1/32 Tamiya A6M 5

[Paulw]

Well I snuck one under the radar. I have been diddling with this for about a week or so.
Even though this is a high tech Tamiya kit I guess I find it ironic that the high price tag doesn't reflect the quantity of sprues or parts. I was fortunate, though, to get this kit at a fairly reasonable price.

Some of the parts are still small and fiddly and I personally don't care for retracting LG or any of the neat things that made me go nuts when I was a kid. How could they produce a kit that didn't have all the neat features that would appease any 12 year old? Now there are tiny bendy pieces of wire that you have to find a way to assemble on parts that you have no dexterity in handling let alone see.

The engine is not that bad and it fits quite well





The fuse went together pretty well too.







I did manage to get a close resemblance to Aotaki blue


and here is where I ran into an issue. Everything closes up pretty good but then I have this leading edge problem on the center line. Not unrepairable but but annoying just the same.

 

[moon puppy]

Fine start Paul. I'm with you, use to love all the moving parts and what not but now, we're not building toys..are we?

Remember the P51 that had levers that dropped the bombs and a thumb screw that rotated the gear?

 

[Paulw]

Yeah, the old Monogram and Revell one. I had three of them, how many do you have?

 

[moon puppy]

Only had one, in NMF of course...

 

[jknaus]

Looking good Paul. I had one of these once but never got to the wings. I'm sure you'll get it looking good. Do you have a marking in mind or just play by ear? Watching with interest
James

 

[phantom II]

Good start Strange for a Tamiya to not fit together :hmmm

Something is amiss Paul .

Cheers, Christian B)

 

[lupanzer]

Looking very good!....fantastic fighter

Luiz

 

[surfsup]

Very nice work so far Paul.....Cheers Mark

 

[Piet]

Had the same problem ,i sanded / scraped the wheel wells

 

[Hippy Ed]

Had the same problem ,i sanded / scraped the wheel wells

That's what I'm thinking, check the gear bays Paul. Tamiya kits usually build themselves. At least the few I've done so far....
This problem reminds me of my 1/48 Tomcat, had a similar problem where the nose gear bay was in wrong

 

[Paulw]

Well, well, well. After I did a little looking I came to find out that the reason for the poor fit was that the cockpit was not fully inserted in the fuselage. The reason for that was II had put the machine guns in the wrong slot and the charging handles on the guns made the insert too wide. How I found that out was simple, if the charging handles are in the wrong place the canopy won't fit either. :facepalm

 

[sharkman]

That sucks Paul,

Are you able to get them apart or are they glued?

Looks pretty good so far though!

 

[Hippy Ed]

Well, well, well. After I did a little looking I came to find out that the reason for the poor fit was that the cockpit was not fully inserted in the fuselage. The reason for that was II had put the machine guns in the wrong slot and the charging handles on the guns made the insert too wide. How I found that out was simple, if the charging handles are in the wrong place the canopy won't fit either. :facepalm

:smack Smooth move Paul!! :yipee At least you solved the mystery & I hope that the problem was resolved without any difficulty

 

[bob letterman]

Very nice start Paul,

Bob

 

[Hippy Ed]

Sorry for the delay guys - Some of the parts in the MDC conversion had shrunk and the wonderful folks there are shipping me replacements from the UK.


I'm heading down to the bench in a few minutes to make more progress.

Glad to hear they're sending ya replacements!!

 

[Paulw]

Sorry for the delay guys - Some of the parts in the MDC conversion had shrunk and the wonderful folks there are shipping me replacements from the UK.


I'm heading down to the bench in a few minutes to make more progress.

Wrong thread, mate.

 

[Hippy Ed]

Sorry for the delay guys - Some of the parts in the MDC conversion had shrunk and the wonderful folks there are shipping me replacements from the UK.


I'm heading down to the bench in a few minutes to make more progress.

Wrong thread, mate.

:smack

 

[Paulw]

I am not going to be able to go any further on the Super fort until I finish some of these shelf goons I have just glaring at me. I decided to finish some of the most recent, the Zero and the mosquito.

For the zero I finally got to the undercarriage and tacked the glazing with liqui-tape so I could shoot the color over all. Something about the dark colors is they really show where the holidays are. I am sure glad I didn't try this in 48. This stuff is tiny enough in it's own right, I would never be able to get that close with my eyes the way they are.

to scrodes; I got that seam so you wouldn't have to go lay down in the highway...













A good thing about these test pics is you find out where you need to do your touch ups. In my case it's the whole model.

 

[moon puppy]

Looking good to me Paul.

 

[Hippy Ed]

Very nice seein' paint get splattered on this :woohoo: