1:48 TAMIYA MITSUBISHI 'ZEKE'!
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TORA! TORA! TORA!
The infamous Japanese Zero was immortalized in 1:48 scale by Tamiya in their excellent 1973 release. Content of our kit is near-mint,although the box is a little creased in places. All parts remain on their runners with just a few being detached and being zip-locked bagged for protection. Fabulous decals offer five subjects with accompanying colour notes forming a crucial element of the instruction sheet.
*We have added a number of bonus items inside the box: Eduard's rare PE detail set 48-176 (for the Hasegawa kit) and a pair of top notch refernece books: Profile Publications No. 129 and Squadron Signal's AM6 Zero in Action from 1983-packed with many photos, colour profiles and line drawings!
1973's 1:48 scale Mitsubishi AM62 Zero (Zeke) was one of the very best kits of a a WWII Japanese fighter aircraft to have appeared in the seventies and there were plenty of contenders! Pale grey plastic with surface detail of the highest order: matt fabric control surfaces contrast starkly with the glossy finish of other parts. Cockpit, engine and wheel well detail was exceptional and the kit featured undercarriage position options; a full canopy and a three piece version for a sliding hood alternative.The kit was warmly received buy kit reviewers at the time and it still remains on a level with more recent kits of the legendary warplane that proved superior to most other nation's fighter aircraft when it entered service in 1941.Over 75 Zeros took part in the Pearl Harbour attack in December that year and were effective in ground-strafing the facility with only eight losses from the second attack wave. Whether based at land or sea the ubiquitous Zero proved a formidable opponent to Allied forces and numerous successful variants were developed during the war.
Tamiya kit No.MA.116,although a product from another era,remains one of the best Zero kits produced and our example (pre-owned by the late Harry Woodman) is in extremely good condition-all parts cling steadfastly to their trees with the exception of three loose parts and fuselage shells all individually bagged for safekeeping. Colourful decals are matt-the sheet offers five versions and appears to be in VGC. Three Naval and a brace of Army service Zeroes are represented with one of the former being A1-101 of the carrier Akagi attack group that saw action over Hawaii on 8 December 1941.
*Our kit includes some great bonus items including Eduard MA's 1996 PE sheet 49-176 designed for the Hasegawa kit but equally at home with the Tamiya model although some mods may need to be made. Also supplied in the package is Profile Publication's No.129 on The Zero-Sen by Rene J Francillion Ph.D published in 1966 and Squadron's Signal's Zero in action, the 59th of the series written by Shizera Notara and illustrated with Don Greers' fabulous colour art on covers and centre- spread. Collectively the two books feature almost 30 profiles with the Squadron title presenting over 85 separate line drawings showing many invaluable aspects of the AM6 series.