tomv87

What an absolute stunner! That finish looks fantastic! Regards, Tom

Nice work Tolga!

Beautiful build so far Quang, masterful work! Regards Tom

This is getting good! Go Petrov, go! Tom

Kev- Sorry that I'm just catching up on your build--you have done some amazing work on a really tough kit. Keep 'em coming man! That instrument panel though! Tom

Nice clean build Danny. Great work. Tom

Great camo scheme Dutik!

Looking good so far, Jorge. Tom

Thanks Kev and Spaced Marine. I used Mr. Color 128. Looking at all the research I figured it was close enough, scale wise. I consider Tamiya's 76 too light, but that's just my view. I just like the way it looks; I also love the way Mr. Color paint sprays, it's drying time, and it's durability. Thanks again for the kind words. Tom

More: Thanks for looking. Tom

Some more pics: Tom

Now it's time to pre-shade my Zeke. Naturally I will use a dark gray or black color correct? NOPE. I will use these: I decided to use an artistic technique I've used when oil painting. Instead of painting a painting on a blank, white canvas, I always found it better to tint the canvas a color first, usually a complementary color of the main color that will go down on the painting itself -- a painting with a blue sky, for example, I would tint with a light orange color. Since this Zeke is painted a gray-green color, I decided to lay down a red and a green pre-shading to complement and augment the green tint of the gray. First green: No, this isn't a A6M5... Next the red... Christmas in June! Did I screw up or what? When that red goes over that green, the result is a dark gray color. That's a plus! But look what happens when the grey goes on: I will post more pics soon, but the finish looks great! The painting took several hours to do, plus do-overs due to dust or hair landing on the surface. It was a real PITA, but I think overall the finish looks great. There is a slight hint of red here and there that is reminiscent of the undercoating these birds got. And the ever so slight green adds a touch of a color filtering effect. Hopefully you will see the effect in the next pictures I post. I still have a few touch ups, but we'll get there soon! Thanks for looking and great to be back! Tom

Hello everyone! I have been away for a while, taking care of a multitude of chores, so I put my A6M2 away until I felt I had a good opportunity to work again. Summer is here, and school is out, so it gave me the chance to crack open the old box and continue with my build. Before that happened though, I went with my wife to a beauty supply store...you might think it is boring in there, but look what I found -- several abrasive items, and these cotton buds--they are awesome, with a wide and a pointy end, they sure helped out a lot with my work. The best part is, no fibers are left behind! Here they are in the box: I repainted the wheel wells the correct color (underside color but pre-painted black for shadows) and painted the flaps they way I think they would have looked in December, 1941-- Aotake metal primer, which was exposed to the environment (on the flaps) that would have turned into a darker green color. See examples here: http://colesaircraft.blogspot.com/2014/01/japanese-wwii-aircraft-aotake-primer.html Here's my impression of the look: More pics to come. Tom

What a beauty! Very well done sir! Regards, Tom

Keep 'em coming! Looking good so far.

Tremendous work, beautiful paint job and an outstanding scheme! Phenomenal work! Tom

Great paint work and an outstanding scheme, Brian!

Okay - thought I would show her with wings attached: Sorry for the poor lighting, it was already night when I took these pics. I had originally painted the turtle deck interior green (as per the Tamiya instructions), but since all the research shows that these early Zekes had flat black as the color in this area, I decided to change mine. I also added Archer rivet decals as well. Since I had to repaint this area, I had to protect the cockpit from overspray; lots of stuffing and maskol: Here it is painted, but I still need to touch it up. I also painted the canopy frames, and I am in the process of attaching these; dashboard and windscreen attached: I also need to address the gear bays. They need to be painted exterior camo color. So, I masked the gear attachment points with maskol liquid latex to prep; you can see a little of that (light orange color) on the right gear attachment point: That's all for now. I will show more of the gear bay painting next. I have to add a second coat of that exterior color. Also, did anyone have difficulty attaching the antennae on this bird? Test fitting shows that if I glue the antennae first, then put the canopy over it, it changes the antennae angle, and it doesn't retain the correct forward leaning posture. If I put on the back canopy, then try to glue down the antennae, it doesn't line up with the hole in the turtle deck correctly, and of course, it will be leaning back too much. One of three things must happen: the hole in the canopy has to be enlarged, the antennae itself needs to be trimmed down, or the hole for the antennae needs to be moved aft a bit. Can anybody help with this? Thanks for looking! Tom

Just, WOW!

Fantastic work on this one, Brian. Your painting and weathering effects came out spot on! Regards Tom

Absolutely stunning! Tom

Thanks Brian. I also wonder if air circulating around the part (such as from a fan) will keep the fumes from fogging said part? I saw what Wouter did, and i am paranoid as heck of having that happen. Tom

Forgive me, I am a late comer to this build, but you are doing a terrific job Wouter! May I ask did you use CA glue on the bits you added to the canopy, and how did you keep it from fogging up? Thanks and best wishes! Tom

Great work on those prop blades - I wouldn't have thought of that. Regards, Tom

This bird is coming together nicely--I will be watching as I have one of these in my stash. Your cockpit looks fantastic, and your painting is superb. You also seem to have effectively tackled the many tedious idiosyncrasies of this kit --I was aware of none of them--now I know. Keep up the great work...I'll definitely be watching! Regards, Tom