SPA Modeler

I finally received the 1/32 Hasegawa A6M5 Type 52 Zero "Super Ace" Limited Edition kit to review. Thanks to Lyle and Great Planes for supplying the kit!
The box is fairly large for the amount of plastic inside and the box artwork is beautiful. The parts are molded in typical Hasegawa light grey styrene on 4 large sprue trees, there is one small sprue in light tan that comprises the pilot figure and the option for 3 different heads, and one sprue of clear parts. Some of the parts were loose from the tree inside their bags and the bag for the clear sprue was open and the spure was out of the bag inside the box. There does not appear to be any scratches or damage to any of the loose pieces. There are decal options for two different aircraft, both in the dark IJN dark green and grey-green scheme. The surface detail of the cockpit parts are wonderful and there are decal options available to use on the instrument panel if so desired. Surface detail comprises of both recessed and raised detail. Take a look at the pictures below. The pictures may not be the best quality, for that I apologize, they were all taken on my phone.

Pilot figure:

Engine, cowling, machine guns, etc.:



Theres a little flash on some of the engine parts, nothing major and some careful cleanup and they'll be fine.

Fuselage/Horizontal Stabilizer:




Wings are 3 pieces, single bottom and port and starboard tops:



Instrument panel(s), cockpit sidewalls and bulkheads, prop spinner, and gear parts:








Clear parts are crystal clear with hardly any distortion or magnification:


Instructions - typical Hasegawa:

Decal Sheet:


Thanks for looking. I'll be starting this very soon and posting pictures as I go.
http://www.hasegawausa.com/index.html

This is gonna be good....

That looks like a great kit. Lots of fiddly pieces too. I'm sure you'll have this one under control. I noticed the pilot torso comes in two pieces. I've seen pilot bodies come in two halves, one piece and add the arms/legs, but never the torso in two halves. I wonder why they did that. Looking forward to seeing this one come together.

Nice and clear pictures of a good looking kit, Jelly! Lot´s of parts, but I don´t like those pesky insets for the wings. Those really never do fit. Looking forward to a WIP!

I was able to get started on construction yesterday. The parts have very little flash and are highly detailed. So far, I've not found any ejector pin marks on visible surface areas, most are hid on the back of the parts where the parts will fit together or wont be visible when constructed. The only small area that I had trouble with was the fitting of the pilot parts. The torso is a two-piece part and the parts didnt mate up that great, I had to use my needle files and sanding sticks to remove some of the lumps and uneven surfaces. Then the torso and the waist sections didnt match up very well and there was a decent sized overhang, made the pilot look like he had a pear shaped body, again, nothing the needle files and sanding sticks couldnt finish. I am going to complete the pilot figure, just to give me practice on painting figures, I'm not sure if I will place him in the cockpit yet, depends on how he turns out. Plus he would cover up some wonderful detail inside.
As for cockpit detail, the dials and switches molded onto the parts is fantastic, there are also decals if you were so inclined to use them; however, I think it would be a shame to cover up all of that detail, so I will be using highlights and detailing the panels myself.
Anyway, below are some of the parts that I was able to get together yesterday. I hope to continue with some sub-assembly later this afternoon and get some primer on these parts.
Paints for this build will be: Primer-Stynylrez, Pilot - Vallejo Model color; cockpit - AK Xtreme Metal, Tamiya, Ammo of Mig & MM enamel.
Here are some photos of the build so far:






Here is the pilot figure, I did not add him to the build, but wanted to show off the detail.

Thanks for this update, Jelliot! Indeed the given detail looks really good here. I cannot see any fit issues on the pilot; you did a great job here!
Stynylrez is one of my favourite primers these days, too. Cool stuff!

This is gonna bring out so many great details in the kit. Bravo! I may add this one to my wish list.

Man that is some nice detailing! And that seated pilot figure has to be one of the best I have ever seen in injection plastic molding.

Thanks gentlemen! I dont have any update shots today.
I did get a chance to lay down some primer on the cockpit detail and started working on the pilot. I should have taken a quick picture of the pilot with just the primer on it before I started painting. The matte finish of the blacky Stynylrez really made the detail POP on the figure itself.
I'm quickly realizing that painting figures is obviously not my forte! I'm going to continue on with it, but I make no promises.I think the main body and that will be okay, but I'm not sure about flesh and faces.
I picked up a new set of detail brushes the other day so that is going to help. I really am hoping to do it justice, just because the detail on the figure is so crisp, right down to the buckles and quick release lever on the harness and the string tied in a bow on his life vest under the harness. I looked at several pictures of WWII Japanese pilots and builds others have done and made a custom mix of leather brown and brown ochre for the flight suit. I'm using flesh base and warm tint (intending to blend) for the face. I'll try to take some shots tonight and post those.

As for the first set of pictures on the thread, I think I screwed something up with Photobucket (of trash) yesterday and I'm going to have to go in and replace the pics. I'll work on that today.

Hmm...
I can see your pictures here. All looks fine.