1:48 A6M5 model 52 3D effect/optical illusion paint mask for control surfaces Eduard

Shortened wings and individual exhausts

The A6M5 version was an attempt to get more speed out of the proven Zero design without a fundamentally new engine. The designers shortened the span and rounded off the wingtips, strengthened the skin so that the machine would take higher speed in a dive, and replaced the common collector exhaust with individual stacks, whose thrust added a few kilometers per hour. Model 52 became the most numerously produced variant of the whole type and bore the main weight of the fighting of 1944, when it was already facing American fighters with markedly more powerful engines and better protection for the pilot. The weak point remained the low resistance of the airframe, which Japanese industry no longer managed to put right.

What the set is for

The contents are self-adhesive masks for the so-called optical illusion effect on the movable surfaces. Around the ailerons, the elevator and the rudder they delimit a strip which is oversprayed with a darker tone of the base color. On the finished model the surfaces then stand out as though they had a real gap and play, even though the surface stays smooth and untouched. The difference shows most on the wing, where an otherwise long area runs together into one unbroken whole.

Version and kit

The shapes derive from the parts of the Eduard brand kit. Lay the masks onto cured paint and spray perpendicular and in thin coats; an angled spray carries paint under the edge. After taking them off, let the model rest a while before you start on the next steps, because a fresh transition is easily scratched. Anyone who wants to go further can gently suggest the play in the hinges after the masks are off.