1:72 Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero

Pilots whose names every student of the Pacific knows

The first twelve months of the war over the Pacific belonged to the Japanese naval fighter pilots, and the machines that flew then became icons. The set joins three of them: the aircraft of one of the most successful pilots of his country, a fighter from the deck of the ship that opened the attack on the Hawaiian anchorage, and a later training machine from the home islands.

Three particular aircraft

The variant with the code V-103 belonged to Saburo Sakai of the Tainan Air Group and is captured in February 1942 at an airfield on Bali. The second machine, marked AI-101, was flown by Shigeru Itaya from the deck of the aircraft carrier Akagi during the attack of December 7, 1941. The third aircraft with the code JJ-170 served in February 1944 with the Konoike Air Group, that is at the time when the type was withdrawing from the front line and taking over training tasks.

Differences worth attention

Each of the three subjects falls into a different stage of the deployment of the type, and the small things on the airframe match that. Between February 1942 and February 1944 the extent of the national insignia changed as well as the way the units wrote their numbers, so before building it is worth comparing the kit instructions with photographs from the period concerned.

Accuracy of settling decides

Japanese fuselage numbers and the bands of commanders' machines lie on areas where several panel parts come together. The procedure that proves itself: apply the paint, clear-coat with gloss, let it dry overnight and only then work with water. Slide the motif off the backing only once it is in place, and never carry it with tweezers directly by the print. Press the remaining water out from the center outward and finally go over the whole area with a semi-matte coat, so that the transition does not show.