Mitsubishi A6M5c Zero Type 52 Hei ‘Jinrai Squadron’

[AnonymousAA74]

Mitsubishi A6M5c Zero Type 52 Hei ‘Jinrai Squadron’

1:32 Hasegawa

The Mitsubishi ‘Zero’ is probably the one fighter aircraft most synonymous with the Japanese struggle in the Pacific, and this particular version, the A6M5, was the most numerous of the type to have been built, entering service in late 1943. The ‘C’ subtype, which is the subject of this kit, had improved armoured glass, and thicker metal skinning in critical areas of the wing, to allow for faster dive speeds. Improved armament and fuel capacity were also features of this version.

To me, the Mitsubishi Zero is one of the most aesthetically pleasing aircraft ever to have flown, ranking alongside the Spitfire and the Ta 152H. When this kit first fell into my lap, I sort of wondered why I hadn’t heard any announcement about a new ‘Zero’, and was pretty much filled with expectation after just reviewing the wonderful Bf 109F-2 kit. The ‘Jinrai Squadron’ release of this kit comes in a standard Hasegawa top-opening box, complete with a great piece of artwork showing the Zero in flight over water. The kit itself isn’t a new tool and is based on the original 1992 kit (S11/S011), which is given on the instructions as ST4. Standards 20yrs ago were a little different, as we’ll see when looking through the kit. The only variation between ST4 and this release is the inclusion of a resin cowl, and the accompanying Jinrai Squadron decals.

The sprues in this kit, with the exception of the clear parts, are packaged in the same polythene bag. I do find this irritating, as Hasegawa kits aren’t the cheapest in the market, and bagging sprues individually does give some insurance against damage. With this sample kit though, we are lucky, and all parts are intact and un-damaged. With all sprues moulded in the familiar Hasegawa mid-grey styrene, the first sprue to be handled contains the fuselage halves, and this is bit of a mixed-bag today. I’m sure that the overall profiles and shapes of this kit are right as they do capture the Zero wonderfully, but the exterior is peppered with many raised rivets. I’m pretty sure they shouldn’t stand proud from the surface, but this style was in vogue when the kit was initially released. The panel lines are also raised. While Hasegawa do appear to have got the positioning of all of this correct, you’d need to take a sanding stick to it and sand the fuselage smooth and rescribe the panel lines. Rosie the riveter would be useful to replace the rivets in a more realistic fashion also.

All control surfaces, despite being moulded integrally to the airframe, do have a very reasonable fabric and rib finish to them, and this wouldn’t need any extra work being done to it. The metal finish landing flaps are modelled separately, however.

The fuselage interior is quite good though with excellent side-wall detail that would just benefit from a little plumbing. The remainder of the cockpit is reasonable too. The instrument panel has moulded instruments with their face detail. Some good painting could make this look good, or perhaps you could simply remove the detail and add your own bezels and instruments. The seat looks a little thick and would benefit from some extra work and a set of seatbelts too. In all, the cockpit is above average, and could be made to look superb with a little self-determination. A pilot is included, but I wouldn’t use him as he does look extremely poor, with bad shape and definition. The cowl is also on this sprue, but as we shall see, that part won’t be used here.

The wings are a mixed bag also. Overall, the shape is very good, and the various extra thick plates are well defined, if perhaps a little too exaggerated. There are some recessed panel lines which also look a little heavy too, but these could be fixed with some Mr Surfacer. Again, we have a lot of rivets sticking out, and some raised panel lines. Most of this can indeed be fixed with some care and attention. The wheel wells though are not very good, with then being moulded literally as ‘pits’ with a little wiring detail etc. There is no through-road between these wells as there would have been on the real aircraft. You could fix this with some aftermarket solution, if it exists, or with a lot of hard work using plasticard, but this could be out of the scope of many modellers. Other tail surfaces etc also have the same rivet treatment, so make sure you have plenty of sanding sticks at hand.

This kit does have a complete engine included, but sadly, this is showing its age also with poor cooling fin definition on the individual cylinders. The ancillary piping etc. is still very good though and realistically sized. Two optional parts allow you to model the cooling flaps in either an open or closed attitude. Now, that cowl. A resin cowl, needing very little clean-up is included in this kit. There is a slight variation in the gun channels on this, as well as the new part carrying some subtle scribing. An extra sheet within the kit deals with the addition of this cowl, and any changes between the original ST4, and the Jinrai release. These are detailed in 2 replacement constructional sequences detailed in this extra sheet. This sheet also carries the colour scheme for the new version.

Other kit detail tends to be quite good, such as the undercarriage legs. The wheels are quite simplistic, and certainly not weighted, as that was almost unheard of in 1992! Nothing in the way of sink marks can readily be seen, and despite the moulds age, flash is quite minimal.

The transparencies are good, although not perfect. A dip in ‘Klear’ should fix any small blemishes, and make them look more than reasonable. The framing on these parts though is quite poor. The edges of the frames are represented as raised lines instead of a full frame. I would mask the clear windows, spray some interior colour, and then build this up with some coats of Mr Surfacer. They can indeed be salvaged! These parts are also bagged with the decals.

Instructions are given as two sheets. The first, main sheet is a reproduction of the original ST4 sheet, with all diagrams in typical Hasegawa style, whilst the second sheet is the aforementioned ‘extra sheet’ concerned with the Jinrai Squadron differences. Paint references are GSI Creos and Mr Color.

Two colour schemes are given which are very similar, and these are both :

• 721st Naval Air Group, JINRAI Fighter Squadron, February 1945, Miyazaki AB

The decal sheet is very good, with perhaps the printing being a little thick. Colour definition and registration is perfect, and you also get a full set of instrument decals to help with the cockpit.

Conclusion

This is a kit which is now sadly showing its age. Yes, it can be fixed in many areas, but it depends whether you’ve the inclination to do this when Tamiya produce an excellent Zero at not much more cost than this is being offered for at RRP. It’s a kit with many good attributes, but feels very ‘retro’. I hope that Hasegawa retire the moulds after this release and perhaps re-tool this as they did with their Fw 190F kit.

Review sample courtesy of

UK distributors for