Yes, I did spot that the clear panels were optional. I think you've done a brilliant job, and the finished aircraft looks great. I'm just not a fan of the clear panel thing, but that does not detract from your work in any way. Please do not think that your choice to use them is in any way intended as a criticism on my part. Each to their own, as it should be. As for opening up, I have a spare Mk VIII Spit which may get built with just about every panel off or open. Perhaps. If it finally finds it's way high enough in the queue!! 

This is rediculously nice. You have put together a masterpiece. Simply a stunning work of art. Well done.

BK

Thanks for all the comments guys. It makes builds move on when you know that people can learn from your efforts and appreciate the time and "work" put in.

be aware that there are no extra parts in this and it is just an out of the box build with a flexible build plan and fixed goal.

Today I will be emailing the president of the company with the finished photos (he is a friend of mine) and my thoughts on the kit of which the "frosted finish" on the clear fuselage and wings in the kit will be up st the top.

I do know that he does read (a translation) of mails and loves to see what builders get up to and their thoughts and ideas for new kits and improvements as he knows that ZM fans are not only first timers but also long time hobbyists with unique skill sets, knowledge of both building and manufacturing techniques as well as ideas for displaying internal components.

To Chris I say that while having a clear fuselage etc doesn't float everyone's boat if you read all this build you will find that both tastes are catered for with both the fuselage and wings having both clear and normal sprues as standard in the kit.

While this does add to the cost it also gives a huge amount of flexibility in the kit and does encourage the builder to use their imagination and experiment a little.

ZM kits offer, as many now do a huge amount of internal detail and after spending a long time building and painting and assembling it does seem a shame to hide all this work away behind a painted cowling or fuselage etc and this is why you should consider having a go at something different display wise.

The 37mm cannon and support structure is a fantastically done bit of moulding and once built up would be hidden underneath a painted nose. It is not really feasible to have the nose removeable and so I chose to mix and match by using the clear nose and painting it, but masking off one side so that you can sort of see the cannon and mount. I too have learned from this and maybe painting the interior with a reflective surface would have bounced available light around in there to show up the cannon more. A bit like standing a mirror behind a candle.

can a first timer build this? Yes, quite easily as the instructions are simply the best and everything apart from glue and paint is in the box.... Just add imagination.

Chris, it might not be your thing and I understand this but I would encourage you to open up and think outside the box on some subjects and show your work off more.

My next build is a more regular build and is Amusing Hobby's E-100 Waffentrager which you will find on the Armour Section.

The build after that will be ZM's first ever release, the Shinden. This build will show you just how far and how much ZM's kits have changed and how much they have listened to their customers.

Brilliant build. It looks great. Pity the supposedly clear bits are not so clear, but personally I'm not a fan of those anyway. Great job all round though

Looks friggin' awesome to me James!!! 

Last build post for this one!

It's now finished but I did have a little bit of a last minute 

It was really impossible to do the tail decal(s) as a mask and so I used the kit decals.

While putting the stencilling decals on I noticed this and wondered just how I had missed it and even how it happened!

There was some    followed by  and  with some more  and the distinct feeling that somewhere along the line there had been a  

Needless to say, the paint came out again and everything was fixed!

So, Finally, here's the finished thing!

This is a great kit of an aircraft that not many will know and there is more to the kit than meets the eye with multiple display options, 2 variants in this kit and 2 painting options and a look around the net can produce other painting variations too.

Never jump in to a Zoukei-Mura kit without taking time to figure things out as once you start going without a plan or end goal then you will run into trouble by wanting to make something viewable but not takingthe time to read the build book MULTIPLE times and look at the parts before starting. With these kits it is always wise to actually consider just how you want to display it when finished and work backwards from that and to do that you need to spend time with the book and part sprues and get yourself really familiar with the kit.

I tried a new painting technique for me and in the main it worked. It did go a little wonky at times and I have tried to correct as much as possible and this technique needs some more thinking and refining over cutting out the masks for the sharp edge type camo.

When I come to the shinden I will try the other way with a soft edge camo and a lower pressure through the airbrush working very close to the kit to try and minimise the spread of the paint.

Overall, this is a really nice kit with bags of detail, and there will be more variants coming!

Comments and questions welcome

James

I used this method as the Japanese used lines and didn't paint tips as the RAF did.

No masking method is right or wrong just use the one that is appropriate. In this case I had to measure out the lines and where they fitted from the top and bottom. I think they turned out well.

I may have to repaint the brown on one of the props as there has been some overspray of aluminium which I noticed when I began masking. In this case, some 1 and 2mm tape will be needed!

James

She looks fantastic!!! 

I generally paint the yellow on the props first and then mask it and paint the rest. Your results are perfect but I'm lazy and there's less masking work that way. 

Very nice! I like that little trick with the taping widths. Very clever...I'm always a fan of simple and easy. =]

I've been distracted by a large box with a bomber inside it! Sorry for that!

This build is almost done and it is down to the little things and final bits and pieces to go on that would otherwise go missing or get broken.

Having to use the decal on the tail means that the rudder control parts need some careful painting to blend in not only with the yellow of the decal, but the rest of the aircraft too and the first colour to deal with is the dreaded yellow!

I decided that while I was going to be putting that on the outward facing side of the rudder control elements then I might as well do the yellow on the props too rather than use the decals. After the measuring I started top and bottom of the blades with 6mm tape. The actual distance using the decals according to my electronic measuring callipers was 5.98mm top and bottom from tip and prop boss. 6mm isn't that much of a noticeable difference.

That's my starting point and once again, measuring thedecal width and doing some rounding up and down and also taking into consideration of the effect I was after and the tape I had available I went with 2mm top stripe and 1mm bottom stripe which should be a noticable difference which is what the decals show. The actual lower decal is a small yellow oblong which would be difficult to get right in the middle of the blade and in the correct position so I invoked builders privilege and made it a 1mm blade wide stripe!

Then it is just a case of masking between the stripes....

Then removing the 2 and 1mm tape...

… gives us the painting area and then just make sure that the yellow colour doesn't get anywhere I don't want it...

The Yellow is applied and the masking tape removed and this is now how the model looks

It's just a case now of adding the small bits, decals etc.

James, I just found this build today... Exciting to watch your progress.

Harold

Wow, beautiful detailing work inside and out, and that masking for the camo pattern...superb! Looking awesome! From how large it looks in your hand, I'm guessing this is 1/32nd scale?

Looking forward to seeing more!

Cheers

Nice build and wonderful painting.... This is turning into a beautiful aircraft.

Ben

Thanks guys for all the comments and it's nice to see forum friends looking in and commenting.

After doing tests with masking tape (0.4mm) and considering a vinyl cutter (one caught my eye as being possibly able to do the job but well out of my price bracket (I could holiday somewhere nice for nearly a month) I have some to the conclusion that I can only use the decal to get a good looking outcome.

To do the ID panels on the leading edge I had to remove the engines to mask properly as we all know Yellow is not a user friendly colour!

Putting the engines back on may not be easy but it also gives me the opportunity to correct some overspray with a paintbrush and also on the camouflage too.

I will be emailing the boss of Zoukei Mura the finished pics (He is a good friend of mine) and hope that he says that it is good enough to be on the display stand at Telford!

As my next projwct I have Amusing Hobbys E-100 Waffentrager for the Armour section or ZM's first release, the Shinden.

ZM's kits tend to be very intensive and detailed So I think the E-100 then the Shinden.

I will be gathering extras for the biggest build.. HK's Lancaster and if anyone has details of the turret wiring then that will be very helpful.

As a last thought, I would paint the insignia, ID panels etc very early in the build and mask them over to protect them while the main build and paint job is done. It will reduce handling and damage!

James

You’re the man.  It really is coming together rather spectacular!

Your Friend, Toshi

My stupid person's low-tech way is to photocopy the decal sheet and then cut out the shape and trace around it to transfer it to the tape. 

That white outline will be a bear to do anyway you slice it. 

Hi James,

Thank you for this excellent and informative build log.

This kind of step by step is very usefull indeed - and your results speak for them self!

Brilliant - now I am hoping to learn what a Vinyl cutter is :)

I am sorry - I can offer no experienced advice on how to approach this different from what you have allready shown to very good result.

Thank You

Svenne

Since you are painting your own insignia and making your own masks, I recommend investing in a vinyl cutter. I'm glad I did and it was worth the investment to me.

Scanning the decal into a vector drawing program and then exporting it to a vinyl cutter.  However, the thin nature of the white may be a challenge, as might centering the yellow if you spray it first.  Nasty colors to get down thin with good coverage.  I'd be inclined to use the decal.

the sheets are Tamiya masking sheets I also use Tamiya masking tape of various widths and Aizu micron masking tape too.

Does anyone have ideas how to turn these decals into masks?

I have been thinking about this for some time and maybe a fresh pair of eyes can provide an answer.

The only way I can think of is to make the mask the actual width and spray the white and then very carefully try and bend some Aizu 0.4 masking around the mask and then paint the yellow.

Looks fantastic! Who makes the masking tape sheet you used for the camp?

Looks great  and great painting.

James, again, that's looking fantastic. Keep it coming!! Looking forward to the finish. =]

Here we go.

I stuck with 0.7mm tape to produce the white border.

First here's the marking out of the white and sprayed.

Then the border is masked

Red RAL 3000 is allplied to full depth

All the tape is removed and this is the result

It looks quite good. There are some tiny errors but I don't think they are noticeable if you are not looking for them!

Now I have to do the yellow on the leading wing edges!

Comments and questions etc. welcome

James

There was some bleeding from the red, but that was fixed by re-masking with the circle left from the original mask and then the white repainted.

I am just about to mask with the 0.7 tape and do the red. I am using a different shade, RAL 3000.

Hmmm, could the red stripe be off a little but will fit once it goes around the curve of the fusilage? I'm probably wrong - just thinking out loud... 

Personally I think she looks friggin' fantastic! I don't see much bleed anywhere, I'd love to have mine come out as well.