Juggernut

In my experience, piston powered aircraft (and many jet powered aircraft) usually have unpainted, stainless steel firewalls for the simple reason that a fire in the engine compartment would quickly melt aluminum and provide zero protection to the occupants of the aircraft and would facilitate a catastrophic failure when the engine fell off the aircraft after melting the aluminum.

1/48 SOW B-17 Main Gear Struts. They're sold out but I'm sure Damian will be making more at some point.

Take a look at the below image. You'll see that the aileron was shortened on the inboard side.

I was thinking similar but the OP specifies 1/48 scale.

The pacific wrecks information on the A6M3 model 32 says at one time it may have been painted overall grey but doesn’t say what shade of grey. How did you address the shorter ailerons of the A6M3 model 32?

1/35….Hard Pass; don’t care how well it looks or builds.

White House Executive Order on de minimus exemptions to good purchased from China, including Hong Kong. Since a lot of us here in the U.S. (including me) purchase hobby (and other) stuff directly from China (HobbyEasy, LuckyModel, etc.) get ready for a significant jump in the price you're going to pay for your orders. Of course, the executive order says the carrier is required to pay but I think you know as well as I that the cost will be borne by the customer (aka you and me). If you're looking at purchasing anything from China or Hong Kong you'd better pull the trigger in the very near future, before costs increase. This is NOT a political post; just a notification that the price you're going to pay for model kits and supplies from China will be increasing significantly on May 2nd, 2025. Don't turn this into a political debate or it'll be locked real quick.

Mine hasn't been built yet.

Well, if you have the Tamiya F-16CJ kit, there's one in the box. If you're trying to replace a messed up one, sorry I am unaware of a aftermarket source but again, if you're using the Tamiya F-16CJ, you can probably email Tamiya. Provide them with the P/N, etc. and they should be able to get you one (you may have to buy the entire sprue but more often than not (at least for Tamiya USA), they'll provide the individual part you need).

Way back when the Earth was still green, I did some rib stitching on a Fairchild 24.... Our instructor was recovering one he owned with another fellow or two.

Check Fantasy Printshop in the UK. I’m not sure but I remember someone asking this question on another forum and that’s what was recommended.

I think “easily” is a bit of a stretch. First, the K-4cockpit is distinctly and noticeably different than any previous 109G. Secondly, the front of the aircraft is different than an AS variant, the oil cooler I believe is different, there are a few detail differences in the cowl. The radio hatch and some of the access panels on the K-4 are in different locations or not on G models (MW50/GM1?). Only the panel locations are easily corrected.

Yes. As far as cowl guns are concerned, the A6M5 Model 52c kept the 13mm machine gun of the A6M5 Model 52b but deleted the left side 7.7mm cowl machine gun.

According to Nick Millman, the Tamiya XF-11 IJN Green is a pretty good match for D1. Don't know how accurate you will want to be in your build but A6M2's built after December 1943 will have the Type 3 radio vs. the Type 96 that the A6M2 kit instructions would have you install (both receiver and transmitter being located in the cockpit right side wall). Having said that, the Type 3 radio system IS in the A6M2 kit, just not called out. The radio and associated parts (including the relocated dynamotor - which I am not entirely sure was relocated on later A6M2's but probably was) are on Sprue E.

Nakajima produced Model 21s until late 1943/early 1944 based on the fact that the Mitsubishi built A6M5 was introduced in August/September 1943. Prior to that, Mitsubishi was building the A6M3 series which replaced their A6M2 on the production line. Nakajima never built any version of the A6M3 so their production was limited to the A6M2 Model 21 and the A6M2-N before the A6M5. Nakajima A6M5 production likely lagged Mitsubishi production by at least a couple months which is why I said late 1943 to early 1944. I don’t have hard dates for the transition from M2 to M5.

Of course, especially when you can't be proven wrong. I'm actually partial to the one with the diagonal stripe (it's for a flight lead or something but I can't remember the term offhand).

By 1944, I'll pretty much bet it was a Nakajima machine. A profile is ok, but it may be impossible to tell given that the aircraft was overpainted (at least the bottom). Having said that, if it can be seen that the white surround is very thin, that's indicative of the Nakajima factory. If they're 75mm (like as shown in the profile), then they're most likely Mitsubishi built aircraft. Remember that this only holds true if the upper surface/fuselage has not been repainted; if it has had it's upper surfaces repainted then it's anyone's guess.

The A6M3 Modem 22/22a also had fuel tanks in the wings. EDIT: Model 32 did not have outboard fuel tanks but the 22/22a did.

Indeed! One question I have: Does it matter what type of paint it is? I'd imagine some kinds of paint would just flake off as soon as the wire starts being twisted.

Thanks for the information. I don’t know Rob Graham’s reputation but I have most, if not all, of the sources he uses. I have some concerns about his conclusions regarding the use of the A6M3 airframe but before I cry foul, I need to evaluate his position and do as he suggests and carefully evaluate the extant photographs. I cannot see any images in his article on my iPhone so I may need to view it on my desktop computer. He may very well be correct and I’ll learn something I hadn’t known before. To be honest, I’ve never really looked at the A6M K trainers in any detail so I’m sure I’ll be learning about them now.

I have this exact kit on my bench right now. Not that the following is anything drastic but…. There are some “issues” with the accuracy of the Tamiya plastic with respect to the cockpit. Specifically, the pilots seat doesn’t have the correct foot rests for production aircraft and the headrest is curved in the wrong direction when placed on the seat. The upper box on the L/H side of the radio rack is for the FuG 212 radar system. The FuG 212, according to what I’ve read, is not present on He219’s after the preproduction versions (A-0). The A-2’s and A-7’s were equipped with the FuG220 SN-2d radar (box on the upper R/H corner of the radio rack). I didn’t bother to correct my pilot seat and didn’t find out about the FuG 212 issue until after I’d already installed the cockpit. Who’s going to know? Not too many peeps are “up” on the 219. On my kit, the Schrage Muzik cover needed a little shimming to get it to sit flush with the top of the fuselage. Since you’re doing an A-7 from the EagleCals sheet, this won’t be important but the kit markings with the black undersides is actually an A-2 (werk number is for an A-2). I have the Wingleader title on the He219 which is primarily where I got the above information. It is a very good kit but there will be some areas that need more attention than others.

Can you give me a source for that information? Everything I have says the A6M2K was based on the A6M2 model 21 with the firewall in the location of the A6M3 (Aero Detail on the A6M Zero). If that Eduard profile is correct, it further reinforces the A6M2 lineage as the cowl is distinctly A6M2 and the distance between the leading edge of the wing root to the aft edge of the cowl flaps is also indicative of the A6M2. I also see the K model based on the A6M5. My Maru Mechanic on the A6M identifies it as the A6M5K. 😉

Did you check with them (WEM) directly? Colourcoats is now sold by Soverign Hobbies. WEM is now based in Southern California (you may have already known that) and their website claims to deal with them but I'm not sure the website is current. White Ensign Models.

I use plain old lacquer thinner sold in stores like Lowe's and/or The Home Depot. It works just fine on Dullcote and it runs about $20 a gallon. I also use it for cleaning my airbrush (Iwata) as it takes off just about anything it touches. Other than Dullcote, I use Mr. Leveling Thinner on everything else (including MRP when I need it super thin). This is what I currently have in the house: Lacquer Thinner. It's a little more expensive than I said above but it's the only kind that the Home Depot near me had on sale. They do offer a less expensive version: Lacquer Thinner. I'm not sure there's any performance difference between the two. The only difference I can see is the more expensive one is more environmentally friendly. Damn the bad luck...I had to have a store that didn't sell the cheap kind.