Michelle Edward's

 

A6M3 Zero Type 22
Rabaul Flying Group 1943

Few weapons have ever débuted with such a shock as the A6M2 Type 21, also know as the 'Zero' (Taken from the last digits in the Japanese calender year 2600, or 1940, the year it was accepted by the Japanese Navy). It was the first carrier fighter superior to all its land based contemporaries. For the first six month of the War in the Pacific, the Zero struck fear into the hearts of Allied aviators; it was fast, agile, and packed a significant punch with its two 7.7mm guns and two 20mm wing mounted cannon. It wasn't till the autumn of 1942 that new Allied tactics began to turn the tables on the Zero.

In its first combat, 12 A6M2s destroyed 20 of 27 Chinese fighters without loss. Although the Chinese fighter force tried to avoid the new plane, the Zero continued to decimate its opposition in China, destroying 99 planes in the air without any air to air losses. American and British intelligence attributed this largely to the ineffectiveness of the aircraft the Chinese were using, but this assumption was shattered when zeros appear over the skies of Pearl Harbour, the Philippines, Signapore and Malaya.

Powered by a 940HP Sakae 12 engine, the Zero had a top speed of 331MPH. Designer Jiro Horikoshi employed every weight saving measure he could, reasoning that every pound he saved would translate into increased manoeuvrability and emphasis on its ability as a dogfighter. It also gave the Zero another advantage; great range. Through fuel management Zeros of the Third and Hainan Kokutai (carrier based units) flew from Formosa to surprise the Americans at Clark Field in the Philippines on December 8th 1941, a round trip of 934 miles.

This came the day after 125 escorted the strike on Pearl Harbour. Following this devastating opening gambit, the Zero rampaged over Wake island, Darwin, New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies, totally outclassing and outnumbering the Allied aircraft it was pitted against. At the Battle of The Coral Sea, the Zero came out on top in most engagements, At Midway Zeros butchered American torpedo planes, destroying 37 of the 41 TBD Devastators on their way to attack the Japanese fleet. But while the Zeros shot down the TBDs, SBD Dauntless dive bombers struck 3 of the 4 Japanese carriers. In the end, Midway was a disaster for the Japanese. With 4 of their 6 carriers sunk, it was the turning point in the War in The Pacific.

The A6M3 Zero Model 22 was equipped with an uprated Sakae 21 engine, with a two speed supercharger  enclosed in a redesigned cowling. It was fitted with additional fuel tanks in the wings, increasing its range by 100 miles; extremely important for a fighter that flew long missions over the sea. Ammunition for the 20mm wing cannons was also increased. The increased weight of the extra fuel and ammo all but cancelled out the increase in power from the uprated Sakae engine and the hoped for improvement in performance was never realised. Still, though the Zero was a fierce opponent in the hands of a good pilot. Versions of the Zero continued in production for the duration of the war, with 10,449 built befor the final Japanese surrender.


On with the box and sprue pics:

And just so it's not OOB

Yes I know it's a Luftwaffe harness but it's the nearest I could get in 1:32, I might even try and use some home made masks for the Hinomaru.

Engine dry fitted



Engine painting has begun along with cockpit



Started on the lap straps of the harness

and fitted to the seat

and then the other side

and fitted to the seat

and the engine is going together

Got one shoulder strap done, I must be getting better this one only took me 45 minutes

And here it is in place

Good progress today, I'm really happy with the way this kit is going, I'm enjoying this one guys.

I'll let the photos tell the story

 

A little bit of filler in the kits screw holes.

Undercarriage legs in the wings

Inner undercarriage doors and air scoop on

 

Okay my biggest beef with kit manufactures....

DON'T PUT YOUR NAME ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE MODEL

I feel better now and notice the strange rippling effect which needed to be sanded as well

And after sanding

And fitted, will need some filler

The upper wings have needed plenty of clamping

And will need a bit of filler

The fuel tank just 'clicked' together and will only need a bit of sanding

Tailplanes all filled

Prop assembled and dry fitted to the engine

Wings assembled

And joined to the fuselage and filled (needed a little )

But not half as much as the bottom join required!

Some how I'm going to have to sort out this misalignment

And I couldn't resist putting the whole lot together to see how she is gonna look

 

Sanded down the under wing join, but wasn't happy

So I piled some more filler on

And then sanded it down again till I was happy and rescribed the lost panel lines.

The next two pics show the wing root joins about halfway through sanding

On the port side I wasn't happy so I put a spot more filler on

This is a better shot of the misalignment on the engine cowl

And after some 'adjustment'

All ready for priming

And Primed

 

Picked up the Zero this morning and was greeted with a 'crack', part of the leading edge of the port wing had separated. So the fist job was to fill, sand and reprime.

After it was all dry and the primer sanded down it was on with the Alcad, I've chosen duraluamin as I want a duller colour.

Next was to preshade and this had to be done with my old single action Badger 200 as I had a washer disintegrate on my H&S

Then a good liberal coating of hairspray.

Recognition panels done

Underside

So first of I made some masks for the Hinomaru  out of frisket film. After I had put them on the Zero I used some matt yellow to provide some preshading. I only did two as after I spray the first two I decided it was going to give the effect I was after.

Masks off

Fuselage masked and sprayed

And weathered

Now have I overdone it? I do want a well beat up Zero from Rabaul.

 

Some post shading on what paint is left! A flat coat one and I have started on placing and weathering the very few decals needed.

Sorry for the poorer than normal pics but I had to take this on the phone as I can't find my compact camera since returning from Southern Expo

Rabaul Defender

    * Kit manufacture: 21st Century Toys
    * Scale: 1:32
    * Type: A6M3 Zero (Zeke)
    * Extras used: RB Productions Paper and PE Harness
    * Paints and colours used: Tanya acrylics, Citadel Metalics, Alcad aluminium, Lifecolour acrylic (Aotake).

After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour it was apparent that Rabaul would come under attack. By December 1941, all women and children were evacuated. In January 1942, Rabaul was heavily bombed, and on January 23 the Battle of Rabaul began with the landing of thousands of Japanese marines.
During their occupation the Japanese developed Rabaul into a much more powerful base than the Australians had planned after the 1937 volcanic eruptions, with long term consequences for the town in the post-War period. The Japanese army dug many kilometres of tunnels as shelter from the Allied air forces. By 1943 there were about 110,000 Japanese troops based in Rabaul.
Instead of capturing Rabaul, the Allied forces bypassed it by establishing a ring of airfields and naval bases on the islands around it. Cut off from re-supply and under continual air attacks as part of Operation Cartwheel, the base became useless. The Japanese held Rabaul until they surrendered at the end of the war in August 1945
When it was obvious that there would be no resupply and protracted losses of the garrison aircraft the decision was taken to fly off as many aircraft as possible to help with the war else where. The only planes left where early and worn out aircraft. My Zero is depicted as one of those last defenders of Rabaul