A6M2b Zero - Attack on Pearl Harbor - 1/32 Tamiya

[Alex]

9 hours ago, MikeMaben said:

 

  Overcutting corners means the blade doesn't have to turn a corner in

which case you'll insure the sharpest corners. 

 

That makes a lot of sense

[Alex]

Most of the remaining bits are now installed.  The screw and captive nut scheme Tamiya cooked up to attach the main landing gear legs works better than it has any right to.  Definitely impressed.  On the flip side, the little covers that slide in to complete the wing leading edge over those screw heads (and the wing cannons) are overly wide and required a surprising amount of sanding to fit (note to future builders, test fit and get this adjusted before painting).

 

 

I spent a long time getting the PE cowl flaps installed.  While I love the scale look of these things, they are a royal P.I.T.A.  And the way I chose to handle them on this model was, in retrospect, the wrong way.  What I did was to paint the flaps off of the model and wait until the last moment to attach them.  I did this thinking that once installed they are fragile, and that they need to be installed to line up precisely with the cowl, which needed the motor etc installed to accomplish (the latter is not true, and I would have realized that if I'd thought harder on it at the time).

 

What I will do next time I build one of these kits (and despite the long haul that it was, I'm sure I'll do another at some point) is, before assembling the engine at all:

 

1. snap the two cowling halves together

2. set them on the bench nose-down

3. carefully drop in the rear engine mounting ring (it's a positive fit to a step) and make sure it is in the right radial orientation.

4. temporarily tack it in place with modeling putty or white glue

5. Fold up the PE cowl flaps and get their curve set right

6. glue the PE cowl flaps to the mounting ring, which will be super-easy because it is horizontal and you are coming at it from above

7. once all eight are installed, paint the whole assembly and set it aside, waiting until as late in the game as possible to assemble it to the engine/exhaust/engine mount

 

That way will be a bunch easier that what I did.

 

 

Edited September 17, 2020 by Alex

[Alex]

From here on out I just need to decide if I'm giving the whole thing a final flat coat (it's pretty matte already and I may just forego that), then finalize my plan for rigging the antenna wire and install the antenna mast.  And de-mask the canopy.  Woo-hoo!  Done this weekend for sure, and off to the Training Day build...

[AlbertD]

I wouldn't spray another coat on it an take the chanceof having problems. It looks perfect the way it is. 

[A6M]

Beautiful work, Alex. No need to give it an additional flat coat. The original paint was actually gloss to semi-gloss when it was applied. It only became more flat from the effects of sun and light. And up until Pearl Harbour the ground crews on the carriers were pretty much on top of things so the planes showed relatively little wear.

 

I think I posted the antenna details durings Sean's Zero build, but to be sure here they are again.  

 

Ryan

[Alex]

1 hour ago, AlbertD said:

I wouldn't spray another coat on it an take the chance of having problems. 

 

That's kind of where I'm at with it.  Thanks for confirming.

[Alex]

45 minutes ago, A6M said:

Beautiful work, Alex. No need to give it an additional flat coat. The original paint was actually gloss to semi-gloss when it was applied. It only became more flat from the effects of sun and light. And up until Pearl Harbour the ground crews on the carriers were pretty much on top of things so the planes showed relatively little wear.

 

I think I posted the antenna details during Sean's Zero build, but to be sure here they are again.  

 

Ryan

 

 

Thanks Ryan!

 

You did post the antenna details, and I reviewed them on Sean's thread.  The curious thing is that the kit antenna mast does not have the shape of that rounded ebonite cap; it has a notch in the top:

 

 

 

And it is much too thin laterally to drill into to make a hole that the cable would enter from the back, as your technical drawing seems to show.  As a compromise, I'm thinking I might glue a very narrow slice of 0.5 mm OD aluminum tubing into that notch to make it a loop, then try to build up the front and back a bit to make that rounded top contour that your photos show.  I would then just tie the antenna "wire" through that loop.  I think with some patience I can replicate the bungee / insulator / wire setup on the tail as your drawings show.

[LSP_K2]

Great job, Alex, I like it a lot.

[Alex]

9 minutes ago, LSP_K2 said:

Great job, Alex, I like it a lot.

 

Thanks!

[A6M]

Alex, I have no idea how viable this is, but I was planning ahead for my build and thought out the following:

 

1. Fill in the notch at the top of the antenna. I would do this with something that could be later sawed into without breaking.

2. Use a fine razor saw to put a cut into the mast where the Ebonite cap abuts the mast.

3. Paint everything above this cut line black.

4. Insert the end of the antenna wire into the cut. The wire would be looped around the bolt imbedded into the mast. A nut is turned on to bolt to hold down the cap. The loop of the antenna wire is internal under the cap and would not be visible.

 

Ryan

[Alex]

I was actually just thinking sort of along those same lines as I stared at the photo I had taken of the part.  But had not considered making a slot. Even a shallow cut would be enough to glue the end of a piece of monofilament into, then the sides of the cut could be filled and smoothed.  I can make the bungee on the other end out of heavy gauge EZ-line to hold everything taut.

 

Thanks

[Alex]

I'm going to go fill the notch with CA glue now...

[Alex]

31 minutes ago, A6M said:

Alex, I have no idea how viable this is, but I was planning ahead for my build and thought out the following:

 

1. Fill in the notch at the top of the antenna. I would do this with something that could be later sawed into without breaking.

2. Use a fine razor saw to put a cut into the mast where the Ebonite cap abuts the mast.

3. Paint everything above this cut line black.

4. Insert the end of the antenna wire into the cut. The wire would be looped around the bolt imbedded into the mast. A nut is turned on to bolt to hold down the cap. The loop of the antenna wire is internal under the cap and would not be visible.

 

Ryan

 

That was actually easier to do that it was to get a clear photo of it.  Needs to be repainted now, but that's fine.  Next to the mast is the tiny aluminum ring that I'm imagining I can use as the "insulator" on the tail bungee attachment.  Wish me luck on that ;-)

 

 

The mast top looks like it might not be completely filled, but it is.  The CA is translucent near the top.

[MikeMaben]

This is shaping up quite nicely Alex 

[dennismcc]

That looks great, I like the attention to detail right to the very end.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis