Hasegawa 1/72 A6M2a Zero converted to A6M1

HASEGAWA 1:72 MITSUBISHI A6M2A ZERO
Converted to A6M1 Zero

Reviewer: Johan De Wolf (contact via SMAKR webmaster)
Kit Review submitted: 22 March 2009

Kit Details:

Aircraft: Mitsubishi A6M1
Scale: 1/72
Base kit: Hasegawa A6M2a kit #51313/AP13
Parts: 51 light grey + 1 clear injection molded.
Conversion kit: A6M1 AVresin kit #?
Parts: 4 green resin.
Surface detail: finely engraved
Decals used: part of Hasegawa kit decals
Accuracy: see review
Price: Hasegawa kit about €10,- AV conversion kit €1,- both at a modelers meeting.

Aircraft History:

There has been so much written about the most famous Japanese aircraft of world war two that it would be pointless to repeat it here. However there has been much confusion about what the prototypes looked like. There are few pictures of the two A6M1’s and there are as yet no accurate scale drawings. Research on the J-aircraft website (see links below) make a very compelling case as to what the differences between the prototypes and the first production A6M2’s were. If you are interested in the subject this would be well worth the read. It is this research that I used to build my Zero prototype.

The Kits:

The Hasegawa kit is one of their new mold Zero series. It has been reviewed elsewhere and these kits are generally considered to be the most accurate in 1/72 scale. The parts are sharply molded and without any blemishes except for several ejector pin marks in the interior cockpit area. The canopy is thin and very clear. The decal sheet is of good quality but as usual with decals from this manufacturer they are a bit on the thick side. The instructions are easy to understand and colour details are given throughout. In contrast to the high quality Hasegawa kit, I was rather disappointed with the AV resin conversion parts. They come bagged with a header card, which carries a high risk for damage to the parts. Luckily the parts in my set were all ok. The first let down is the instructions which are in Czech language only. There are only two side views. As I cannot read Czech I cannot comment on the completeness of the instruction but judging from the drawings I think they overlooked a major difference with the production machines. The four parts themselves are of mediocre quality and not very detailed. In the end I only used one part and even that I could have easily scratch built.

Accuracy:

As this is a conversion job, the accuracy will depend on the amount of work you will be willing to do. As already mentioned the Hasegawa kits are the most accurate in 1/72 scale. To turn the A6M2 into an A6M1 radical surgery will be needed though. The major differences are:

The fuselage length. The A6M1’s were some 30cm shorter than the production machines.
The position and length of the horizontal stabilizers. They sit lower and more towards the end of the fuselage and are slightly shorter.

Minor differences are:

Slightly broader and pointy vertical fin.
The most aft canopy panels are larger.
Position of the engine exhaust.
The slope of the antenna mast.
Lack of balance weights on the ailerons.
Straight rudder hinge line.
Two blade prop without spinner.
Lack of external carburetor intake.
Different shape oil cooler housing.
Square machine gun ports in the wing leading edge.
No arrester hook.
Larger flaps resulting in shorter ailerons.
Different control column.

There is also talk about a wooden strake fitted to the lower rear fuselage just before the first flight but I haven’t been able to find a picture or drawings showing this, so I’m not convinced this was really ever fitted. Another point I’m unsure about is the slots in the fuselage behind the cowling. Some drawings show them, others don’t. On the A6M2 the air flowing through the oil radiator could exit the fuselage through these slots. However on the A6M1 the air exited on the rear end of the radiator housing instead of up into the fuselage as on the A6M2. This would make the slots unnecessary.

Construction:

Very unconventionally I started with gluing the stabilizers to the fuselage. After this had thoroughly dried I cut them off again as close to the fuselage as possible. They will be repositioned later. Next task is to shorten the fuselage by 4mm. Although 4mm isn’t that much, it has to be done as it very visibly changes the look and the stance of the model. I did it by making a Z-cut in each fuselage halve. Starting just aft of the canopy cutting down along a panel line then following a horizontal panel line aft to just in front of the fin, then down along another panel line. Look at the pictures of the re-attached tail to see what I mean. You might be wondering why not just make a straight cut? The Z-cut is more elaborate, but it makes realigning the cut parts much easier and it produces less of a step when the shortened parts are rejoined. The step can be further reduced by some careful bending of the pieces before reattaching them. While the fuselage halves were drying I made the square gun ports in the wing leading edge. I also removed the slots for the aileron balance weights and rescribed the aileron/flap separation lines. The “solid” wing tip navigation lights where replaced by clear plastic. The wing was then set aside to dry. The bare cockpit side walls were spruced up with some structural detail, and the rest of the cockpit completed. I reshaped the control column by carefully bending it. With the canopy closed this detail is hard to see though, but I know its there. The fuselage was then closed up.

The next alteration needed is the vertical tail. I added a wedge to the leading edge and sanded it to shape, making the bottom wider and the top smaller. The rudder hinge line was also rescribed. Next the vertical fuselage slots aft of the cowling were filled in and sanded smooth. The engine was then fitted to the fuselage. While comparing the AV resin cowling with pictures, I found its shape to be too “squarish” also the surface detail was sorely lacking, so I relegated it to the spares bin along with the piece for the external carburetor intake. The J-aircraft research shows that the Zero prototypes never had an external scoop, but had an internal installation very similar to the F1M2 which had the same Zuisei 13 engine. I filled the slot in the Hasegawa kit cowling and, after drilling them out, used the kits exhausts. These are fitted through the second cowling flap seen from the bottom, as per Hasegawa drawing. Early A6M2’s had the same arrangement. However later machines had the exhausts lower through the first cowling flap. So if you are building a A6M2 check your references. Note that early A6M2’s also had the square gun ports, the same antenna mast and glass panels as the A6M1.

After the wing and cowling were glued in place I added the resin oil cooler fairing. I had to reshape it a bit to get a correct fit. I now refitted the stabilizers. On the prototypes the distance between the stabilizers and the wings was the same as on later models. This means that relative to the tail they sit 4mm further aft. They also sit slightly lower and have a negative incidence relative to the fuselage date line. There is no need to shorten the kit stabilizer parts as the cutting off and further aft positioning already reduced the span by the required 1,5mm. The aft glass panels on the canopies of early Zero’s extended all the way to the rear. To represent this I sanded of the rear panel line and polished the area back to be transparent. In pictures I couldn’t discern if the A6M1 had a reflector sight fitted so I did not install one. With the canopy in place, the antenna mast could be fitted. On early machines this tilts some 22 degrees forward instead of 10 degrees on later Zeros. I discarded the crude resin prop and scratch built a new one. Note that soon after the first flight the two blade prop was replaced by a three blade one to reduce the engine vibrations. The last parts to be fitted are the pitot and landing gear as per Hasegawa instructions.

Painting & Decals:

The interior was painted Japanese cockpit green, which is very similar to British interior green. The wheel bay interiors where painted aluminium, followed by a coat clear blue. For the exterior colour I again used the excellent research on the J-aircraft site as my guide. Instead of the orange usually seen in colour profiles, this research shows that the prototypes and early Zero’s were painted in “ash grey”. This is a light grey colour with a distinct brownish taint. As I couldn’t find a match straight from the bottle, I mixed my own recipe by adding a multitude of colours until I had a colour that looked right. To highlight the panel lines I gave the model a wash with black aquarelle paint. This worked well except for the fact that it also gave the model a weathered look which is in appropriate for a prototype. Although I could remove most of it, I couldn’t get it down enough and the model still looks “used” instead of new…. Oh well….I tried to replicate the panel lines, removed by sanding, with pencil lines but these also turned out too heavy. I could use the Hasegawa decals from the kit as the first prototype had only generic markings and no registration or other specific marks. The thick decals had problems conforming to the surface detail so I applied Agama Tensol. This seemed to have no effect so I used the stronger Hypersol. This did have an effect but sadly way too strong. The decals shriveled terribly. This is normal and usually everything smoothes out while drying. But in this case some shriveling remained. I made sure everything had thoroughly dried, and then I carefully removed the worst of it with fine sand paper. As a final step I sealed everything in with a coat of high gloss varnish.

Conclusions:

Although the paint job is far from perfect, I now have an accurate A6M1 in my collection. I might one day strip it and have another go at painting the thing, but for now I am satisfied with the result. When seeing the A6M1 next to the A6M8 It is amazing to see how little the design of the Zero changed during its life. When seeing these two together it becomes easy to understand that the revolutionary plane that was nearly invincible at the start of the war had become a sitting duck when the war ended. As far as the kits go, you can’t go wrong with the new mold Hasegawa Zero’s and they are definitely recommended to all. The AV resin conversion is another matter and really is of no help what so ever. If you are comfortable with cutting up kits for conversions you can do without the resin parts, as you can just as easily modify the kit parts and scratch build the rest.

References:

http://www.j-aircraft.com/research/jimlong/a6m1_menu.htm
http://www.j-aircraft.com/research/zeroclr.htm
Monografie lotnicze 7, A6M Zero by A. Jarski & W. Pajdosz
Zero, by R.C. Mikesh
Zero fighter by R.C. Mikesh
A6M Zero in action Squadron Signal #1059

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