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Aires Zero Wheel Wells


Francis

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I did but the A6M5 set a few years back. Test fit them and they fell right through the kit wheel well cut outs. Didn’t fit on any axis only way to use them would have been to cut them up in to quarters and fill the gaps which would have taken out all the extra detail that was the reason I’d bought them for. The CMK ones whilst not. A perfect fit when I tried them in an A6M2 did fit better with a little adjustment here and there. If I recall though the casting block was a bit of a nightmare and I had to sand everything paper thin on the tops to get a good fit under the upper wing where the wing root joins the fuselage side. However with the vagaries of resin other people may have had better sets of the same things and faired better. So your mileage may vary on that one. 

Edited by ade rowlands
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A few years ago I spent a lot of time working my way around the Tamiya A6m2 wheel well which is substantially the same.  I see two ways to go with the project.  The first is what I did which is I used a lot of resin rivets from archer to replicate the rivet lines you see in the wheel wells.  I also drilled some of the lightening holes that would be found in the well.  I was happy with the result in that manner.  

 

The other option is Eduard makes a photo etch set for this wheel well which lets you install surface detail in the TAmiya part.  The upside is you get the right detail without the risk the wheel well won’t fit when you are done.

 

The tamiya parts main problem is that it is oversimplified, not that it is just fundamentally wrong and has to be thrown out.  So I think the better answer is to improve the kit part.

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4 hours ago, ade rowlands said:

I did but the A6M5 set a few years back. Test fit them and they fell right through the kit wheel well cut outs. Didn’t fit on any axis only way to use them would have been to cut them up in to quarters and fill the gaps which would have taken out all the extra detail that was the reason I’d bought them for. The CMK ones whilst not. A perfect fit when I tried them in an A6M2 did fit better with a little adjustment here and there. If I recall though the casting block was a bit of a nightmare and I had to sand everything paper thin on the tops to get a good fit under the upper wing where the wing root joins the fuselage side. However with the vagaries of resin other people may have had better sets of the same things and faired better. So your mileage may vary on that one. 

 

Thanks Ade. That is what I feared so I figured I would ask here for opinions. Thanks for your comment!

 

2 hours ago, Jennings Heilig said:

That’s been the problem with every Aires wheel well set I’ve ever tried. I’m 100% convinced that no one at Aires has ever attempted to use one of their sets. They keep on doing the same thing over and over.

 

Same here. They are the reason I generally gave up on resin sets, they require more work than scratchbuilding in many cases. Thanks.

 

2 hours ago, cbk57 said:

A few years ago I spent a lot of time working my way around the Tamiya A6m2 wheel well which is substantially the same.  I see two ways to go with the project.  The first is what I did which is I used a lot of resin rivets from archer to replicate the rivet lines you see in the wheel wells.  I also drilled some of the lightening holes that would be found in the well.  I was happy with the result in that manner.  

 

The other option is Eduard makes a photo etch set for this wheel well which lets you install surface detail in the TAmiya part.  The upside is you get the right detail without the risk the wheel well won’t fit when you are done.

 

The tamiya parts main problem is that it is oversimplified, not that it is just fundamentally wrong and has to be thrown out.  So I think the better answer is to improve the kit part.

 

Thanks buddy. Your suggestion is also my preferred solution at the moment. The point that bothers me the most is that nasty step that is quite prominent inside the wheel well but I thinks I have it worked out somehow. Needs more thinking before before I commit to the surgery.

 

Thanks for all your thought mates. I really appreciate you taking time to answer my call. Cheers!

 

Francis

Edited by Francis
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I got the Aires set, which are the nicest on the market but they were undersized.  I sent Aires a photo and they sent me a replacement set in this GREEN resin that fit perfectly.  Had to do the same for the Fw190 wheel bays.

 

All have their issues, kit wheel bays are weak and CMK aren't very good.  The Aires are the closest but you'll need to add the starboard wing duct tube (often overlooked), and the covers on the lightening holes along the leading edge of the wheel bay probably shouldn't be there.

 

I didn't know until Ryan send me drawings in Japanese that show very subtle differences between Mitsubishi and Nakajima, and through the 2, 3 and 5 versions (just an interesting factoid you can impress the ladies with):)!

 

Good luck friends!

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48 minutes ago, Scott Negron said:

I got the Aires set, which are the nicest on the market but they were undersized.  I sent Aires a photo and they sent me a replacement set in this GREEN resin that fit perfectly.  Had to do the same for the Fw190 wheel bays.

 

All have their issues, kit wheel bays are weak and CMK aren't very good.  The Aires are the closest but you'll need to add the starboard wing duct tube (often overlooked), and the covers on the lightening holes along the leading edge of the wheel bay probably shouldn't be there.

 

I didn't know until Ryan send me drawings in Japanese that show very subtle differences between Mitsubishi and Nakajima, and through the 2, 3 and 5 versions (just an interesting factoid you can impress the ladies with):)!

 

Good luck friends!

 

Thanks for the info Scott. Any idea where I can find these drawings? Since I've already started rebuilding them, I might as well do them correctly. :)

 

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