Border 35th scale A6M2 zero test shot images revealed
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
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. The A6M2 was designed with the lightest, sleekest airframe possible to make up for the engine’s limited power. It was a fighter that could outperform land-based adversaries, and it had an astonishingly high speed, agility, and range. It was first put into service in the year 1940 (on Japanese calendars, this would be 2600). The aircraft’s designation is Rei shiki Kanjo sentoki “Type 0 Navy Carrier Fighter”. The Japanese called it Reisen (Zero Fighter), and the Westerners also knew the aircraft as “Zero”, though the code name for the Allied version was Zeke, in line with the tradition of giving Japanese fighters male names. The Zero was the most produced Japanese aircraft of World War II with 10,939 units. Western aviation experts were shocked by the aircraft’s performance and declared that it was a copy. The limitations of Japanese industry prevented the production of a replacement fighter in sufficient quantities, forcing the Zero to fight until the end of the war. The kit’s test shots are:
The boxart only gives us a glimpse of the kit. We also know that the 1/35th-scale aircraft released recently includes a complete engine, external stores and drop tanks, as well as bombs. Kit will feature stressed skin surfaces, with the “oil-canning” look that is popular in this scale. Three different markings will be available for the Zero…
Test shots show a better skin detail, including finer rivets, and more subtle depths in the panel panels. This kit is a step up from their Fw 190 which, I thought, was a lot stronger. The raised detail on this kit isn’t too extreme.
More underside of the wings, and the partial absence of a seam in the middle of it. The instrument panel appears to come with a single decal or panel, which is then painted over. This system is a good option for many modellers, as it allows them to avoid having to use a 3-D solution.