planning a WWII Jap dio...

I do agree with ( D-Fens ). At first I did not notice it.

Take it as a well-mannered correction.

I don't want to be a thread-killer here as this sounds like a really great project. But I do take issue with the term "Jap."

To a significant part of the population this isn't a pleasant word and while I'm sure it wasn't your intention to offend anybody, I thought I'd bring it to your attention so we don't needlessly exclude anybody from the discussion.

To avoid this, I'd suggest spelling the word in it's entirety. If you insist on abbreviating it, add the period at the end of the word to denote that you're using an abbreviation and not a racial slur.

You may want to do some research on the starter truck. From what I have found, they were only used on Army aircraft. So, in that case, substitute an Oscar or Tojo for the Zero. Look for the protrusion on the spinner or prop hub, that gives away which ones were used with the starter trucks. Navy aircraft usually had electric starters backed up with inertial flywheels

It would be historically correct to model a single zero in a jungle scene. In war every thing happens, and the Japanese excelled in their deceptionary tactics.

Your planed diorama when finished, would make this strategy be captured perfectly in a model.

I live in the Philippines, and for your info we were invaded by their Imperial Army back then. Of course I'm a Filipino, but I admire their tactics.

I SAY GO AHEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is an article in the April 96 issue of Finescale Modeler featuring a diorama in
1/72 scale with a crashed Zero and a Jeep.

HTH,
Mark

Row,
If your still stuck,leave a message and i'll check my ref's ok. Flaps up Mike

I looked at those Jager Models...

Problem is they are in 1/48...I would need 1/72...all the rest of teh parts are in 1/72...

Hmmm...I'll be looking for those, and some sort of machinegun nest..

And I had been thinking about it last night...It would be alto mroe likely that one plane would be stationed by itself out towards the end of the way...when the US was island hopping back and forth...

I can see Japan setting out single aircraft on smaller islands here and there...as a sort of 'sniper' to pop support aircraft that would have been more unprotected..

Then again...I might be wrong. I don't have a real big history back ground...so I am not sure...I just think it would look neat...call it something like "Aerial Sniper"

LOL

I'll be doing some research tonight..seeing what I can find...

Rowdymon,
My uncle took a lot of pics when he was stationed in New Guinea during WWII as a wrencher. He has about a dozen or so Oscars in different stages of being rebuilt (especially the one he was working on). This field was taken 3mnths prior to these photos by US forces.
These birds are in both US (over all natural metal)and Japanese markings !!!!!. The two a/c (1 US, 1 Jap)he concentrated on were sitting off in the distance from the others ( his answer was that they had no more room).
What you had asked earlier about a single zero sitting alone to me would not be wrong. Depending on what period of the war(early or late)you want to build, I feel they put the fighter grps were ever they could. This is more so at the end of the war(where the US had not occupied yet) Make sense.
If you are still kinda unsure check with ref books(In Action, Osprey) or any ref that shows how these a/c or crews adapted to the islands
In all I would not think you could go wrong, but yet I could be wrong. I do have pics that do beg the differ. Hopefully this helps out :-)
Flaps up Mike

Maybe some pilots or something?

Jaguar Models make some...here is a link to one...

http://store.yahoo.com/internethobbies/jagmod148wwi1.html