Tamiya 1/48 A6M3 Zero (Hamp) Review

Now that I have a few kits under my belt, I'm starting to be able to compare kits and details between each other. I recently picked this kit up from Amazon and is next on the "bench". This kit wasn't what I had in mind a month ago, and due to dragging my feet a bit, Amazon no longer carries the kit I wanted directly. I have to buy it from a shipper and pay out the nose in shipping. I'll wait on that kit and see how it comes out. I've never done a Japanese aircraft before, so we'll see how it goes. In the meantime here is the review.

Here is the box. So pretty.

There are a total of four sprues. Definitely not too many parts to keep a track of. The instructions have a copyright of 1982. I really don't think the detail is up to today's standards anymore. The detail on the exterior is "soft". I'm not sure I can explain what that means at the moment.You'll just have to deal with that.

The wings as well as the fuselage have a mix of recessed and raised panel lines. I really hate raised panel lines.

The "second" sprue is the lower wing assembly. The bottom of the wings are one piece, similar to Tamiya's Mk. I Spitfire. Again, the details are soft and a mix of recessed and raised detail. The wheel well detail is rather nice. The plastic on the wings and fuselage seems pretty thin.

The "third" sprue. You get seven different dudes.

The pistons that forms the engine. Nicely detailed, albeit plain with a pesky seam line running around the circumference on outside on top of the detail.

The struts are pretty nicely detailed although, there are seam lines and ejector pin marks (EPM's) in hard to reach areas.

The engine cowl. I think it was part of a sprue, but was floating around like an orphan.

The "fourth" sprue. You have two canopy options, open or closed.

Tamiya decals. Pretty standard here. A bit thick.

As far as instructions go, this is it. One fold out, pretty straight forward. I think I'll pretty much not be following it.

You get a few different options for markings.

Some measurements for you.

When completed, I think it will be a tad smaller than the Spitfire.

That's it. Overall, I would say this kit is not too bad. We'll check the fit when it's being built. Tamiya typically hasn't been a problem in the past. Details are a bit of a disappointment with raised and recessed panel lines. Some EPM's in hard to reach areas, but good quality for the most part. What's "quality" you ask? You must have taken a project management course.