The kit is Hasegawa's family of 1/48 scale Zeros.  Recessed panel lines, excellent wheel well detail, and a good out of the box cockpit representation. Breakdown is standard, with a couple of somewhat annoying areas being the forward scoop/wheel well insert, and a pronounced step at the rear wing to fuselage joint.  Overall fit is excellent, with any puttying being minimal to none.  I substituted a Hawkeye Design cockpit set, Eduard photo etch for the wheel well and cockpit instrument panel, and topping it all off, a beautiful pilot figure from PJ productions (It's kinda after the fact, to hide the great Hawkeye detail, but I LOVE pilot figures, and it keeps the penlight geeks errr judges away).

     Construction started with the engine, I added the Eduard engine details to the engine, added ignition wiring with copper wire, painted and weathered as needed and mated to the collector ring.  The cowling gills were then thinned to a more scale appearance, and the whole assembly dry fitted to ensure no problems. The cockpit was assembled and painted next, I used Aeromaster Mitsubishi Interior green as a base coat, and picked out various details in black and silver   A matt overcoat followed, then a wash in weathered black enamel, drybrushing with British Interior Green, and a rub here and there with a Prismacolor silver pencil to simulate wear.  I added too much detail to the cockpit which is hidden by the pilot, like the seat operating mechanism, and plumbing and detail behind the bulkhead.  

The rest of the kit went together without problem, except for the pronounced  step at the rear wing to fuselage joint.  I removed about 1/16" from the end of the wing, and leveled with superglue, and sanded flush.  I mate the upper wings to the fuselage first, then the bottom to help eliminate any fit concerns. The kit landing gear received photoetch scissors, and the gear covers benefited from the photo-etch framing, and gear supports.  The tail hook fairing was added instead of the hook, and the tail wheel finished basic construction.

     Without starting a color controversy concerning the "ameiro" vs gray-green crowd, I encourage any builder of IJN aircraft to visit j-aircraft.com, especially the color section and research plates.  I received a color chip from a fellow IJN  builder which served as the basis of my overall scheme.  The turtle deck and canopy framing were painted dark gray/black, as was the forward fuselage glare area under the windscreen.  Wheel well and gear interior were first painted Floquil Old Silver, followed by Testor MM Aotake.  Landing gear were painted black, propeller backsides dark brown with Bright Silver fronts.

      The main fuselage color is a mix from the chip I was provided with a couple of additions.  The primary mix is FS4201 SAC Bomber Tan, White, Green Zinc Chromate, with a little Faded OD.  This mix is based on fragments from recovered artifacts recovered Zeros lost at Pearl Harbor.  I used masks by Eduard to paint the hinomaru's, the fuselage band is from Hasegawa, and the tail codes are dry transfers.  A flat coat was then applied and allowed to dry.  The panel lines were enhanced by using chalk pastels, applied with a paintbrush, and excess removed with a q-tip in the direction of airflow.  A final coat of
semi-gloss completed the job. The pilot figure from PJ productions is the very best I've ever seen, he was painted according to reference material, and added as a final touch.

     I really enjoyed this project, and can recommend the kit to anyone.  The research that went  into the project was a real eye-opener as the color is concerned.  I have to admit, I was skeptical at first, but the excellent job (that's still continuing) by a few dedicated individuals is really shedding light on to this mystery.  

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