Hi everybody. Below are pics of the 21st Century Corsair and Zero kits I just finished. While they sit at auction awaiting adoption to a loving home, I figured I'd post them here along with what I found during their construction.

My apologies that the pics were taken on the counter. I usually model sci fi stuff, but the starfield fabric I usually use as a photo backdrop didn't seem appropriate. If anyone has some suggestions of where to pose the models so they look more realistic, I'd love to hear them.

First up is the Zero kit. I found four of them on clearance at Walmart for $7 each. At that price, I figured 'how can you go wrong'?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/omnilateral/IMG_3676.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/omnilateral/IMG_3661.jpg

The cockpit is actually very well done... methinks they were VERY inspired by the Tamiya Zero kit. The guage faces are simply drilled out holes... I made up some decals in Photoshop and applied them to the surface. The seatbels are also decals, with tiny pins providing the metal for the buckles
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/omnilateral/IMG_3420.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/omnilateral/IMG_3416.jpg

The most glaring problem with the kit is that it is marketed as an A6M2 model 21, and that is what the decal sheet is for. However, the cowl included is for an A6M3. The cowl can be converted, but it takes quite a bit of sculpting to get it to look right. I only did it on one of the two I built:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/omnilateral/IMG_3684.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/omnilateral/IMG_3667.jpg

The other huge problem with the kit is the wings, which just don't want to mate together. The oleo openings had to be filed back to allow the landing gear to open at the correct angle. Also, there is a pair of ridges molded into the upper wings that are supposed to apply pressure to the landing gear; unfortunately, they cause a huge gap in the wings so I removed them with a chisel.

I have two more of these kits, but I don't know that I'll be doing them anytime soon... these are just too labor intensive to make them look right. That, and the fact that both of them came with 2 left elevators and no right ones.

Next up is the Corsair kit. This was much more fulfilling, and I look forward to doing it again. I did this one as the old standby, Keford's 'White 29'

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/omnilateral/IMG_3630.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/omnilateral/IMG_3627.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/omnilateral/IMG_3618.jpg

The only othe small beef with this kit is that the dashboard has almost no detail. For this on, I just applied a decal to the surface. On my next one, I'm going to put the decals behind a very thin piece of drilled out styrene. Other than that, I just used small metal sewing pins to add switches and levers. The pilot figure is unpainted, ulike the Zero and Folgore kits. Mine also came with 2 left legs...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/omnilateral/IMG_3401.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/omnilateral/IMG_3402.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/omnilateral/IMG_3634.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/omnilateral/IMG_3606.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/omnilateral/IMG_3414.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/omnilateral/IMG_3413.jpg



The only real beef I have with this kit is the retaining pin for the landing gear. The barbed pin does not want to go in easily, and the curvature of the oleo makes it near impossible to get it seated properly with a clamp. Other than that, Highly Recommended (if you can find them...)

I welcome your comments. If you'd like to see more detailed pics, I have them posted in their evilbay auctions. My seller ID is Omnilateral.

Some fun with Photoshop:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/omnilateral/th_bwphoto.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/omnilateral/bwphoto.jpg)

Thanks, now I know what to expect when I get the time to build my Zero and Corsair

Great stuff! You picked 2 great planes and did them justice. Very nice. I just learned about the Zero recently - always tauted as an amazing aircraft, high altitude, intense manoeverability, fast - but it turns out, the price was armor! The cockpit was not armored, or at least not very much at all. (Sort of the WWI TIE fighter). And the corsair, what a gorgeous craft, and what a great show ("Baa Baa Blck Sheep")

Beaut paint, geat job!

Thanks for the kind words. The Zero was a fascinating aircraft. Some Japanese scholars even credit the aircraft as one of the reasons Japan decided to start the Pacific War.
In addition to the lack of armor, its fatal flaw was a lack of self sealing gas tanks. Usually all it took was a couple of hits with tracer fire and the planes would either light up or explode. The controls would also lock up at high speed due to a lack of hydraulic assist... this was the reason so many kamikaze attacks missed their mark.

Nice work...!

Nice work...!

Agree! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: rr