SPA Modeler

...they just wheeled Mrs. Kenny X on back to the OR for her hernia repair surgery. She is sedated and feeling “Fiiiiiiine ”

I brought my “Modeling The A6M Zero” book with me to read while I wait for her in the recovery room. I didn’t want to just be sitting here fretting about things while the Surgeon is working on my wife, so I figured reading about models and thinking about them would be a good way to kill time.

I was reading and thinking about the A6M3 I did (my first Zero) and I was mentally comparing it to the work that I’m doing on this Zero, and in pretty much a single instant I realized that I hate that A6M3 I did.

It’s all the weathering I put on that bird. To me it seems now, when looking at the photos, completely overdone. Granted, I was a much different modeler back when I built that aircraft, back in February/March. Bruce, The Man himself said it was a “watershed moment” for me. And he’s right. It was a big turning point for me in terms of how I do a project. It was really my first step toward the personal style I’ve developed for myself. And for that, Im certainly glad I did it. But all that said, after doing this Zeke, I look at that A6M3 and I think to myself “That could have been so much better.”

For one thing- the work I did wiring the engine. I dislike that. I need to improve upon that in the future and at least with this current Zeke I am indeed heading in that direction. The work I did on my 1:32 Sakae 12 in this bird is vastly superior to that one and thank all you guys again for encouraging me to super-detail it and for your support.

Another thing- the decal seatbelts. It’s a big wart that I intentionally put right there in that beautiful cockpit. I can’t believe I did that.

And another thing- the chipping. I had an inkling that I would end up finding it distasteful... it started back when I immediately knocked-out that Corsair around the time I had moved that Zero into the paint stage. I noticed that as I was chipping that bird, I was using a much more gentle, conservative approach. Two-layer chipping, with bare metal and primer exposed, on that Corsair. And while BIG HOG still shows that I have much room for development and improvement in terms of the where’s and when’s it’s appropriate to use my chipping skills, I think it looks much better. It definitely shows a step up. Anyway, I dislike the chipping on my A6M3 for two reasons:

1. I feel like there’s too much of it.

2. There is no primer to be seen at all.

From the research I’ve been doing, I’ve learned that Japan used very high quality primers and paints during that period, and they were incredibly durable. Something which I recall Carlos noting back when I began that build. And while I took his advice into account -as I always do, as his feedback and advice helps me sharpen my vision for the project- I feel like I took it too far.

I’ve been thinking about building my 1:32 Zoukei Mura Raiden as my next 1:32 aircraft, as Japanese subjects, I’m finding, are quite good fun to build and paint and puzzle over. I’ve been examining reference photos and from what I’m seeing, the manner and style in which I chipped my A6M3 would be more appropriate on a Raiden. From the shots I’ve been studying, it looks as if there’s no primer under that paint at all. And in a few of the photos, quite a lot of paint is missing.

Early Zeros, on the other hand, were as has been said- manufactured and primed and painted with very high-quality materials.

Looking back, I should have just made minimal chipping around the cowling area, a little bit of light scouring on the cowling flaps (because I do like the look of some bare metal peeking through on those), some small conservative chips on the leading wing edge, wing roots, and maybe some small ones around the canopy area. Some down to just primer, and others exposing bare metal with primer peeking through too. All told- about 10% worth of the amount of chipping I did on that model MAXIMUM.

I’m not telling anybody else how to build and paint Zeros. Rather, this is more of a walk-through of my personal style, looking at how it’s evolving based on the work I’ve done on this project here.

All that said- I am totally gonna do another A6M3 at some point, a better one.

First off - I hope the Operation goes well Ken!

Second - Dude that's some deep feelings there, and sounds like you're putting a lot of thought into it. I didn't actually think you're Zero was that bad (I've seen a lot more heavily weathered Zero's than that) and it certainly looked a great model, but it's interesting to read how over time your thoughts towards it have changed.

I suspect it's working out things like that in your head that will in the long run make you a better modeller.

I'm certainly enjoying watching you progress.

Stuart-

Thanks my friend! Cheers and mucho-appreciated!

Firstly- everything went fine for Mrs. Kenny X. She’s back here in the recovery room with me, and she’s awake and lucid and she’s not in any pain. According to the Surgeon- complete success on the surgery so that’s fantastic! I’m very, VERY happy.

Secondly- thank you for your thoughts about my A6M3. I respect your work and your talents and ideas very much so your thoughts are sincerely appreciated. And maybe “hate” was a strong word. Or maybe not- I get kind of dramatic about my work sometimes but I do indeed feel like I could have done better on that. And you are correct- I think about this stuff a whole lot. I damn-near obsess over it. Fact about it- when the time came to re-wire and detail-up the engine, and mount it, in this 1:32 A6M2 I’m working on here- I was having repeating stress dreams over it. It was like I would see the entire cast of characters who live in my subconscious pouring over my model, criticizing every aspect of it, every move I intended to make, and so forth. It was crazy. But once so got it all finished up and mounted, and got that photo last night with the prop mounted and the top half of the cowling in.... PEACE. It was at that point that I had physical and photographic proof that I had accurately represented the vision I have in my head. And everybody else in my head was happy with it, too. Now, I still have a lot of work to do- painting the insignias and stripes, stencils, a light pin wash, painting a few miscellaneous parts and installing them, and finishing touches, but I’m on-track, and I’m feeling good about it.

I’m happy to hear that your wife came thru the surgery well. The road of recovery is always challenging. Best wishes from me to you and your family (because you will all be involved) on her recovery from surgery.

As far as your approach to modeling Kenny, and pretty much all else you have shared with us here, it sounds to me that you are a man of passions. Those passions drive you in your endeavors and push you strive for the best in your undertakings. You don’t simply “just do it”. That’s just who you are.

Carlos my man, you’re absolutely right about that. I’m one of those people who’s born with no governor on the motor and the throttle stuck at wide-open. That’s me. If I get passionate about something, it’s pretty much all or nothing on a level that can border on obsession, to be sure. That said, it causes me problems in other aspects of my life due to the fact that I have little tolerance for things which I feel are either boring, or interfering with my activities. Doesn’t make the grunt work that comes with fatherhood any easier to do let me tell ya but I do it As lovingly and as best I can.

Back to Mrs. Kenny X, she’s an all-in person just like me, and yeah man, I have a lot ahead of me in terms of helping her recover. She can’t run, can’t do Yoga, can’t lift the kettlebells, or any of that stuff for a while. Shoot man- can’t lift anything. And frankly- I don’t want her doing laundry or cleaning or anything for a while. This hernia surgery needs to heal up and she needs as much rest as possible. So I’ll be looking after her, picking up her slack, looking after the bébés, and also- I brought a new dog home from the pound in July, Jeannie. She’s a good pup, but she came with heart worms. So I’m managing our new pup’s treatment and recovery from the heart worms too -but she’s easy, she just has to stay quiet for the next 57 days (after the first round of Doxy for a month and steroids, she had 30 days of rest, got the first shot on Monday, then 30 days of more extreme rest, then two more shots, then more extreme rest). LOL My plate is pretty full! But that’s okay.

KennyX wrote:
Back to Mrs. Kenny X, she’s an all-in person just like me, and yeah man, I have a lot ahead of me in terms of helping her recover. She can’t run, can’t do Yoga, can’t lift the kettlebells, or any of that stuff for a while. Shoot man- can’t lift anything. And frankly- I don’t want her doing laundry or cleaning or anything for a while. This hernia surgery needs to heal up and she needs as much rest as possible. So I’ll be looking after her, picking up her slack, looking after the bébés, and also- I brought a new dog home from the pound in July, Jeannie. She’s a good pup, but she came with heart worms. So I’m managing our new pup’s treatment and recovery from the heart worms too -but she’s easy, she just has to stay quiet for the next 57 days (after the first round of Doxy for a month and steroids, she had 30 days of rest, got the first shot on Monday, then 30 days of more extreme rest, then two more shots, then more extreme rest). LOL My plate is pretty full! But that’s okay.

Husband, Father and pet owner - man those always come first - and to be honest life would be pretty damn boring without them.

I'm happy to hear the surgery went well. It sounds like your really living this Zero.

Great news on the surgery! Yay, team...

Awesome news about your wife! I hope she heals fast with no complications.

This build is looking great! I hope to be able to pop in here more soon to keep up with things. I have certainly enjoyed watching this come together

Thank you guys so much for your kind words about my wife and her recovery and for your thoughts! She’s resting easy on the rocker recliner right now, after a good night’s sleep, and she’s catching up on the Wheel Of Fortune backlog on our DVR. She’ll start to get antsy to get back to work, but for the time being she’s content to hang out and watch all the Pat Sajack and Vanna White she can handle. And the kids didn’t give me any trouble at all, getting them up, at breakfast, or getting them ready for school. This morning’s solo drop-off went quick and clean, everything five-by-five, baby!