Yeah, it's not a newer Hasegawa kit, I think it dates back to the '70s maybe late '60s even. Both Hasegawa and Tamiya still keep some older kits in production and well, they ain't anywhere near their modern standards. Most are pretty decent though, wonder if you got a bad kit. 

And if the box is old the decals are probably bad, I don't really like Hasegawa decals anyhow and usually try to replace them. She didn't turn out half bad otherwise. I wonder at some of your more unusal colour choices, did you find references to these? Not knocking you but the brown cowling and red leading edge stripes I've never seen before. 

Thanks Gamera, yea the cowling was a mind flub on my part,painting the prop red/brown as called for. I got sick as a dog with this bug and by the time I felt good enough to get back and finish, went right by it. The ID stripes on the wings called for an orange/yellow with some references saying more to the red and some more to the orange. Depending on the light it appears more orange to my eyes. The fuselage colors were, top:50% blue,45% green, and5% yellow, bottom:70%white,10%brown,10%black,5%yellow and 5%yellow. Like I said I mixed what I had on hand and settled on the grey/green and then lightened by about 2 shades for the bottom. The disagreements on the colors of the zero are fodder for enthusiasts, went with what I liked.Zero Camouflage Schemes by James F Lansdale is what I basically used for reference.Bad kit or bad practitioner?

Ah ok, maybe it's just my eyeballs that need to be recalibrated. 

She don't look half bad in the photos but still I know what you mean about some kits just seem to want to screw up at every juction. Sometimes you just have to call the thing a learning experience and move on... 

All in all, a great looking build, in spite of getting excess lip from the kit! The prop color looks spot on to me, and we can always say the cowl is a field repair and they didn't have any of the correct color! It actually looks good. As far as the leading edge stripes go, they are going to look different in various lighting, and even digital photos can shift the color somewhat. I think Zeke looks great!

Thanks Ash, I was looking forward to that kit and didn't want it to totally slip away from me. On to the next one. 

With all the issues and concerns, you overcame them and you've a fantastic build here.

Toshi

   As others mentioned, I think the reults are pretty good given the circumstances under which you laboured. I've had kits that gave me problems as well and simply use them as a learning experience, rather than getting too upset. I'd say, on balance you should be proud of the results! Thanks for the insights on this kit and I'll keep in mind to avoid attempting this one!

Once again, thanks Tosh, onward and upward.

Thanks mikeymize, what ever doesn't kill us.... just leaves us wounded.