Test shot photos reveal more of Border's 35th scale A6M2 Zero

Border model have shared images of their latest test shot photos of their new A6M2 Zero, with a little more of the skin & cockpit detail to show you in our preview...

Test shot photos reveal more of Border's 35th scale A6M2 Zero

To add to their recent 1/35th scale kit of the Japanese carrier Akagi & Kate torpedo bomber, Border model have a new companion or alternative The other Japanese aircraft that modellers love, the Zero, either by itself or with the Akagi in 1/35th scale are their latest two releases.

A6M2 Zero

From Border Model

Kit No. BF-006

1/35th scale

Full interior with engine

Stressed skin details

3 marking choices

The Subject: Mitsubishi A6M2b

While chief engineer Jiro Horikoshi acknowledged having studied Allied designs, his Mitsubishi A6M2 was largely an original, a refinement of his already proven A5M fighter. He had crafted the A6M2 with the sleekest and lightest possible airframe to compensate for the limited power of the 940-hp radial engine the Japanese navy had selected. The result was an astonishingly fast, nimble and far-ranging creation, the first carrier-based fighter capable of besting land-based opponents. Entering service in 1940 (2600 on Japanese calendars), it was designated the Rei shiki Kanjo sentoki (“Type 0 Navy Carrier Fighter”). Japanese pilots foreshortened its name to Reisen (“Zero Fighter”), and its Western opponents likewise knew it as the “Zero,” though its Allied code name was “Zeke,” in keeping with giving male names to Japanese fighters.

A cutaway drawing showing he details in and outside the Zero A6M2b

From its combat introduction in China in September 1940 until encounters with improved Allied fighters in 1942, the Zero dominated the skies over the Pacific. It was also the most-produced Japanese warplane of World War II, with 10,939 built. Shocked by its performance, Western aviation experts declared it a copy of foreign aircraft. Despite airframe and weapon enhancements and the installation of more powerful engines, it ultimately succumbed to the weaknesses inherent in its weight-saving design and by early 1944 was being downed in steadily increasing numbers—taking with it a generation of experienced pilots. By then the limitations of Japanese industry thwarted production of a replacement fighter in adequate quantities, forcing the Zero to fight to war’s end.

Carrier A6M2 and A6M3 Zeros from the aircraft carrier Zuikaku preparing for a mission at Rabaul

The kit test shots:

Prior to this, we only know from the boxart the features of this kit so far, and of course the history of their recently 1/35th scale aircraft releases that feature a full engine and external stores, with drop tanks and bombs included. The kit will also feature the recent trend of stressed skin surfaces with that "oil canning" effect that looks pretty good in this scale. The Zero will feature three marking choices of these early zeros...

Test shot photos show the skin details a little better, with fine rivets and the different depths of the panels a little more subdued on this kit than, say, their Fw-190, which I felt was a bit pronounced. Raised detail is not too severe here.

More of the underside of the wing, with the partial lack of a centre seam here a good thing. You can already see the plans for other Zeros with a panel omitted from the underside of the wing.

The instrument panel looks to be supplied with either single or a panel of decals that this blank for the instrument panel is painted and placed over. That system works really well for most modellers with a great resort without having to resort to a 3D solution.

The ribbing and side panels of the fuselage also look detailed, with controls in place ready to be painted and hopefully decals to place in those dial holes!

Check out the Border Models website for more information...