Actual Modeling

With fall hitting the Americas, it is time to get back to modeling.  I currently have the Airfix A6M2 Zero and the Eduard Hellcat on the bench.

The Zero is a nice kit that, unfortunately, has been lapped by the brand new Tamiya A6M2 Zero.  I found it to be a rather easy kit to build, and the price is right, but many commentators have exaggerated about the panel lines.  Sure they aren't Hasegawa fine, but they do not detract from the model.  The Zero actually has a chance to be completed thanks to my generous girlfriend who bought me some Eduard masks that you can just barely make out on the right side of the photo.  This way, I won't be hung up for months trying to work up the nerve to mask the canopy.

The Eduard Hellcat is the Weekend Edition, so no extras, but also a pretty nice price.  I had a hard time with the wing fit, hence why I chose to glue in the wings before joining the fuselage.  This allowed me to apply a goodly amount of force to get them to seat properly which was still needed even after copious sanding.  Oddly, I have not seen this problem mentioned in any review.  While many love the panel lines on the Eduard kit, I find them too fine and much too easy to erase with sanding.  Guess I'm just out of touch with most of the online modeling world.

Heck, maybe I'll even finish something this fall or winter...