Another Tamiya Zero

Andrew

 Thanks for the input! However, I am going to have to defend myself a little here. I can't find any evidence that the 12-shi airplane flew with any armament at all, and in fact, needed to shed the gun weight in order to make the specification performance requirements on the Zuisei engine.(Eagles of Mitsubishi, Horikoshi pp63)

I also cannot find any credible evidence that there was an ungainly scoop plopped on the top of the cowl. A Mitsubishi factory drawing indicates that the actual scoop arrangement was comprised of 2 openings in the upper cowl lip at roughly the 11 and 1 o'clock positions that blended into a single intake plenum before attaching to the carb. A good illustration of this arrangement is the cowl used on the Laird Super Solution racer of the 1930s. I think I got the oil cooler right, as the prototype's cooler was mounted parallel to the aircraft centerline and vented overboard, whereas later ones were canted and vented into the engine accessory section.

On the tail, again, I have a factory drawing indicating a non-tabbed rudder, and the dimensions of the fin base as 1540mm. Because the fuselage is shortened, it may appear out of scale. I could not find reliable dimensions of the ventral fin, so that was left off. On the radio mast, I will concede, can't find any reliable drawings of that.

I need to point out that this model is NOT an A6M2. This is the 12-shi prototype, even before the Navy accepted the airplane. At that point the airplane would receive the A6M1 designation.  The designation A6M2 and suffix Model 1-1 indicates the  majorly revised airframe, and the Sakae engine installation.

I'd love to see your collection as well, this is great fun. And, also your research materials to compare them to mine. Having built one prototype, I can always build another!

Ashley

  First, let me say I am not trying to bash your build in any way. It looks great and the markings are just what they should be.... if this was a prototype. It's actually something even more interesting from a kit perspective. This is 1 of the 3 initial "pre production" A6M2 model 11s. Airframes 3-5. The dead give away is the arrangement of the cowling. Remember that the Zuisei 13 of the prototypes used a down draft carburator and these machines used an over - under intake configuration. A stubby L shaped intake on top for the carb, and a low long slender intake on the bottom for the oil cooler. The first 3 production machines used a single intake on the bottom like the one your model has. They also were initially fitted with a Sumitomo all metal constant-speed 2 blade prop. This was found to cause a lot of vibration in the prototype tests so it was changed to a Sumitomo variable pitch constant-speed 3 blade prop with spinner before delivery to the IJN. All Zeros from then on had 3 blade props. Also of note is the shape of the tail. It has too much "swoop" at the bottom for the prototype. And the radio mast is too short and too straight. Another thing I notice is that guns are flat out missing. Even the first 2 prototypes had guns in the nose, only the 2 A6M8c did not.
The prototypes had no wing guns, all others did. Again, not to bash. Your model looks great and it is realy unique. I kinda wish I had one.

  In case you can't tell, I love the Zero. I have 2 pet projects ongoing. 1 is to have an A6M2b in every scale from 1/700 to 1/16. I still need 1/350, 1/100, and 1/16. The other is to build 1 of every variant, including all sub-types, in 1/72. That one will take a whyle. 

  If you are interested in rivit counting your Zeros, the best book I have come accross for that is  Aero Detail #7 Mitsubishi A6M Zero Fighter by Shigern Nohara san. Published in 1993 by Dainippon Kaiga Co., Ltd. Imported by RZM. ISBN 4-499-22608-2. Yes, it's in English. Hope you found this rant interesting if not helpfull.

                                                Andrew

Very nicely done and I love the "story" behind it....    Have you done the RUFEs yet?  Would LOVE to see pics of your completed Zero collections at some points.. thanks for sharing! Cheers

OK, I got busted. Thought I could pull the caper off, but yous cops was way too smart.

It really is the old Tamiya Zero 21 kit, straight out of the box, I swear, apart from the Zuisei engine, 2-blade prop, new cowl, shortened ailerons, lengthened flaps, different radio mast, new after fuselage and rudder.....

John hit the nail on the head, it is the prototype Zero, the 12-shi Carrier Fighter. It had the 875hp Mitsubishi Zuisei engine, hence the 2 blade adjustable propeller. The exhaust stacks exit higher, this was changed for better cooling once the Sakae engine was installed in the A6M2. This airplane is about a foot shorter than the production Zekes, so it looks a little stumpy, the horizontal stabilizers are slightly shorter as well. It has no markings, as I couldn't find any reliable references, so I assumed it would not receive any sort of number or tail flash until the Navy took it over and actually designated it the A6M1.

I haven't had the chance to see the Hasegawa kit, but it is a modeling law that someone will release a kit of the project you are working on, just before you get it done! Thanks for the interest, guys. This project is part of my attempt to build a complete collection of the major Zero variants. The easy ones are done, just those pesky trainers to go!

Looks like a great build, but I also whish the pics were larger.

I like the paint job you done.

I have the same question about the prop.

I always liked the zero, and have build several in the past but now I don´t have any in my display case, so maybe it will be a good build for the future

All the best

Jeremias

Wish the pics were larger, but looks good.  I have the same question on the prop.

Regards,  Rick

Really nice looking build!

But, I have to agree with Jeebus. I have 2 Zero's in the stash an A6M2 and an A6M3 and they both have 3 bladed props. I realize that maybe every version didn't. What version is yours? Also, It looks a little tiny.

I am not trying to slam your build, I am geniunley curious.

Thanks for sharing.

Regards,

Jeff