Zeros! S&P 1/100 zero series pt 1

[OgdenBob]

Originally Posted by MichaelS

I have always heard it called aotake.

That is also the name I have heard used for that color.




Bob

[CMDRTED]

next up is the last of the production zeros the A7M7. this was essentially an A5Mc set up to dive bomb. the flying tail was strengthened, which as before is not readily visible. the under wing bomb cradle was a simply couple of bomb mounts set mid fuselage. there were fittings for 4 air to ground rockets but I haven't seen any good data on these. there are fittings for newly designed external fuel tanks that are weirdly mounted on the wings over the rocket launchers. this model zero was designed to take off from the shorter deck carriers as the susei and older vals had trouble doing that, after Japans losses of her big flat tops.
the kit itself was an early gen 1 or 2 and was simply a sort of copy of the a5mc that Bruno offers. in that garb the a7 was used as a kamikaze "bomber". the markings were changed to one of the 2 squadrons equipped with this bird. the wing tanks were modified from brunos rocket launcher page of Vietnam era weapons. the bomb itself came from the old maly kit of the kate, shrunk down to century scale. I later designed a better bomb but was in a "rush" to finish the kit.

[CMDRTED]

here is a pic of the a6m5c and the a7 together and a family pic

[Don Boose]

Another beautifully-crafted 1/100 model, Ted. I really envy your skill and productivity.

This is an excellent portrayal of the Model 62. The bombs are very well done. I appreciate the background information.

The tail code (ヨD) identifies it as an aircraft of the 302nd Kōkutai [Air Group], originally established in March 1944 for the air defense of Yokosuka naval base (ヨ= Yo for Yokosuka] and transferred to Atsugi in March. It 302-ku was equipped with a variety of aircraft, mostly Zeros and J2M Raidens, but also including twin-engined J1N1 Gekko and P1Y1 Ginga night fighters and D4Y2-S Suisei dive bombers converted to the night fighter role for operations against B-29 bombers. The unit also conducted suicide missions and offensive operations against Allied naval and ground units on Okinawa, which is probably where the bomb-laden A6M7s came into play.

You have a great detachment of Zeros, and I look forward to your next builds.

Keep ‘em flying!

Don

[Vinalssergio155]

Very beautiful collection of zeros, magnificently constructed.

[Rata]

Hat off to you CMDRTED. Your skills always astound fella.

Anyone know the weight of that bomb? Surprised the Zeke could take off at all, let alone from a short carrier deck with the added weight of those externals. I guess the -M7 was up-engined along with the other mods maybe.

[CMDRTED]

the m5c and a7 were up engined. I tried to show that by making the cowling just a tad bigger than the plain m5/c it isn't very apparent but side by side you can see the 0.45 mm difference. I think the bomb might have been a 500 lb er.

[Don Boose]

Garry -

I may be wrong, but I think the A6M7 only operated from land bases. 302 Ku (the unit that Ted's airplane belonged to) was strictly a land-based - Kisarazu and Atsugi - air group.

Don

[CMDRTED]

this is true Don, but at the time they were developed the intention was to deploy from the smaller carriers, the taiyo class for instance or the converted seaplane carriers chitose and chiyoda. by the time they came to fly they were diverted to home protection.

[CMDRTED]

this was analogous to the german me 109 t class. they were originally designed for the Graf Zepplin but then were deployed to short airfield theaters