The 411:  Vintage kit will improve your skills.  Pre-painted  canopy is the finishing touch.  Decal sheet has new enhancements and will leave you with enough extras for your other projects.

A clear plastic Minicraft stand is also included.  Decals provide markings for you to complete your choice of four different planes.  Notable here is that the canopy matches a Pearl Harbor Attack aircraft, and there is a U.S. Navy set to build a model of a captured Zero.

Additional details on the decal sheet include a simulated “cockpit.”  Any scratchbuild work you’d do in the cockpit on a model this small would be hard to see through the kit canopy and a simple solution is to paint the area under the canopy with a Japanese interior green-gray, and put the decal over that.  Parts around the seat are clear-carrier film, so that color will show under the decal.  Underneath that pre-decorated canopy, the detail provided by the decal will provide a look of detail and depth, so this is a nice addition.  Another decal simulating an engine face is included.  The prop spinner covers up a fair bit of the cowling opening, but enough of that decal will show that it will add a nice bit of realism to the finished model.

Build a model of a Zero with markings representing an aircraft that participated in the Attack on Pearl Harbor.

There are at least two full sets of Hinomaurus (Japanese roundels) included, one with white outlines.  Whichever set of markings you select will leave you with leftovers for at least a couple more aircraft models.

Decals comprise two sheets.  Hinomauru insignias include one set with white outlines.  You can do at least two complete additional 1/144 scale aircraft with the leftover decals.

The yellow ID markings are included for the wing leading edges, a nice touch.  Some of the numbering specified between what’s on the instructions doesn’t agree with what’s on the decal sheet on more than one scheme.  This is something that might throw beginners or those who like to follow instructions to the letter (or number, in this case), but modelers generally familiar with aircraft markings that have also built some aircraft kits should have no trouble with this.
 
There aren’t many parts in this kit and the assembly sequence is simple.  Inexperienced modelers may struggle with the small size of the parts.  I’d recommend a pair of reading glasses or magnifiers for any work on a 1/144 scale kit!

The builder of this kit will find that there are some sinkholes and the wing seam will need a little work.  Dry-fit all parts prior to gluing and trim or shim if needed.  

There are certainly no show-stopper issues here, but this kit will make you work a little more than average for a pleasing 1/144 scale model.  Leaving off the landing gear and using the stand is a good strategy if you want a very fast build.  You’ll thank Minicraft for pre-painting that canopy after you’re done.

Box side shows your choice of four aircraft schemes that can be applied to the kit.  White-outline insignias were used later in the war as shown on the Bouganville aircraft.

We love kits with extras and we’re finding that Minicraft doesn’t disappoint when it comes to model kits packed with enticing features.  Pre-painted canopy, enhanced markings for cockpit and engine, the Minicraft stand, and premium-quality decals that include extras for other projects are above-and-beyond bonuses in this new release and the price is low.  Dem Brudders give this four thumbs up!

Two canopies are included with the kit!

Parts are included for an in-flight option.

Wings, tail, prop and cowling sprue.

SPECIAL THANKS TO MINICRAFT MODELS FOR PROVIDING THIS KIT FOR US TO REVIEW.  CHECK OUT MINICRAFTMODELS.COM WHERE YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS AND MANY OTHER GREAT KITS!

BONUS CONTENT

COLLECT IT!

Minicraft’s newest Zero kit, 14751 described above, has a few interesting color schemes for the Zero.  In addition to the early versions documented at Pearl Harbor, a green-on-white speckled camouflage pattern representing a Bouganville aircraft, and of course, the unique captured Zero in U.S. Navy colors round out a good reason to buy multiples of Minicraft’s Zero.  The low price makes it that much easier.

Here's a photo of the captured Navy Zero that you can build with Kit #14751.

#14691 includes two dark-green Zeros, one with an orange underside.

Minicraft 14691 is still available, and allows you to build a traditional dark green Zero.  However, another interesting scheme is included with a dark-green top and  bright-orange bottom.  Another striking color for the Zero is overall orange, found on a Zero prototype and two-seat trainer aircraft.  The trainers have a unique extended canopy that is open at the front seat, and the rear is extended.  Since Minicraft #14751 provides a spare canopy, you won’t need to sacrifice a kit to do this interesting and easy conversion if you have another kit to do it with.  There you go; that's a half-dozen variations you can do that will make an interesting display.  Thanks to 1/144 scale and Minicraft’s Zero kits, they will take less time, expense, and space to build and display.

THE ZERO AND THE MOVIES
 
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero is featured in a few movies.  During the late 1960’s, while the movie Tora Tora Tora was being planned, there were no flying Zeros.  During pre-production, parts for Zeros were located in differing locales, but the cost to transport these components and the restorations needed were too expensive, so it was decided to simulate the aircraft by modifying a few T-6 Texans.

Here's a still from Tora Tora Tora of a Zero played by a converted T-6 Texan.

The T-6, a trainer still plentiful in surplus in the 1960’s, had a number of characteristics in common with the Zero.  It was within inches of the Zero in length and the tail structure was similar, especially the triangular vertical stabilizer.  The two-seat cockpit needed conversion by adding a shortened canopy, tapered at the back more than the stock Texan.  Wingtips were rounded.  A proper Zero paint scheme produced a suitable facsimile.  Several were built, and Tora Tora Tora had its starring aircraft.  

Vultee BT-13 Valiants were modified to represent Aichi D-3A “Val” dive bombers, and along with other aircraft acquired for the production, the fleet became known as “The Fox Air Force.”

Commentators stated that the planes were such good imitations, that only experts on the planes could spot the differences.  However, there are a few key differences that just about anyone can pick up on.  We've included pictures of both planes so you can easily make the comparisons.

​First off, there were many scenes of the Zeros viewed from straight-on as they attacked.  The Texan’s three-segment gull-wing is quite obvious from the front as opposed to the Zero’s elegant, gentle “V.”  The Zero sat high on its wide-track landing gear.  The struts had to be fairly long to provide room for ordnance and the characteristic belly tank often seen under the wing, and they were spaced fairly far apart.
 
The Texan had a narrow-track, stubby undercarriage.  In the ground and takeoff shots, this difference is quite apparent as the Texan hugs the ground compared to the Zero.  

This is an actual photo taken on December 7, 1941.  Compare it to the aircraft from the previous photo from the 1970 movie depicting this event.

For the film, the Texans had extended doors which covered part of the wheel in order to duplicate as closely as possible the hidden landing gear of the real Zero as opposed to the Texan, which had its wheels flat against the fuselage while in flight, but exposed, similar to the modern-day Boeing 737.

An early scene from the attack sequence in Tora Tora Tora (1970).

​The exact shade of gray paint was debated by historians and modelers around the time of Tora Tora Tora (1970), and the aircraft in that movie are depicted as light gray with no hint of green.
 
Around the 1990’s-early 2000’s, after preserved paint samples from the early operational zeros were found and scrutinized, it was generally agreed that the color was actually a light gray-green.  Model kits and revised model paint colors began reflecting this evolution in thought regarding historical accuracy of early Zeros, including those used at Pearl Harbor.

In the 2001 Michael Bay movie Pearl Harbor, the Zeros there are portrayed in dark green.  This color was not used on the Zeros until 1943.  By the dawn of the 21st Century, more authentic Zeros could be used for the aerial sequences in the new movie about the Pearl Harbor Attack and one reconstructed Zero was used as well as a flying replica.

Both movies have their fans and detractors.  Tora Tora Tora (1970) is better known for its efforts to portray the historical events of December 7, 1941 and the actual people involved accurately.  Two filming units with different directors were used to produce the Japanese scenes and American scenes, and the movie was praised for its attempt to recreate the event with a more balanced point of view than had been done before.

Pearl Harbor film, 2001.  These planes were either Zero recreations or built from actual Zero components.

Interestingly, the movie was more popular in Japan than in the United States at release.  Some viewers today might take issue with the lack of interpersonal drama, but there were a large number of characters based on real people with their stories to tell and the heavy exposition needed helps explain the 2-1/2 hour run time.  However, the 40-minute battle sequence uses effects spectacular back in the day and they’ll stand up pretty well on viewing now.

Michael Bay’s 2001 Pearl Harbor epic tried to interweave a romantic story with the historical event in much the same way as Titanic did so successfully just a few years before.  I’ll leave it up to the reader to decide about this, but let's suffice to say that great dramatic liberties were taken with the main characters of this movie relating to events of Pearl Harbor and the Doolittle raid.  The battle scenes are pretty spectacular.  The catastrophic explosion of the Arizona is noteworthy.  

A former "Fox Air Force" plane still flies today.

After Tora Tora Tora wrapped in 1970, the “Fox Air Force” was disbursed, with Texan-Zeros being sold for sums as low, reportedly, as $1500.00.  Some of these planes were retained for further movies, with 1980’s The Final Countdown about a time-traveling USS Nimitz being a prominent example.  This film presents a fun sci-fi “what-if” premise with “A6M Zeros” matched against F-14 Tomcats.

EXPERIENCE IT

A few museums around the world display the Zero.  In the USA, the National Museum of the United States Air Force has an example in its collection.  I couldn’t tell if the paint color had any green in it; the color appeared between warm gray and light tan to me.

Today, the Commemorative Air Force (formerly known as the Confederate Air Force) performs a reenactment of the Pearl Harbor Attack using eight aircraft including six original planes from the 1970 Tora Tora Tora movie.  This performance, sharing the name of the movie, is known as the longest running civilian airshow in history and uses the former movie planes with acrobatic maneuvers and pyrotechnics.  Shows are booked regularly around the country.

Part of the Commemorative Air Force's fleet of aircraft that were originally built for the movie, "Tora Tora Tora."  These aircraft still perform regularly.  It's pretty amazing considering that they were built originally only to complete one movie a half-century ago.

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