New Hasegawa 1/32 A6M5 / A6MZ Reisen / Zero question

[Jboldt007]

Snagged a brand new limited edition Hasegawa 1/32 A6M5a kits at local retailer. A couple questions:

 

(1) does anyone know if the Hasegawa AM masks (canopy) from the older A6M5c kits work for the new one? - or have tried? Not a big deal as I'm sure the AM market will come up with products in the near future; and

 

(2) I kind of dig the Genzan Group (North Korea) trainer livery for the A6M5 masks etc. as per the one available from Montex, but depicted since the 1970a - 'cause i like the trainer orange colour (no other reason!) but in reading about this particular bird it's not clear for one if it is even an A6M5 model (based on a very fuzzy photo) or even if had an orange underside. Japanese livery experts contend that if a plane was painted orange - it was painted overall orange and was intended for very novice pilots. An underside in orange and a standard green upper side would not have been likely? Any recent observations on this?

[Jboldt007]

sorry the title should have said "...A6M5a..." not "Z"

[MikeMaben]

Hi J ... some stuff here ... https://www.google.com/search?q=a6m5+"Genzan+Group"&lr=&safe=images&hl=en&sxsrf=ALiCzsbbioGnruRwvg3fFHR1RvzaazvEsw:1658115628544&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiktKSIwoH5AhUBOn0KHaK2BnQQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1280&bih=615&dpr=1.5

 

[thierry laurent]

Not that sure aftermarket will come in the near future as such kits were initially released years ago. With regard to the masks, I'd rather have a look at the ones for the Tamiya kit as both kits are very close dimensionally.

[Kagemusha]

There were quite a number of different types which flew with green uppers and orange undersides, plus the Zero wouldn't have been flown by novice pilots.

[Thomas Lund]

On scalemates it is listed as in the 2016 release family, although it says "new parts". If it's not the canopy then the mask from the A6M5c kit should be fine... probably not if the mask is for the 1971-2013 A6M5... depends on what you mean with 'old'

[Jboldt007]

thanks for the comments and links. Good point Kagemusha - novices wouldn't been training on a zero I'm guessing! the fuzzy photo i saw shows lots of A6M 'K' trainers, with one single seater in the background (A6M5 or A6M3?). Who knows (NB: I almost have. Y2-H done! - thanks again!)

 

Anyway this is the kit i bought - as per Scalemates:

 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/hasegawa-08258-mitsubishi-a6m5a-zero-fighter-type-52-koh-junyo--1387840

[Jboldt007]

you know ... i think i was getting this kit confused with a new A6M5b pending 1/32 release from Hasegawa? Anyway doesn't matter... i've got me a Hasegawa Zero which is all that matters... 

[LSP_K2]

On 7/18/2022 at 8:49 PM, Jboldt007 said:

thanks for the comments and links. Good point Kagemusha - novices wouldn't been training on a zero I'm guessing! the fuzzy photo i saw shows lots of A6M 'K' trainers, with one single seater in the background (A6M5 or A6M3?). Who knows (NB: I almost have. Y2-H done! - thanks again!)

 

Anyway this is the kit i bought - as per Scalemates:

 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/hasegawa-08258-mitsubishi-a6m5a-zero-fighter-type-52-koh-junyo--1387840

 

Sean built one of the orange birds some time back, so he may know some specifics about the scheme, though I seem to recall that his was a 1:24 scale kit.

[Dave Williams]

The clear parts sprue (Y) for the new tool Hasegawa Zero kits are the same, so masks for the new tool Zero 52c kit (ST34 released in 2016) will work on the new tool 52/52a boxings.  It is unlikely that canopy masks for the old raised panel line kit released decades ago will work (or even exist).

[Jboldt007]

thanks - it seems masks for the newer A6M5c Hasegawa are readily available ....

Not to blunder into the "camouflage orange" debate of which i know little- it seems to me looking at all the info out there on what is currently know of Japanese paint standards of the period is that the 'orange' should be a yellow-orange, similar to RAL 1037 or Kariki 117/C2 depending on weathering. Anyway, it's all part of the fun... 

[npb748r]

7 hours ago, Jboldt007 said:

thanks - it seems masks for the newer A6M5c Hasegawa are readily available ....

Not to blunder into the "camouflage orange" debate of which i know little- it seems to me looking at all the info out there on what is currently know of Japanese paint standards of the period is that the 'orange' should be a yellow-orange, similar to RAL 1037 or Kariki 117/C2 depending on weathering. Anyway, it's all part of the fun... 

I have a clear philosophy on this stuff.  It's your kit and you are building it,  you have to look at it when complete. If you like green top and orange bottom then paint it in those colours - who really cares if it's accurate or not as long as you are happy.  And I would take with a pinch of salt any "fact" that someone says about an aircraft that was flying 80 years ago from people who never saw these things in the flesh.  I think there are too many self made experts with no actual experience of being up close to the real things from the 1939-1945 period. My dad was a rear gunner on the Halifax in the war, asking him about details of the aircraft and he would just shrug and say all he was doing was focusing on staying alive, details of the aircraft were vague in his mind when I started asking in the early 70's and by the 2000's he struggled to even remember where he was based !! Enjoy your build,  a green topped, orange zero is on my list of kits to build so if you do go for it, there will be at least 2 in existence !!!  

neil

 

 

[quang]

It’s your canvas. You’re the artist. Do whatever you’re at ease at. 

[Jboldt007]

Absolutely true! Especially if there isn't that much incriminating evidence in existence . The fact that maybe a build done in the 1970s has a different colour than one might chose today because of more recent chip or spec discoveries is all a part of the continuum and doesn't diminish the older build. It's about intent and the challenge. It's fun to try and get things accurate with the information you can get at any point in time and with research. it's part of the satisfaction one feels.  Today i did a tour with my daughters in the Badlands National Park in Alberta   (very cool) and the one thing you have to deal with as a palaeontologist is that what you figured was your interpretation of what a set of fossils you discovered was may be refuted by the next generation of up and coming researchers. But that doesn't diminish what you've done because it all feeds into a greater understanding of what interests you.

[LSP_K2]

On 8/15/2022 at 4:27 AM, quang said:

It’s your canvas. You’re the artist. Do whatever you’re at ease at. 

 

Or at easel at.