I have this build going on in the Japanese GB IV forum, but since many of you don't read all of those I though I could also post this one here.
It is a Tamiya 1/48 A6M3 Zero, apparently it's an old kit as well. Hey, they're cheap. Anyway I decided to build this one because I want a Zero in my collection and I want one that fits what my mind imagines what they may have looked like, so this one is mostly OOB mainly due to the fact that there just isn't really anything available for this kit in the AM. Which is disappointing because the quality of the kit is great and the fit is fantastic. It's an easy build for sure, but the kit lacks major details in some areas that are desperately needed.
This kit doesn't contain too many bits, but enough to make a decent little Zero. The thing that stands out to me, even though it's an old mold, is the fit and lack of flash. Outstanding indeed. I began with some painting of the cockpit in cockpit green XF-71. I understand now this is lighter than Mitsubishi painted their cockpits, but it looks fine to me. I then painted the panels and boxes Mr Color C18 Black Green as there appears to be some evidence that suggests they were painted black green rather than flat black. I also painted the engine Alclad Airframe Aluminum while I was at the booth.
I then set about trying to duplicate the aotoke color since I don't have that color in my paints. I first laid down an Alclad Airframe Aluminum base followed by several coats of Tamiya X-23 clear blue and then two coats of Tamiya X-19 smoke to darken it up some. I like the way it turned out. I was using photos of some interior panels from survivor planes and that color was odd and quite dark but it changed color across the panel. This is the best I could come up with to replicate that look. I painted the inside of the cowling and landing gear bays and doors in this process.
Now the kit cockpit is the most lacking part of this kit. It is devoid of most of the detail and reminds me of an older Revel cockpit. It really needs a resin piece to make it look better, the details just are not there. But I used the kit decals for the instruments and added a few PE pieces I had left over from my Me410 to add some levers on the left console and I scratch a pair of charging handles for the machine guns and added them on as well, they are very hard to see and quite small. I also scratched up a handle on the right of the pilots seat that the kit doesn't offer. I got this idea from looking at Hasegawa kits which have more detailed pits. I added the loops for the rudder pedals from fine solder wire and then dry brushed the pit using Tamiya Weathering Master kit silver. Short of that the pit is OOB.
The engine in the kit if not too bad for a low detail kit. I did add pushrod tubes painted grey. I sealed the assembly up and gave it a wash with Flory black and then set about attempting to wire it up. Now understand that I had a great photo of a Zero engine that clearly showed the harness in a twisting pattern up to each cylinder. But, since then i have installed a new OS and I can find that photo to save my life. All the photos I find online show a much simpler harness, and frankly one that looks better than my attempt. I just don't like it, it's too busy. I'll do the next one differently. I sealed the whole thing up with Tamiya smoke. 
The two halves of the fuselage went together without a hitch, no filler needed and the wings assembled just a tightly and attached to the fuselage with only glue and some mild sanding. Perfect fit. This kit is really impressive in that regard.
I then painted the cowling and underglass area in Mr Color Cowling color C125, which is a black with a hint of blue in it. There are some photos of an unrestored plane that indicated the underglass area was not flat black as originally thought but a black with a hint of blue so they think now the two colors may have actually been the same thing. So that's how I painted it.
Yesterday I was completing the tedious task of masking off the canopy glass and was nearly done when disaster struck. The rear piece snapped in two like and egg shell. The kit came with both open and closed canopy versions so I cut the rear portion off of the closed version and have it looking quite nice. The only trouble is the piece that broke was narrower and allowed the canopy to be mounted on top of it in an open postion. So, it just won't sit correctly and looks terrible. I was forced to order and vacu-formed piece and masking kit to solve the problem. If that doesn't work I will contact Tamiya for a replacement piece. SO the kit is shelved awaiting canopy parts.
