1:48 A6M5 Zero Model 52 O-max set (for Fine Molds)

A complete masking package for the Zero Model 52

The designation O-max means that one package holds two different things: precisely cut self-adhesive masks for the frames of the cockpit canopy and, with them, springy foam fillers for the landing gear bays. The masks are stuck on and peeled off after the spraying, while the foam holds by its own shape alone and is used repeatedly. The scale is 1:48.

The real subject

The A6M5, in Japanese the Model 52, was the most numerously built form of the Zero fighter. It came about in the autumn of 1943 as an attempt to keep pace with ever faster American opponents. The wingtips were shortened and rounded, by which the machine gained in the speed of its rolls and could take a steeper dive, and the exhausts were divided into individual stacks whose thrust added a few kilometers per hour. The agility the Zero was renowned for suffered by it, but the type stayed in service until the end of the war.

Why reach for a mask instead of tape

The frames of a Japanese canopy are narrow and irregular, and cutting them out of tape by hand takes more time on them than the rest of the build. A cut mask settles onto the edge of the frame, holds the line straight and lets no paint under the rim. Take it off shortly after the last coat has dried and pull it back over itself at a sharp angle rather than straight up, so that the finish does not lift.

Who the set is meant for

• builders of Japanese naval fighters in 1:48
• anyone who wants the glazing and the bays settled in one purchase
• modelers who work with an airbrush
• beginners for whom cutting masks is a hard nut