...and that's all she wrote!
Done and dusted.
Learnt a lot of lessons in the build and was the most enjoyable to date.
Plus for $17 for the kit, you can't complain; you can't even get a Domino's pizza delivered for that these days!
Saburo-San keeping a watchful eye over my efforts...
Turns out I really enjoyed the figure painting stuff. Definitely going to do more of this side of the hobby moving forward I think.
The bit of blu-tac I used to block the aerial hole fell loose at some point, so some of the varnish vapour got inside the rear of the canopy clouding it a little. Thankfully the sliding part of the canopy hides it reasonably well... ?
Next to the previous "practise" build, an Arii 1/72 A6M2.
It would've been a mind blowing kit back in the 70s but the molds are completely worn out, with more flash than an episode of Girls Gone Wild. Parts like the engine cowling couldn't even fit to the fuselage without major cutting away of seemingly hard plastic. And it was really designed to have the flaps and wingtips and everything folded or extended, didn't like being in 'normal' position.
Just wanted to get this off the bench in the end and start the Tamiya 1/48 kit.
Was painted with Vallejo acrylics, hence the different tones to the Tamiya which used SMS Lacquers.
Next to the previous "practise" build, an Arii 1/72 A6M2.
It would've been a mind blowing kit back in the 70s but the molds are completely worn out, with more flash than an episode of Girls Gone Wild. Parts like the engine cowling couldn't even fit to the fuselage without major cutting away of seemingly hard plastic. And it was really designed to have the flaps and wingtips and everything folded or extended, didn't like being in 'normal' position.
Just wanted to get this off the bench in the end and start the Tamiya 1/48 kit.
Was painted with Vallejo acrylics, hence the different tones to the Tamiya which used SMS Lacquers.
I wanted to try using oils for a lot of the weathering. Started with some panel lightening for the main central panels in the wings. It seemed too pronounced, so got rid of it best I could. What survived actually kind of worked though, especially around the hinomaru.
Switched back to AK pencils and tried the Ammo pencil too.
Had a big brain moment, thought I'd try something: grey base primer, white weathering stenciled spots and red-brown panel line pre-shading. Wonder how it'll turn out?
Tried a set of KV Models masks, cost half as much as the whole kit (a whopping $8!) but totally worth it.
They don't *quite* fit the panels right, but good enough for me.
Going to try lacquers on this build, just can't seem to get the Vallejo acrylics to play nice for me, so I've decided I'm going to blame the tools, not my skills... See how it pans out...
Jerome Lawson Really a great build. Your stencils and details are exceptional. An inspirational model.
1 3 November, 15:21
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So second foray into 1/48 completed, and I do love the less claustrophobic feeling compared to the 1/72 birds.
Many a catastrophe was had in the making of this kit, but a fun learning experience on the journey.
For such an ancient tool it held up pretty well. Needed some clamps to hold the wings and fuselage together, the landing gear didn't fit into the slots and the gear covers really didn't want to go on, plus the grand canyon sized gaps in wing roots, for for $17AUD, a hell of a bargain. And a much more pleasant experience than the Arii 1/72 A6M2 I completed immediately prior (I still have nightmares)
日本帝國海軍航空隊 (Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service 1912-1945) Tainan Air CorpsV-103(P.O. 1st Class Saburo Sakai) February 1942 The Fall of Kendari, Dutch East Indies - Denpasar, Bali IJN LT. grey
Jerome Lawson
