Mitsubishi A6M5a Rei-sen by ccoyle - Halinski/Kartonowy Arsenal - 1/33 - CARD - Allied code name "Zeke"

[ccoyle]

Got the frames cut out and glued to the vacuformed canopy. Afterwards I noticed that there is a slight defect on the aft starboard side that didn't allow the lowest frame on that side to sit level. It remains to be seen how that will affect fitting the canopy to the fuselage later. I will let the glue fully cure before cutting the canopy free from its blank.

 

Since I invested in an upgraded cockpit interior, I'm leaning toward displaying this model with the canopy open.

[ccoyle]

Canopy is on.

 

[AJohnson]

That looks very neat Chris. 

[ccoyle]

5 hours ago, AJohnson said:

That looks very neat Chris.

 

Thank you! Pre-molded canopies are certainly convenient, but I don't think I've ever had one yet that didn't pose its own unique challenges, and this one was no different, so I'm happy with this result.

 

Next it was on to the ailerons, and naturally with this being a Halinski kit, each one had to consist of no less than thirteen separate parts. 😑 

 

In the end, though, I was completely dissatisfied with how the control horns turned out, so I ended up replacing them with much simplified scratch components, which knocked the parts count down to only twelve per side. As seems to be my habit, I also ended up with the gap between the wing and aileron being much more noticeable on one side than the other, which you can't really see from this angle. What can I say? And lastly for this session, I also added the brass 20 mm cannon barrels and their shrouds.

 

I believe the landing gear are next if I follow the numbered sequence.