors look spot on.

These nice Hasegawa pilots are a far cry from their old front and back half pilots. The Japanese kit makers have blessed us lately with some really nice injection molded aircrew figures.The best efforts seem to be spent on japanese subjects too. Tamiya should sell its 1/48 IJN 4 pilot sprue separately.

I concur sir !

russell is it true that the seat could be raised for takeoff? i notice in many video that the pilot is sitting high up in the cockpit as to almost to interfere with the canopy closing. and i also see in your photos of the built cockpit arms connected to the seat on each side that look to be able to pivot.

joe

Indeed it could - the piece you see on the bulkhead behind the seat passing over two sheaves and down to the seat pan is a bungee that provides the force to help raise the pilot/seat -



photo credit Robert Mikesh - " Japanese Aircraft Interiors " - for illustration purposes only-

Russ - I'm delighted to be following this ! - Richard

Thank you all for the comments and interest. They are much appreciated.

I didn't get a lot done. My daughter decided to sprinkle glitter all over my workbench and it took several hours to get it off of everything. She said she wanted to see what it looked like and the gold flashes were pretty. On top of that I had to work the holidays and there were some unpleasant situations. But now I hope to get quite a bit done.

The fuselage comes with large inserts to hold the two halves together firmly. I did a test fit of all parts before I applied any glue and the fit was quite good. I placed the tail wheel in the up position and then carefully worked my way around the airframe, carefully holding the halves together. I have since sanded down the seam line and things look quite good, except along the upper surface just before the tail, where there is a slight indentation. I thought I got a shot of the cockpit placed in the fuselage but I missed it.

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Tonight I hope to get the cockpit painted and put some primer on the fuselage.

Russ - I can empathize - laughing with you I hope - gotta love little girls . I raised two of them . Keep smiling !
Richard

Hi Russ, this looks like a very nice kit. I concur with the other comments concerning the pilot figure, it looks very good and you have gotten the colors spot on.

Ernest

Hi Russ

Great work so far. This is going to be a real beauty!

All the best

Rowan

Sorry for the long delay in updates, and thank you again for the comments.

Assembly has gone forward slowly. I painted up the cockpit parts with the Tamiya XF-71 interior color and put the decals on for the instruments. Somehow I don't have the photos I was sure I took. Decals took a while to settle in using Microsol and Microset, but they did snuggle down. I detail painted the handles and knobs and added some wiring to the different boxes. When it was closed up nothing was visible.

The horizontal stabilizers come in top and bottom sections that matched up quite well but had ejector pin marks that had to be trimmed down to get a good fit. There was also some flash on the tips. The main wing section has separate pieces for the wheel wells that also offer some internal strength to the wing. The upper and lower sections again mated up quite well with only a slight overhang on the leading edge that I carefully sanded away with a flexible nail file and then smoothed over with some steel wool. I will need to touch up the panel lines.

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The main wing had some ejector pin marks that needed to be trimmed down for fit as well. I dry fit the wings to the fuselage and there is a gap that will need some attention. The tail will fit much better.

I worked on the three heads, trying to decide which to use. I have seen several builds of the A6M5c kit that has the same figure, and one of this kit. All used head number 3 with the helmet flaps curled up and the pilot looking to the left. After painting all three I opted for head number 2. I touched up the details on the figure and added the decals to the sleeves and then set him in his seat.

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The cowl gun was assembled from instructions I found for the A6M5c kit online. The cockpit isn't glued yet as I still need to fill the small divot on the tail. The fuselage halves come in slightly towards the tail leaving a slight v along the seam line.

Just a small update today. I have been working on some of the smaller details and having some camera issues. Photos I have taken of the build aren't being saved for some reason. For starts, here is a look at the instrument panel in the cockpit, again showing the tight fit. I don't know about the seatbelt arrangement for this aircraft. Normally there is something molded to the pilot but in this case all the straps appear to be for the parachute. I haven't added the gun sight yet, but my dry fitting of the cockpit is fairly fixed in place and I doubt I can get it out without risking damage, so it will stay there.

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There is a small clear piece that goes into the fuselage side. I installed it per the instructions but having to drill out the hole on my own left the opening a little ragged. This was done earlier in the build. I used some perfect plastic putty around the insert as it is easy to work with and remove without damaging the part. I also installed the gear doors in the up position and the cover for the tail hook. It looks to be sitting proud of the surface but has been pressed down and looks much better now.

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There are two different head rests included. One has armored glass which I think would have been more correct for the later versions for pilot protection. I am going with that piece. I also assembled the drop tanks. Two half sections and a third insert for the top connecting point. Two braces will be installed at final assembly.

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Next up is the assembly of the engine. Two cylinder banks, separate push rods and a locator pin on the parts to make sure things are put in the proper position.

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There is a bit of touch up to do on the engine, and the photos make it look far darker than it really is. I debated trying to do the ignition wires but the opening is small and the larger nose cone hides most of what is in there. As far as the propeller assembly is concerned, there are two bases in the kit. The one marked for use is the broken one. It goes with the much larger late version nose cone.

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I have a bit more touch up to do on the fuselage. I will attach the wings and fill the gaps and it will be ready for painting. I have read sources that state that Nakajima produced aircraft used the same underside color for the wheel wells, which doesn't apply here as they are closed. I am checking for the cowling interior to see what would be used as one source claimed that same color was used for other interior areas. The instructions state flat black.

For 72 scale , it's got really nice detail to it . Doing a fine job so far Russ and I do like how the figure turned out as well as the different heads , very nice



Terri

Thank you, Terri! My daughter said the pilot is smirking. Maybe he was just caught in a moment of fun while he was flying and forgot about everything else.

I searched LSP and J-aircraft and found the information I was looking for. I have it backwards. Mitsubishi painted the wheel wells gray. Nakajima in Aotake. Cowling should be black inside.

Small update for today. I started masking the canopy, using Tamiya tape. The canopies are molded quite thin and as I was working with them I kept worrying that I would end up breaking one, so for the third section I used micro mask fluid, which was promptly knocked to the floor by the cat I never wanted. Remasking with the fluid was still faster than trimming tape to fit each panel so it worked out. I used a silver sharpie to give the canopy frame a base coat.

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I then assembled the gun sight. There are three tiny clear pieces that go in specific positions-I think I put the forward sight in the wrong spot, and it gets a tiny decal that can't be seen. The armored glass goes in front of that. I had held off placing the part until I was ready to protect it under the canopy.

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I assembled the frame supports for the external fuel tanks. They are handed and the rear support has a notch cut out so you don't confuse them in assembly. From the instructions it appears that the short side goes towards the fuselage.

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I primed the model with flat black and started to apply the underside color. The paint had some issues, blocking the airbrush and then suddenly splattering all over. It bubbled on the surface. There wasn't much left and when I rinsed out the bottle it was grainy inside, so I don't know what was going on. It was my only bottle of Tamiya JN gray, so I will need to shop for more or mix my own. I stripped the paint mess of the model so here is how things sit for now.

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Just a quick update. I redid the primer coat, using semi-gloss black, which gave a much better base, and now I have added the color.

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I will go over the model with future to give it a gloss finish and then do some light weathering. I don't expect the real aircraft would have seen a lot of use and wouldn't have weathered all that much in two or three months.

Good work Russ, Your zero is coming alone very nicely, it will be a great looking model for sure. 1/72 ?

Cheers
Pedro

Thank you, Pedro. 1/32.

Very nice cockpit, pilot and engine Russ.

Ernest

Sorry for the long delay. Ernest, thank you.

I have been held up with paint issues. I can't get a smooth coat with the XF-13 and think there is an issue with the bottle-when I mix it the paint looks a little chalky. I have another bottle that doesn't so I will work with that. The other is the Future I used for a gloss coat left odd bumps here and there, and ruined the paint job. I stripped everything, started over, did the underside, taped carefully (frog brand yellow painters tape from the local Lowe's home center, never had a problem with it before), painted the upper surface and I again got the odd grains here and there while I was using the old paint jar. I had mixed the future into the paint which may have contributed. I used 2000 grit wet/dry paper to sand down the bumps, went over the surface with fine steel wool and I will now hit it again with the new paint jar. I pulled the tape off the underside and there is a glittery effect all over the surface. I have no idea where it came from. I tested the tape on several other painted surfaces with no residue. Carefully sanded the surface and it doesn't buff out. On top of it all I have a kidney stone slowly grinding it's way through. So at this point, things have to get better, right? I'll work with the new jar of paint today and see if that helps. No future as that seems to be contributing, or at least not from that bottle, either.

Finally have some updates to post. I redid the paint and carefully buffed everything down. Then did a basic oil dot blending to vary the surface, followed by decals. I used the kit decals and they went down well for the most part, though they are on the thick side. The red outline for the no walk zone is a single piece and very tricky to place. I should have cut it into sections but got lucky with the first side and it all went into place. On the second decal things came apart, literally, and it is crooked as a result. With micro sol and micro set in several applications the decals snuggled down into all the recesses and detail.

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I had painted the yellow identification band across the leading wing edge and added the engine. I used the Vallejo metallic acrylic paint, burnt iron, which went on very well, and then added the cowling.

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How she looks now with decals on.

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I have placed the canopy and removed the masking. Much of the paint came off as I did so. It doesn't adhere well to the silver base coat. What seemed like a good idea at the time hasn't worked so well. I need to do some detail painting and add the lights and prop. I also need to do a protective glosscoat, and then decide how to display the kit-whether to hang it or place it on a dowel and base. If I missed anything let me know. The kit portion of the build has been great but thinner decals or painting with masks would be better. Aside from my painting issues, this has been a really nice build.