The Zero: Painting Bits and Decals

I suppose it's been nearly two months since there has been any update on the progress of the Zero, at least in the form of posts that is. Here are the some of the little bits and decals for the Zero. Compared to some model kits, there really aren't a ton of fiddly bits that need to be glued on at the final assembly stage, which is kind of nice. Here are most of those bits and the decals.

I applied some Maskol to the edges on the back of the propeller before painting the Aircraft Interior Black.

The rear of the prop after removing the Maskol.

Just as a refresher, I primed the wheels with AK Gray primer, and painted the Aluminum color. I know I used a Tamiya acrylic, maybe it wasn't aluminum, but I really don't care for it as it looks too sparkly to me. Anyhow, I gloss coated the wheels with Alclad Aqua Gloss before applying some straight paint thinner around the rims. I then touched un-thinned paint to it so it would flow around the rim. I did that a couple of times to build it up and spread it from the rim. I also lightened the flat black with some white.

From there, I just painted the wheels keeping away from the rim. I think these are the best wheels I've ever painted! They are pretty near flawless, even in real life.

The otherside. Zoom in, I dare you.

The decals were applied with Micro Sol and Micro Set. It didn't seem right to have flawless looking decals on a plane that was so chipped up. When the decals were soft, I poked at them with a toothpick or a knife blade.

Another thing that I saw in the FAQ book by AK was using a watercolor pencil to simulate fading on the decal itself. It worked okay and was a slightly noticeable in real life. However, after the last dull coat it is hardly noticeable. I'll have to experiment more with this in the future.

Decals applied to the prop. I had one of the red stripes lift on me after I applied the Micro Set. The decal was then too soft to maneuver without damage. I just had to accept fate and move on.

The last shot of applied decals.

I believe that is going to be all for this week. Now I just need to motivate myself to write the last two posts. See you next week! Maybe.