Winged Samurai

Historical Background

In May 1937, the Imperial Japanese Navy issued specification 12-Shi for a new carrier-based fighter to Mitsubishi and Nakajima, even though Mitsubishi's A5M had just entered service earlier in the year. Based on the experiences of the A5M in China, the Imperial Navy came up with a more detailed specification in October: the new aircraft should have a speed of 600km/h, climb to 3,000m in 3.5 minutes, endurance of two hours at normal power or six to eight hours at economical cruising speed. Armament should consist of two 7.7mm machine guns and two 20mm cannons and a full radio set including radio direction finder for long-distance navigation. Maneuverability was at least equal to the A5M, with wings less than 12m wide for use onboard carriers. The powerplant was to use existing engines, causing a significant design limitation.

Nakajima's team considered the requirements unachievable and pulled out of the competition in January 1938. Mitsubishi's chief designer, Jiro Hirokoshi however felt that they were achievable, but only if the aircraft was made as light as possible. To make the aircraft light, every possible weight-saving measures were incorporated. Most of the aircraft was made of a new aluminium alloy called Extra Super Duralumin which was lighter and stronger than other alloys at that time. No armour was provided for the cockpit, engine and other critical points of the aircraft and self-sealing fuel tanks were not used. This made the new aircraft, designated Mitsubishi A6M, lighter, more maneuverable and the longest ranged single engine fighter of World War 2. The trade in weight and construction were however offset by making the aircraft prone to catch fire and exploding when struck by enemy fire. The A6M was of low-wing cantilever monoplane design with retractable, wide-set landing gear and enclosed cockpit. The aircraft had low wing loading and coupled with light weight, made for phenomenal maneuverability, enabling it to out-turn any Allied aircraft at that time.

The A6M was given the Navy type classification Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter, taken from the last digit of the Imperial calendar year 2600 (1940), the year it entered service. The designation gave rise to its nickname, the Zero. Unofficially, it was known as Rei-sen or Zero-sen and the Allies gave it the code name 'Zeke'. The first A6M1 prototype was completed in March 1939, powered by 780hp Mitsubishi Zuisei 13 engine. While the Navy was still testing the A6M1, they suggested that the third A6M1 be fitted with a Nakajima Sakae 12 engine of 940hp. Designated A6M2 Model 11, the extra power of the Sakae pushed the Zero beyond its original specifications. The Model 11 proved promising that the Navy had 15 of them built and sent to China for combat evaluation even though tests were not yet compeleted. They arrived in Manchuria in July 1940 and saw first combat over Chungking in August. On 13 September 1940, 13 of the Zeros met 27 Polikarpov I-15s and I-16s of the Chinese Nationalist Air Force, shooting all enemy aircraft at no loss to themselves. After the delivery of 65 Model 11s by November 1940, a further change was made by introducing folding wingtips to allow the Zeros to fit onboard aircraft carriers. Range was increased by the use of 520 liter wing tanks and 320 liter drop tanks. The A6M2 Type 21 was the most numerous version at the start of the war with 1,540 units built by Mitsubishi and Nakajima.

The Zero went further upgrading throughout the war with the A6M5 Model 52 being considered the most effective variant. The Model 52 was developed to counter the superior (in terms of engine power and armament) American F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair. The variant has shorter wings with non-folding tips and a thicker skin to permit faster diving speeds and an improved exhaust system. It also had the improved roll rate of the clipped-wing A6M3 Model 32. The major subvariants of the Type 52 are A6M5a (or 'Ko') with belt-fed Type 99-II 20mm cannons, permitting a bigger ammunition supply (125 rounds instead of 100 rounds for drum magazine Type 99 cannon); A6M5b (or 'Otsu') with armour glass windshield, fuel tank fire extinguisher and the left 7.7mm machine gun in the fuselage cowling replaced with a 13.2mm Type 3 heavy machine gun; and A6M5c (or 'Hei') with thicker armour glass and armour plate behind the pilot's seat. The version also had a revised armament fit with three 13.2mm machine guns (forward fuselage and each wing) and two 20mm Type 99 cannons. The A6M5 had a maximum speed of 540km/h and can reach 8,000m in 9 minutes, 57 seconds.

Despite being used in China since 1940, reports of the Zero's performance filtered slowly back to the United States. Once there the reports were often dismissed by most military officials who thought that the Japanese were unable to build such high performance aircraft. By 7 December 1941, there were 420 Zeros active in the Pacific Theatre and they quickly gained a fearsome reputation. They easily disposed of the motley collection of Allied fighters in 1941, thanks to their exceptional agility and armament. Its tremendous range allowed it to operate far from their carriers or land bases, giving the impression that there are more of them than they actually were. Their superb maneuverability eventually persuaded the Allies to adopt the boom-and-zoom tactics and were used successfully over the China-Burma-India Theatre by the Flying Tigers. In the Pacific, Lieutenant Commander John S. 'Jimmy' Thach's 'Thach Weave' technique were used. Used effectively during the Battle Of Midway and over the Solomon Islands, the Japanese lost many experienced pilots, resulting in a gradual decline in the quality of Japanese aviators, which became a significant factor in the Allies' eventual victory.

The Allies eventually discovered the Zero's unique attributes when it recovered a relatively intact A6M2, tailcode DI-108 from the carrier Ryujo at Akutan Island in the Aleutians. Dubbed the Akutan Zero, the aircraft, piloted by Petty Officer 1st Class Tadayoshi Koga, was damaged during the raid on Dutch Harbour. The nearby Akutan Island was designated for emergency landings, with a submarine assigned to pick up downed aviators. Mistaking a boggy ground for a solid one, he landed with landing gear extended, causing the aircraft to flip over, killing him in the process. His wingmen, unable to know whether Koga was still alive, did not strafe the almost-intact aircraft. A month later a PBY Catalina discovered the crash site. A team was dispatched there, recovered the aircraft and shipped it to Naval Air Station North Island, California. There, the repaired Zero revealed both its strengths and weaknesses in design and performance. The A6M was obsolete by 1944, but due to the lack of suitable replacements, it soldiered on until the end of the war. During the final years, many Zeros were used in kamikaze attacks, with the first organised attack taking place on 25 October 1944, sinking the escort carrier USS St. Lo.

The Kit

The Zero family, like the Bf 109 was virtually 'owned' by Hasegawa. For the Zero, Hasegawa has came up with all the variants, from A6M2 Model 11 to to A6M8 Model 64 with various reboxings in-between. This particular kit, catalogue number JT72 is another from the mid/late 1990s. The parts are spread among seven light grey and two clear sprues. As expected, the parts were finely moulded with nicely engraved panel lines. The interior has good detail and I believe there is no need for aftermarket products except for the seatbelts. The engine parts are also very good and should only need some scratchbuilt ignition harness for extra detail. The flaps can be posed open and for that, the inside detail were moulded and not left plain. The decals provide markings for two aircraft: 203rd Naval Air Group, 303rd Fighter Squadron, flown by Takeo Tanimizu, Kagoshima AB June 1945 and 302nd Naval Air Group Atsugi AB August 1945.

Construction

I first pre-painted the cockpit parts on their sprue before assembly. Hasegawa instructed that they be painted Nakajima Interior Green while some online builds pointed out that Type 52 Heis were built exclusively by Mitsubishi, hence the cockpit colour should be Mitsubishi Interior Green. It was moot point however as I painted the interior parts Tamiya XF-71 IJN Interior Green, which I'm not sure whether they represent Nakajima or Mitsubishi Interior Green. There isn't much colour used for the interior, with Wood Brown (I used Tamiya XF-64 Red Brown), Flat Black and Steel being the other colours. The details are adequate for an OOB build but typically one need to add aftermarket/scratchbuilt seat belts to complete the picture, so to speak, as none were supplied (I didn't). Decals were then applied for the instrument panel and were treated with Mr Mark Softer so that they lay snugly over the raised details. After the parts were cut from their sprues, I retouched the paint and assembled the cockpit. The cockpit assembly was then trapped between the fuselage halves and the latter were glued using Tamiya Extra Thin Cement. But before that holes were drilled in the right fuselage half and on the pilot's headrest. the upper fuselage cowl was fixed to the main fuselage, finishing the basic fuselage.

Skipping the engine assembly, I jumped straight to the wings. The single lower half and the separate upper halves were glued together with no fuss but there was a slight gap when the wing assembly was mated to the fuselage. The flaps were not cemented at this stage as they were moulded in the open position and may interfere with the painting process. The aileron mass balances were cemented at this time as I judged that they were OK at their positions. Returning to the fuselage, I cut of the tailhook bump on the rear fuselage underside, as the Hei version was meant to be operated from land bases. The recess for the tailhook was then plugged with the kit-supplied part. Before painting the model, I assembled the engine cowling.  The engine parts were painted Mr. Color 28 Steel and drybrushed Mr. Color 8 Silver. The interior of the cowling was painted XF-71 IJN Interior Green. The parts were then cemented together but left separate from the fuselage prior to painting.

Painting and Decaling

While using the internet to help me build the model, I came across a fact which did not cross my mind before. Tom Cleaver, a noted aircraft modeler mentioned that apart from the shade / tonal difference of Nakajima and Mitsubishi (exterior) Green, another difference between Mitsubishi- and Nakajima-built aircraft was that that on the former, the fuselage colour demarcation line from the wing trailing edge to the leading edge of the horizontal stabiliser  rises in a curve while the latter have the demarcation line beneath the horizontal stabiliser. Anyway, being an A6M5c kit,  both finishing options are of the Mitsubishi style. To start off, I painted the wheel wells and the interior of the flaps Aotake, using a base of flat aluminium with a thin layer of clear blue and clear green. Then I painted XF-71 over the parts that will be underneath the canopy and also the inside frames of the canopy.The lower grey was painted Tamiya XF-12 JN Grey while the XF-11 JN Green was used for the green upper colour. The engine cowling was painted XF-69 NATO Black.

For markings, I chose the markings for Warrant Officer Takeo Tanimizu's aircraft. He graduated as a pilot in March 1942, being among the last of Japanese fighter pilots who received prewar-quality training. He was assigned to the carrier Shokaku but faced his first combat on 2 November 1943 from Rabaul when Shokaku's air group was transferred to that base to face increasing Allied attacks. In February 1944 he was transferred to the 251st Kokutai in Formosa (Taiwan) until he was wounded in combat over Amoy on 3 November 1944. After recovering from his wounds, he served with the 203rd Kokutai where he chose to fly the A6M5c due to its heavier armament. It was at this time he painted 'kill' markings on his plane to inspire the more inexperienced men in his squadron. The head-on silhouttes of a four-engined aircraft represent two B-29 Superfortresses while the six stars denote his other kills. Arrows indicate confirmed kills (the two arrows on one B-29 silhouette indicate a shared kill with Tetsuzo Iwamoto, another ace) while unpierced markings indicate probables or damaged aircraft. He survived the war and was officially credited with 18 kills. The Hasegawa decals were relatively thick but they settled well with the aid of Mr Mark Softer. The problem with the whites of Hasegawa decals was not really an issue here as the affected decals were just the fairly small kill markings. The panel lines were then enhanced with watercolour sludge wash.

Finishing

I started from the front of the model. The exhaust stacks were painted Mr Color 61 Burnt Iron and cemented onto their places. This was followed by the completed engine cowling. The landing gear and the tailwheel were next, allowing the model to sit on its legs. The rest of the parts were then permanently cemented to the model. The external fuel tank fitted nicely to its pylon and in turn the pylon fit well onto the fuselage but the protusions on the top of the tank (which I assume were the plumbings for the tank) did not even touch the fuselage. The canopy and the radio aerial was the fixed with the propeller assembly being the last. A final spray of Flat Clear finishes the build.  

Conclusion

There you have it - another easy, relaxing build from Hasegawa. While I would prefer a more 'common' Zero variant (A6M2, A6M3 or A6M5a or b), the 'limited edition' (less than 100 built) A6M5c had its own attraction, such as the extra 13mm machine guns, making it look slightly different from the rest of the family. That, coupled with the rare personal 'kill' markings was enough to persuade me to buy and build this little gem of a kit.