I have been meaning to post this model for quite some time but life has been a bit hectic lately. This is my second post to the ARC and the 4th model I have built since I have ventured back to this hobby 3 years ago. I purchased this kit thinking it would be a somewhat basic built that shouldn't take me all that long to complete. Well, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions! I spent almost a year on and off working to complete this model. My skills with my airbrush were still developing and needless to say I made a few mistakes along the way. At one point (after a horrible mess-up with the leading yellow wing edges) I literally had the model on the ground with my foot hovering over head. It literally took every ounce of self restraint I had not to grind the thing into fine particles! But, alas, with some friendly words of encouragement from my fellow ARC'ers, I pressed on and was able to see to fruition what I had so naively begun...

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The model is almost OOB with the exception of Eduards PE and some Resin wheels. I also used some fine copper wire for the brakelines (see picture). Oh yeah, thanks to Amy (my girlfriend's best friend from childhood) for supplying the black hair for the antennae. I went over the panel lines (once the paint and decals were in place) with Tamiya Smoke to accentuate the panel lines. I did not go all out weathering the plane as the A6M5c's were a relatively late production model of which a good majority met their fate during the "Marianas Turkey Shoot". The bird cage canopy was another challenge but a great learning experience as well.

All in all, I really feel I advanced my modeling skills greatly during the construction of this model. In hind site, I would probably have gone with the Hasegawa version but that is another project for another day. Also, the pictures are from my new Sony 5.0 Megapixel Cybershot that I used with a tripod. Its a wonderful all around camera. The cockpit shot you see below is an enhancement of another picture (not too shabby eh!). Enjoy!

Dan

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