Japanese Solid Model Archive

We will continue from last month with the propeller.
Prepare a small quantity of suitable tinplate. Carefully examine photographs of the Zero’s propeller and sketch the blade shape on the tinplate. Because propeller blades carry pitch, if you simply cut the planform from a flat drawing and then twist it, the blade looks too slender from the front view. Add a little extra chord width before cutting a single test blade.
Twist that test blade to give pitch, compare it against photos, and if the look is acceptable, use it as a master to cut three blades. At the spinner insertion area, cut the blade root with an extended tang (about 3 mm extra) as in the diagram, and make a few small retention notches with tin snips to prevent pull-out from the spinner.
Mark the three insertion positions on the spinner. With a sharp knife, open the slots at the correct angle, then insert each blade carefully using pliers without bending the root. Spin the assembly and correct any runout by subtle adjustment.

When the basic fitting is done, tune the pitch. This metal-blade method shines here: while carved bamboo or wood blades can lose symmetry or thickness—and multi-engine models become discouraging to match—you can re-adjust metal blades until you are satisfied.

To give airfoil thickness to each blade, apply lacquer putty with your fingertip. Because the root should be thicker, apply in thin multiple coats, letting each coat dry—about two days overall.
After drying, knock down high spots with sandpaper and finish with waterproof paper (around #280) to the final section. Pay special attention to root shape and tip thickness—this area is very conspicuous, so finish it cleanly.

Finally, spray or brush lacquer surfacer two or three times over the whole propeller, sand with water-paper, then paint to finish. I have built 20–30 propeller aircraft with this tinplate + putty blade method and have never had a blade/putty separation issue—rest assured. Do not attempt to change the pitch after putty fairing and finish.

For manufacturing convenience this Zero was built with the engine section separated from the fuselage. This section explains how to finish the engine unit. As shown in Figure 2 (A), glue a thin partition (paper) between the engine front and the intake duct area, and drill the gun ports with an awl.
At the same time, prepare for cowl flaps by recessing their seating groove about 1 mm deep. After these preliminaries, apply 4–5 coats of lacquer surfacer (details on painting follow below) and then base-color the unit before proceeding to step (B).

Figure 2 (C) shows the method for exhaust stubs and cowl-flap installation. Determine the exact exhaust positions from the drawings; bend appropriate-gauge copper wire (or hard wire) to shape, pre-drill the holes, and insert.\ Tubing (e.g., small aluminum/brass tube) can add realism thanks to the hollow ends, but tight hook bends tend to crush tubing, so I used copper wire. Dress all outlet ends to uniform length with a file.

Cut strips of black-dyed paper (smooth, e.g., vacuum-tube or cigarette boxes) to the cowl-flap width; knife out the small notches where the exhausts intrude (check references). Then separate into individual flaps and glue sparingly, placing each carefully with tweezers. Setting the flaps slightly open at an angle gives a lively look.
Important: do not over-apply adhesive—squeeze-out will melt lacquer and look unsightly.

In parallel, fabricate a simple front-row radial using tinplate: as in Figure 2 (D), cut a star-shaped backing and wrap tinned hookup wire around it for pushrod or fin suggestion; attach with adhesive. Because the spinner is large, little can be seen inside; this level of representation is sufficient.

With that, the engine unit is done. Working it off the airframe should have made the job easier. Glue the engine to the fuselage after the airframe is fully finished.

Proceeding to the airframe: in addition to what we covered last month, first cut the wheel-well openings for the main gear on the wing underside and the tailwheel bay.
Method notes: with a 6 mm (≈2 bu) chisel this goes quickly and cleanly. Depth about 2–3 mm; paint the interior black to create depth.
Also, following the plans, open the arrestor-hook slot, and drill the 7.7 mm gun ports ahead of the cockpit (at the engine–fuselage boundary). Complete these operations before painting.

We now tackle the stage many find daunting—painting. If the sequence is correct, even first-timers need not worry. Assuming most readers lack a spray gun, the method described is brush painting (hand application). The engine unit is painted in the same manner.

Below is the overall sequence, with step labels standardized to A/B/C/D/E/F/G:

(A) Undercoats / Surfacer — 3–5 passes (wet-sand with #320)
(B) Color Coats — 3–4 passes (with interim wet-sand)
(C) Panel-line Scribing (then in-line tinting)
(D) Final Color (thin finishing coats)
(E) Riveting / Panel-joint “grain”
(F) Compound Polishing
(G) Uni-polish (finishing glaze)

We will go step by step.

(A) Surfacer — No special products are required beyond lacquer surfacer. Some use clear lacquer as a sealer, but you will find that surfacer sands more controllably and fills micro-pores, making it far more convenient. Apply with a good brush that does not shed bristles.
After roughly 3 coats, let dry thoroughly, then wet-sand the whole surface with #280–#320 and a little water to obtain a clean, even finish. Apply 2–3 more coats of surfacer, dry, and wet-sand again.
Because surfacer is applied thinly, 3–5 coats can approach ~1 mm total if you never sand back; avoid over-thick sections like the horizontal tail by sanding to maintain scale appearance.

(B) Color Coats — Use the IJN standard scheme: dark green upper surfaces and blue-gray undersides. I painted the entire engine unit black.
For dark green, many commercial lacquers are acceptable as-is. For blue-gray, mix white with a very small amount of black to a light gray, then add a touch of blue.
Choose a clear day for painting. Insert an awl in a hidden spot as a temporary handle; apply 2–3 coats to the undersides, then 2–3 coats of green to the topside, keeping coverage even. Modest surface unevenness is acceptable—use richer lacquer and lay it on sufficiently.

(C) Panel-Line Scribing — We scribe after major coats. Many hobbyists scribe into bare wood first, but repeated surfacer and color coats fill fine lines, forcing re-cutting and marring the finish. By scribing at this stage, only very light finishing coats follow, so the lines remain visible.
Use a keen kiridashi/craft knife; polish the edge. Start on the underside—as with markings, practice where mistakes are less visible. Measure flaps and ailerons from the drawings; keep line width and depth consistent. Grain can pull the blade—use a truly sharp edge.
When scribing is complete, lightly tint inside the lines with a fine brush; later thin finishing coats will not fully hide raw wood color inside the grooves.

(D) Final Color (Finishing Coats) — On two-tone schemes, always paint the lighter color first. Thin the previous mix roughly 1:2 with thinner and apply 2–3 light coats to the undersides (first ensure no remaining bumps; wet-sand if needed). Repeat for uppers. Apply masking tape along the leading edges to prevent runs and level the edge.
In fine weather, the finish dries within a few hours, after which you can letter and mark. Before that, as with my Corsair build, we will add panel-joint “grain” and rivets to heighten realism—this is laborious but rewarding.

(E) Panel-Joint “Grain” & Rivets — Prepare a sharp, round-tipped awl. While the paint is not fully cured (about ~20 minutes after finishing coats, when it no longer takes fingerprints), lightly draw panel-joint marks with a knife point, following references and Figure 3. If the paint has fully cured, the marks will not catch light and will be invisible.
Wrap tape around the fuselage as a guide line when helpful (also effective on the cowl). Then punch rivets with the awl at about 1 mm spacing, varying spacing/size around fillets vs. ordinary panels as on the real aircraft. Work patiently and consistently. (F) Compound Polish — Use rubbing compound (sold at paint stores; shared among friends to avoid waste). Apply a small amount to a cloth and polish lightly. Caution: compounds contain abrasive grit—over-polishing can cut through color to the surfacer and undo your efforts. Beginners should start with just a fingertip amount, wipe, then finish with a clean cloth.
My aim with compound is mainly to soften any brush marks. In good conditions, a well-brushed lacquer will already shine; compound plus the next step brings a deep, restrained sheen. Compound lodged in lines and rivets slightly accentuates them.

(G) Uni-Polish (Finishing Glaze) — Apply Uni-con–type finishing polish (a vinyl-type glaze). Because this leaves a thin film, complete national markings and codes first.
For hinomaru, I use a ruling pen for the circle: first outline the white ring, fill inward 3–4 mm, let dry, then outline/fill the red. The key is paint viscosity: too thick won’t flow; too thin will run. Practice on paper until the flow is right.
Many photos show no stenciling, but the fin number on the vertical tail should be added. Use paper surgical tape as guides and letter within the bounds.

Finish by polishing with Uni-con using a very soft, velvety cloth.

When I first used compound and Uni-polish—taught by senior modelers Mr. Takasaki and Mr. Nakamura of Onchikai—the result rivaled spray finishes with virtually no brush-mark. I was delighted.

Build the cockpit seat to the level your skill allows—the Zero affords generous room, so details are feasible. The real seat is bare duralumin; forming it in tinplate is easier than paper or wood. Leave it unpainted and glue it to the floor.
Fix a back armor plate, insert a loop antenna made of wire (see Figure 4), and glue on the canopy (Figure 5) with vinyl adhesive if you formed it in vinyl; hold with masking tape while curing. The antenna mast can also be tinplate.
Earlier we sawed open the exhaust outlets. To suggest internal framing, insert three small triangular tinplate tabs with pliers and paint them; this gives the impression of a hollow interior.

For the final assembly, glue the previously separate engine section to the fuselage, then fit the oil cooler from the airframe to the engine unit (paint blue-gray; see Figure 6).
On thick wings you can sometimes socket the gear legs, but modern jets have very thin wings with little room. The following retention method works even on thin airfoils: drive two insect pins more than 1 cm into the wing with pliers at the gear station and solder the strut to them. This withstood a ~10 cm drop test in my trials.
Install the tailwheel similarly. Fit the gun barrels and pitot. On larger scales (around 1:30), adding the antenna wire increases realism: embed a small tinplate tab atop the fin and run fine copper wire to the mast. With drop tanks installed, the model is complete—time to celebrate with a ramune!

In solid modeling, once you have the order of operations, anyone can succeed. If this article helps you complete your model, please send photos and a report—I look forward to them. Questions are welcome; I will answer in these pages.

Notes on Figures

Figure 2 (A–D): Engine section partition, cowl-flap seat, exhaust stubs, simple front-row radial representation.

Figure 3: Panel-joint grain and rivet placement guides.

Figure 4–6: Loop antenna, canopy forming/attachment, oil-cooler placement.

Propeller: Spinner and blade assembly as described above.