A6M Zero Cockpit Comparisons

Hi. My name is Doug, and I'm a Zero-holic.

(Applause)

I have finally acquired one of each of the resin/brass detail sets designed for the new Hasegawa series of A6M Zero's. Because of the recent discussion concerning the pro's and con's of the Hawkeye Designs and True Details cockpits, I thought that I'd write up a short comparative review of all the available detail sets.

Please note that I have not installed any of these sets into a model, so I cannot comment on the fit of the cockpits. Rather, this review is intended to comment on their completeness and level of detail.

I'll begin by lauding the merits of the Hasegawa Zero series of kits. If any of you other Zero-holics out there have yet to get one of these beautiful models, you're denying yourself an outstanding modeling experience. In all fairness, these kits really do not NEED replacement cockpits. The kit parts are extremely well done, and represent some of the best kit cockpits I have yet seen. But, never one to leave well enough alone, I just have to mess around some, and I'm sure that many of you are the same. Not to say that there isn't room for improvement. Far from it. One look at any of the following sets, and one will realise exactly how much detail IS missing from the kit.

Hawkeye Designs - A6M3 Zero Cockpit Update (#306)

One of the first sets to hit the marketplace after the release of the Hasegawa kits was the offering from Hawkeye Designs. All the parts are resin, and this set displays some of the finest casting finesse that I have seen in aftermarket detail sets. The set includes a new cockpit floor (which extends a short way behind the pilot's seat), sidewalls, pilot's seat, four O2 bottles, rudder pedals, machinegun breaches, gunsight, side console (part E2 in the kit), and a few little radios and levers to attach to the sidewalls and instrument panel. Note that you have to use the kit's instrument panel, which is no trouble, considering the high quality of the kit part. A slight accuracy problem is the shape of the O2 bottles.

Removal of the parts from the resin sprue will be a snap (no pun intended), with the largest attachment point beneath the pilot's seat. The seat is cast encredibly thin, and has a seat cushion molded to it, which I think represents the pilot's parachute, on which he sat. There are no seatbelts. The level of detail on the sidewalls and floor is incredible, and represents the best detail of all the detail sets. With a retail price of, I believe, $12.95, this set is one of the lower priced sets available.

The downside to this set is that the instructions tell you to fashion your own foot restraints on the rudder pedals, and the seat supports that attach the seat to the rear bulkhead. These are parts that are best reproduced in photoetch, and are done so in many of the other detail sets. Hawkeye also needs to work on their packaging, because the plastic baggie in which the parts come, allows for easy breakage. I was lucky in that I had several sets from which to choose, so I picked one with no broken parts (many of the other sets were damaged).

True Details - A6M Zero Cockpit Detail Set (#48467)

This set includes a new floor, sidewalls, instrument panel, rear bulkhead, pilot's seat, machinegun breaches, gunsight, rudder pedals, side console, control stick, and seat adjustment lever (kit part E38). With all due respect to the individual who designed this set, it does not represent one of True Details best efforts. The problem is, many of the parts are only the kit parts, reproduced with a few additional details added. The pilot's seat, for example, is the kit seat, with the holes drilled through, and seatbelts added. While this is an improvement over the kit part, it is something that an average modeler could easily accomplish himself. A complaint that I have with many of the True Details sets is the large amount of resin that needs to be removed from the parts, like the instrument panel, and cockpit floor, in this instance. Their packaging also leaves a lot to be desired, as many of the parts in my set were broken upon delivery.

On the positive side, the sidewalls are extremely nice, with loads of additional detail added. The rudder pedals are also an improvement over the kit parts. The gunsight is very nice, although the clear reflector lens was molded in resin for some reason. You'll want to cut this off, and replace with clear plastic. At a retail price of $7.98, this is the least expensive set available.

Teknics - A6M2 Zero Cockpit Superset (#TK4842)

This is the first set reviewed here that includes both resin and photoetched parts. The resin parts include two floors (the cockpit floor, and a floor for the area behind the cockpit), sidewalls, the rear backing for the instrument panel (the instrument panel face is photoetch, and must be glued to the front of the resin piece), several O2 bottles, pilot's seat, gunsight, and a few small radio parts to be attached to the sidewalls. The photoetched parts include the instrument panel, the rear bulkhead, side console, machinegun charging levers, cross hairs gunsight (to be added to the resin part), elevator trim tab chains, structural framework for the sidewalls in the area to the rear of the cockpit, rudder pedals, seat supports, the circular antenna aerial (kit part E36) and a myriad of small levers and other parts for the sidewalls. A part unique to this set is a perforated plate to add to the rear of the pilot's headrest. I'm not sure why this part is needed; perhaps to hide the seam in that area. There is also an acetate sheet that includes all the instrument dials. The only kit part to be used is the control stick.

My general impression of this set is that it has the potential for producing the most detailed cockpit of all the detail sets, but you are going to have to work like mad to get there. The number of small photoetched parts is overwhelming, and I wonder why Teknics chose to go that route, instead of having more detail molded into the resin sidewalls, like the other sets have done.

 The quality of the photoetch is outstanding, but the rear bulkhead assembly is going to be a real bear. It should look fantastic, though, if it can be accomplished. The quality of the resin parts is not up to the standards set by the other companies. Perhaps this is why so much of this set is photoetch. The sidwalls are a little crudely molded, and the gunsight isn't as good as those included in the other sets. The cockpit floor looks to be the best of the bunch, with a lot of detail not included in the other offerings. The seat isn't bad, but not as good as in some other sets. It is also going to take a lot of work removing the resin parts from their sprues. This set retails for $18.95.

Eduard - A6M3 Zero Type 32 (#48-176)

Completely photoetch, this set was the first set to include details for other parts of the aircraft, outside of the cockpit. This set is typical Eduard photoetch, with all the problems inherent in that medium, i.e. the two-dimensionality of the parts. Because there is no resin in this set, the parts are intended to augment the kit components, rather than replace them. Cockpit parts include: instrument panel, side console, elevator trim tab wheel and chains, throttle quadrant, seat adjustment lever, seat supports, seat belts, rudder pedals, and bunches of small levers and other parts for the sidewalls and cockpit floor.

Other parts included in the set include: oil cooler intake grill and partition plate, circular radio aerial, headrest rear plate, perforated machinegun barrels (that need to be carefully rolled into tubes), engine details, like the pushrods and sparkplug wires, canopy lever, landing gear details (oleo scissors, gear door attachment points), framework for inside the gear bays, and highly detailed dropped flaps.

Again, this set is typical Eduard, which means the parts are very detailed, and extremely well etched. It retails for around $12.95. I believe that Eduard also makes sets specific for the A6M2 and A6M5.

KMC - A6M3 Zero Type 22 (#48-4002)

This is another set that includes cockpit details with additional parts for other areas of the aircraft. The set is mostly resin with a small fret of photoetch. Resin parts include: rudder, ailerons, elevators, flaps, separate wingtips (for folding), wheel chocks, 250 kg bomb and rack, cockpit sidewalls, pilot's seat, machinegun breeches, gunsight and a few small details to add to the sidewalls. Photoetched brass parts include: engine cowl flaps, bomb fins, wing fold mechanism, flap supports, seat belts, seat support arms, crosshairs for the gunsight, and a few small parts for the sidewalls.

The sidewall detail is very, very nice, one of the best. So is the pilot's seat. The gunsight is the best of the bunch. The machinegun breeches look to be copies of the kit parts, with a couple of details added to the outside faces. This set obviously uses a lot of kit parts, including the instrument panel and cockpit floor. As mentioned earlier, the instrument panel is not a problem, but I would have liked to have seen a new floor in the set. All of the parts are extremely well-made. The resin is crisp and clean, and easy to remove from the sprues. The brass is also nicely done.

This is one of two sets that includes folding wing tips and brass engine cowl flaps (the other is the Verlinden set). The resin wing flaps are nice, but I think they look better in all brass. Parts unique to this set are the wheel chocks, separate ailerons and the bomb. The bomb is very nice, and used to be available separately in a two-pack, but I think that set has been discontinued. KMC also markets the cowl flaps and control surfaces as separate sets. Retail price for this set is $22.98.

Verlinden - A6M2b Type 21 Zero Detail Set (#1289)

This is the newest set to hit the market, and is also composed of both resin and photoetch (what is that metal - copper?) The resin parts include: separate wingtips, rudder, elevators, engine gearbox, cockpit sidewalls, floor, rear bulkhead, instrument panel, O2 bottles, side console, gunsight, exhaust stubs, radio, and a small piece not shown in the instructions.

The photoetched parts include: dropped flaps, wing fold details, engine cowl flaps, engine pushrods, spark plug wires, circular radio aerial, structural framework for behind the cockpit, pilot's seat, seat supports, seatbelts, rudder pedals, crosshairs for gunsight, gun charging levers and a few smaller details. The set also includes a length of copper wire.

The resin parts are very well made and cast, and they look like they should be fairly easy to remove from the sprues. The floor and sidewalls do not include as much detail as do the KMC and Hawkeye sets, but still are nicer than the kit parts. One unique aspect of the set is that the O2 bottles are not all identical, like they incorrectly are in the Hawkeye set. The instrument panel is no great improvement over the kit part, and the gunsight, although nice, is not quite as nice as some of the others.

I am not impressed with the photoetched parts. The best way to describe them is that they are "not in register." Meaning that the two etching passes made on the piece of copper were not in alignment, so there is a noticeable "step" to the edges of all the etched parts. Also, the seat looks like it will be extremely difficult to fold.

As others have recently mentioned about Verlinden, the instructions leave a lot to be desired. Although they are clearly drawn, there are several parts not shown. All of the engine parts are not shown (except for the cowl flaps), there is no mention of what to do with the copper wire, and there is the matter of that small resin piece. Maybe I'm just missing it somewhere. This is the most expensive set, retailing for $24.95.

Summary

I wish I could definately recommend one set over the others, but as you can see, each set has its own advantages. If price is your major concern, go with the True Details set. It's not quite as well made as the others, but it is better than what comes in the kit. I think that the best overall detail comes with the Hawkeye set, and this set is also relatively inexpensive, so this would be a good choice. As described above, I think that the Teknics set will produce an outstanding cockpit, but it is going to take a lot of work, given the large number of extremely small photoetch parts, and some of the difficult folds that they require.

If photoetch is your game, then go for the Eduard set. The cockpit probably will not look as nice as one of the resin ones, but you get all the other details along with the set. Many of the parts, such as the landing gear details, are not included with any other set. The Verlinden set is a good, all-around set, but the photoetch and the instructions leave a lot to be desired. The resin is pretty nice, but not as detailed as some of the others, and the folding wing tips are good to have as well. The only thing this set has over the KMC set is the photoetched flaps.

I think the KMC set is the best of the "full aircraft detail" sets. The cockpit sidewalls are as nice as the Hawkeye set, but the lack of a detailed floor is disappointing. There is also no detail behind the cockpit, but I wonder, can you really see that area anyway? It comes with the separate control surfaces (the Verlinden set doesn't include ailerons), a nice bomb, and the wheel chocks. Keep in mind, however, that KMC also separately markets (or used to market) the brass cowl flaps, the separate control surfaces, and the bomb(s). But the total cost for these items is much cheaper when bought as a set.

My recommendation for those of you with unlimited money, is to get the Hawkeye Designs cockpit, the control surfaces, bombs and brass cowl flaps from KMC, and the Eduard brass set for all of the other aircraft details. You will have a few brass parts left over, but not many. The only thing lacking from this plan are the folding wingtips. My alternate recommendation which is the cheaper alternative, is to go with only the KMC set.

Well, I hope some of you find this information useful. I'm off to build a Zero!

Happy modeling,

Doug Chaltry