Pete J. Posted May 12, 2014 Posted May 12, 2014 I have been working with photo etched since it first became a mainstream part of modeling over 20 years ago. Since then I have tackled a number of projects that used photo etched an a major part of the kit but were mostly add on part. I have recently taken on a model which is the most challenging photo etched project I have tackled. It is a Japanese A6M2 Zero in 1:32 scale. It is almost entirely white metal and photo etched. I say almost because the tires and canopy are not made of metal. I though some of you would appreciate this kit so I will post progress photos. Front fuselage and cockpit viewed from the rear. Stringer detail Some of the white metal parts for the cockpit.
Pete J. Posted May 13, 2014 Author Posted May 13, 2014 Pete, who kits this? Do you solder and CA for joining?IMCTH is the manufacture. They did all the design work and photo etched. I have seen that they contracted Model Factory Hiro for the white metal. Having seen MFH kits, the white metal certainly has all the traits of their work. Joints were soldered where I could get the solder to stick. The joints that are under stress(where the metal had to bent to fit the profile) I used epoxy. The joints that are not overly stressed were done with Poly-Zap. A CA that was made for R/C Lexan bodies. It has more grip and flexibility than normal CA's. Thanks for the interest!
Cato Posted May 13, 2014 Posted May 13, 2014 Thanks for the comprehensive reply. I have found 'Bondini', also made by Pacer to be excellent for metal (PE brass and steel) to styrene bonds.
Mooneyzs Posted May 13, 2014 Posted May 13, 2014 Wow... That is some incredible work. I am looking forward to seeing this come together. Please continue to post progress of this build. I have a Trumpeter 1/24th scale P-51thst I would like to build one day with detail .
Biggie Posted May 15, 2014 Posted May 15, 2014 I always had a thing for ZERO's (in my opinion one of the most beautiful WW2 airplane, other two would be P 51 and Bf 109). How many parts are in the kit ? Wishing you a nice build
Pete J. Posted May 15, 2014 Author Posted May 15, 2014 I always had a thing for ZERO's (in my opinion one of the most beautiful WW2 airplane, other two would be P 51 and Bf 109). How many parts are in the kit ? Wishing you a nice build Then you are in luck. They make both the P51 and the 109. As to how many parts I really couldn't say but I know there are well over 100 white metal parts and 5 or 6 8"X10" sheets of photo etched. You might find this interesting but a lot of the photo etched is prebent. The two halves of the fuselage in the photos are that way. The down side is that the bends aren't dead on like you would normally see in a plastic kit. It takes some creative clamping to make them fit the way they should. The parts that are under stress I used epoxy because it holds better. Getting them to shape was the challenge.
Pete J. Posted May 15, 2014 Author Posted May 15, 2014 I thought I would throw these up there since there was some interest. These are engine photos I posted on a different thread but they belong here, so this is the white metal engine. I scratch built the cowl flaps since the ones that came with it, are closed and didn't look right.
mikevillena Posted May 15, 2014 Posted May 15, 2014 Definitely an "all out" build. I'm assuming the kit is pricey.
Pete J. Posted May 15, 2014 Author Posted May 15, 2014 Definitely an "all out" build. I'm assuming the kit is pricey. Thanks! The kit is available for about $300 (30,000 yen). There aren't a lot of these out their.
Agent G Posted May 16, 2014 Posted May 16, 2014 VERY NICE! Why don't you continue this build log in our "All the Rest" group build. I for one want to keep track of your progress on this. G
Pete J. Posted May 16, 2014 Author Posted May 16, 2014 Works for me! I am trying to get this done in one month. Wish me luck!
Pete J. Posted May 18, 2014 Author Posted May 18, 2014 So, I was looking at the white metal parts and decided that I didn't like the gun barrels. They are suppose to be pieces of rod wrapped with a sticker to look like the cooling shroud. Not ever realistic to my eye. So I broke out the mill and lathe and here is what I came up with. This is the rod that I cut to .055" and drilled out to .022". This shows the mill drilling the .017" cooling holes. Here is the finished part. This is the .022" stainless steel tubing inserted in the cooling shroud. The stainless will be the gun barrel.
Pete J. Posted May 21, 2014 Author Posted May 21, 2014 This is the barrel mounted to the white metal breach. I have not cut the inner barrel yet as I am still not sure how I want to mount it. This is just pressure fit for now.
mustang1989 Posted May 24, 2014 Posted May 24, 2014 Good God!!!! How in the world did I miss THIS?????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is INCREDIBLE!!!!!!
mustang1989 Posted May 24, 2014 Posted May 24, 2014 I'll go ahead and second Agent G's recommendation on the All the Rest Group Build. It would be a true honor to have this winner in there! Again..............INCREDIBLE!
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