Manufacturer:Eduard
Kit Number: 32-018
Kit Number: 32-018
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| Click on image for Instruction Sheet 1 |
Click on image for Instruction Sheet 2 |
Eduard set 32-018 is a comprehensive photo-etched detail set for the Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero. It is designed for the
1/32 Hasegawa kit. I am not sure if it could be adapted to the old Revell Zero, but it would prove interesting to try.
I thought it would be impossible to improve on the earlier released set for the Bf 109G, but Eduard has surpassed that
by a long margin.
The set contains two frets of brass and one photonegative sheet of clear Mylar for the instrument faces. All totalled, the set contains 165 brass parts, no less than 80 of which are exclusively for the cockpit area. The remaining 85 parts cover areas such as the engine cowl fasteners, which Hasegawa overlooked, the cowl flaps, a real nice 5 piece arrestor hook, a 250Kg centre line bomb rack as well as numerous parts for the landing gear and wheel wells. They have also touched on the landing flaps, oil cooler intake and the wing mounted bomb racks.
Typical with the Eduard sets, some minor kit modifications are required in order to properly utilize all the photo-etched parts. The Zero was no exception, as a few moulded in details on the cockpit sidewalls had to removed and various smaller details on the landing gear, flaps and wing mounted bomb racks are replaced with the photo-etched parts.
The face of the instrument panel, Hasegawa part number 62 has to be sanded smooth and the area in the middle where the compass is situated should be cut out. This allows the photo-etched instrument panel to sit properly on the kit part. Not indicated in the instructions is the necessity to paint the back side of the Mylar instrument faces white. While you are at it, do not forget to paint the top half of the artificial horizon a bright blue and 1/3 of the oil temperature gauge red. Do this before applying the white.
Once the gun breeches have been assembled they are designed to be placed over top of the existing kit guns. I found it necessary to shave a little off the kit guns to allow the new units to sit properly. The detail set seems to cover all Zeros from the A6M5 through A6M5c, so pay attention to the differences between each variant and utilize the parts accordingly. If you are modelling an A6M5b or c, do not use the left cowl gun, part numbers 25, 28, 29 and 32. While on the subject of the guns, part no.'s 85 are the perforated outboard wing gun barrels and should only be used if modelling an A6M5c.
Part numbers 21 and 54 go on the left cockpit console and are for the underwing bomb release. They should not be used unless you are building an A6M5c. A nice touch is the inclusion of the small flapper door and screening for the oil cooler intake.
Eduard has provided a total of 8 mounting lugs which are designed to replace Hasegawa's moulded lugs on the landing gear doors. While the photo-etched units are more accurate, you could get by with not replacing them and having a stronger bond where the door meets the strut.
The seat is probably the nicest part of the set, with all the holes and rivet detail beautifully represented and looks much better than the Hasegawa rendering. To obtain the proper curve to the seat pan, I used a Tamiya paint brush handle to act as a rolling pin, as it approximates the curve of lower edge of the seat sides. Fold the sides into position first then roll the seat pan. Also included are a set of seat belts. Due to the thin brass used, they can be positioned with just the right amount of natural drape to look very realistic. The fleece commonly seen on Japanese seat belts is represented by a slightly textured look to the metal. I opted to cut this away and replace it with small pieces of thick paper towel. I have found this does a better job of representing the fleece.
When folding the numerous boxes for the cockpit sides, I suggest some careful planning so the last fold to be made is the one on the bottom of the box, or the one least likely to be seen when viewing the cockpit. It worked quite well for me, or maybe I am just getting more comfortable with working with photo-etched.
Part number 42, which is the cowl flap control does not fit quite as indicated in the instructions. I found that it was necessary to form a slight curve in the mating surface and place it further aft than is indicated in the instructions. If not repositioned, it will make contact with the instrument panel. A few parts are to be augmented with small bits of scrap plastic to represent knobs or disks, but they will look more than presentable if this step is skipped.
As no painting references are given, I used the Monogram Japanese Cockpit Interior Close-up No. 14. All parts including the cockpit sidewalls were finished in Humbrol Forest Green No. 150 (FS34127). This is a very good match for the Mitsubishi olive green. For those of you not having access to colour photographs, the remainder of the cockpit parts were finished as follows:
In conclusion, this is an excellent detail set which enhances one of the better 1/32 aircraft on the market and represents good value for your money. I would however, not recommend this set to someone who has not used photoetched before as it can be somewhat intimidating trying to form the numerous bends in small areas. With a suggested retail price of $19.99, this represents a lot of bang for your buck.
Reviewed by Randy Lutz
The set contains two frets of brass and one photonegative sheet of clear Mylar for the instrument faces. All totalled, the set contains 165 brass parts, no less than 80 of which are exclusively for the cockpit area. The remaining 85 parts cover areas such as the engine cowl fasteners, which Hasegawa overlooked, the cowl flaps, a real nice 5 piece arrestor hook, a 250Kg centre line bomb rack as well as numerous parts for the landing gear and wheel wells. They have also touched on the landing flaps, oil cooler intake and the wing mounted bomb racks.
Typical with the Eduard sets, some minor kit modifications are required in order to properly utilize all the photo-etched parts. The Zero was no exception, as a few moulded in details on the cockpit sidewalls had to removed and various smaller details on the landing gear, flaps and wing mounted bomb racks are replaced with the photo-etched parts.
The face of the instrument panel, Hasegawa part number 62 has to be sanded smooth and the area in the middle where the compass is situated should be cut out. This allows the photo-etched instrument panel to sit properly on the kit part. Not indicated in the instructions is the necessity to paint the back side of the Mylar instrument faces white. While you are at it, do not forget to paint the top half of the artificial horizon a bright blue and 1/3 of the oil temperature gauge red. Do this before applying the white.
Once the gun breeches have been assembled they are designed to be placed over top of the existing kit guns. I found it necessary to shave a little off the kit guns to allow the new units to sit properly. The detail set seems to cover all Zeros from the A6M5 through A6M5c, so pay attention to the differences between each variant and utilize the parts accordingly. If you are modelling an A6M5b or c, do not use the left cowl gun, part numbers 25, 28, 29 and 32. While on the subject of the guns, part no.'s 85 are the perforated outboard wing gun barrels and should only be used if modelling an A6M5c.
Part numbers 21 and 54 go on the left cockpit console and are for the underwing bomb release. They should not be used unless you are building an A6M5c. A nice touch is the inclusion of the small flapper door and screening for the oil cooler intake.
Eduard has provided a total of 8 mounting lugs which are designed to replace Hasegawa's moulded lugs on the landing gear doors. While the photo-etched units are more accurate, you could get by with not replacing them and having a stronger bond where the door meets the strut.
The seat is probably the nicest part of the set, with all the holes and rivet detail beautifully represented and looks much better than the Hasegawa rendering. To obtain the proper curve to the seat pan, I used a Tamiya paint brush handle to act as a rolling pin, as it approximates the curve of lower edge of the seat sides. Fold the sides into position first then roll the seat pan. Also included are a set of seat belts. Due to the thin brass used, they can be positioned with just the right amount of natural drape to look very realistic. The fleece commonly seen on Japanese seat belts is represented by a slightly textured look to the metal. I opted to cut this away and replace it with small pieces of thick paper towel. I have found this does a better job of representing the fleece.
When folding the numerous boxes for the cockpit sides, I suggest some careful planning so the last fold to be made is the one on the bottom of the box, or the one least likely to be seen when viewing the cockpit. It worked quite well for me, or maybe I am just getting more comfortable with working with photo-etched.
Part number 42, which is the cowl flap control does not fit quite as indicated in the instructions. I found that it was necessary to form a slight curve in the mating surface and place it further aft than is indicated in the instructions. If not repositioned, it will make contact with the instrument panel. A few parts are to be augmented with small bits of scrap plastic to represent knobs or disks, but they will look more than presentable if this step is skipped.
As no painting references are given, I used the Monogram Japanese Cockpit Interior Close-up No. 14. All parts including the cockpit sidewalls were finished in Humbrol Forest Green No. 150 (FS34127). This is a very good match for the Mitsubishi olive green. For those of you not having access to colour photographs, the remainder of the cockpit parts were finished as follows:
| Black | Gunmetal | Dark Green | Red | Orange |
| 3, 16, 17, 20 | 24, 25, 27, 28 | 18, 34, 46, 56 | 21, 37, 48 | 35 |
| 43, 44, 50, 51 | 29, 30, 32, 33 | |||
| 52, 55, 59, 66, 67 |
In conclusion, this is an excellent detail set which enhances one of the better 1/32 aircraft on the market and represents good value for your money. I would however, not recommend this set to someone who has not used photoetched before as it can be somewhat intimidating trying to form the numerous bends in small areas. With a suggested retail price of $19.99, this represents a lot of bang for your buck.
Reviewed by Randy Lutz