Tamiya A6M3 Zero (Hamp) Completed

No need for a long winded introduction, here's another plane done. All my words will be at the bottom, well most of them.

After undressing the canopy, I discovered a fog that had wafted from the rear. I hypothesize that when I glued the antenna in place and fixed the canopy over it, the fumes from the unset Extra Thin caused the slight fog wisp on the inside of the canopy.

Well there it is. It's only taken me about five months! The body received a final coat of AK Ultra Matte Varnish and the cowl and propellers, Winsor & Newton Satin Varnish.

I've got a couple of the Zero's greatest adversaries in the stash that hopefully I'll be getting to soon, the F6F-3 Hellcat and one of my personal favorites, the F4U-1 Corsair. Perhaps they will be up next? Maybe....? Along with the PR.IG that is in progress, I started another kit that you will find out about shortly.

It's that time again to go through what I learned for this build, it's been a few months so here is what I remember.

• I really didn't care for the mix of raised and recessed panel lines on this kit.
• The kit details were soft and delicate, too easy to be obliterated by primer and paint. 
• I think the instructions really led me astray by painting the interior Metallic Blue, I won't do that again in the future.
• Alclad Black Lacquer primer can be touchy and leave a rough pebbly surface. Maybe it was too windy on the balcony? Maybe it was a bad batch? Maybe it just dried before it hit the surface? Maybe I used "maybe" too many times in this post?
• Don't force an airbrush needle through an airbrush, otherwise you'll end up with a curl like the Wicked Witches toes.
• Don't use glue like Extra Thin or CA glue anywhere near clear parts, even if they are not touching!
• Humbrol Maskol works great on un-varnished acrylic surfaces, very easy to remove and leaves no residue.
• I don't know if I would say I perfected my wheel painting, but it was definitely the best I've ever done.
• Let a decal sit for an hour before using Micro-Sol. I used it too soon and a decal floated off the surface and then it was too soft to move without damage.
• Oil weathering is not as easy as it looks.
• Sometimes you have to push through problems on a project to completion, even though it may not be up to standards. If you've learned something along the way, it was worth it. Especially on a $14 kit.
• I really need to get that lightbox built, the final pictures aren't the best.

Thanks for checking in and I hope to see your web stats return soon!