Editorial

Good day, Dear Friends After the February premiere and the March sequel of the P-40E, it's time for what was probably the most significant foe of the Warhawks, the Japanese Zero. The last new release of a member of the Zero family, the Rufe float version, was exactly two years ago, in April 2023.

Good day, Dear Friends

After the February premiere and the March

sequel of the P-40E, it's time for what was

probably the most significant foe of the

Warhawks, the Japanese Zero. The last new

release of a member of the Zero family, the

Rufe float version, was exactly two years ago, in

April 2023. Two years offer enough time to take

a break from the A6M line and develop a taste for

new additions, and if this is case, we present the

opportunity to get acquainted with our two new

Zero kits in one package. That kit is ‘Kamikaze

Tokkōtai’, dedicated to Kamikaze units. This is

definitely not a boring topic. On the contrary,

it is a very action-packed and also a mystical

subject, because the story of the Kamikaze pilots

is still surrounded by a certain mysterious aura.

That's why we decided to tackle this topic and

present its story in our style, through the kit and

accompanying features, such as articles in the

newsletter, lectures, posts on Facebook, and the

like. So, ideologically speaking, we offer some

opportunities to learn a lot about the history

of Kamikaze pilots. For example, in this issue

of the newsletter, you will find an article by our

colleagues Honza Bobek and Martin Ferkl, based

on the introductory text in the kit, Honza Bobek

has already given two lectures on this topic,

one live and the other last Friday in the Plastic

Modelling stream. Sometime this week, we will

release our podcast Eduard On Air, in which

I will discuss the topic with Honza Bobek again,

and if you follow us on social networks, we will

continue to post on this topic on Facebook and

Instagram.

Technically, the kit is conceptualized as a Dual

Combo release, a kit with two sets of plastic, from

which it is possible to build two complete models.

In this case, there are actually two different sets

of moldings, and therefore the possibility of

building two different versions of the Zero. These

are the A6M5 Zero model 52 fighter, and the

A6M2-K Zero Model 11 trainer. The Zero Model 52

represents the pinnacle of the Zero's technical

development. The installation of a more powerful

Nakajima Sakae 21 engine made it possible

to strengthen the armament and gradually

implement passive protection elements,

cockpit armor and fuel tanks. These, including

the introduction of heavier armament, were

introduced gradually, which led to the creation

and introduction into service of four versions

of the Zero Model 52, namely 52, 52a, 52b and

52c. The most famous of them is undoubtedly the

Zero 52c, which will be worth a separate boxing

of its own. However, there is a bit of a problem

with the other three versions

in that only a few modelers can

safely distinguish them from

each other and know how they

differed. On the other hand,

the differences are significant

enough to require them to be

reflected in the model, which

is, to be honest, a nightmare for

every kit manufacturer. In such

cases, manufacturers usually

resort to sophisticated cutting of

the fuselage and wings in such

a way that it allows these

different parts to be exchanged.

This is the Japanese school.

For the manufacturer, it is

a profitable solution because it saves on mold

production costs. For the customer, it gets worse,

because the savings on the manufacturer's side

are at least paid for with additional work by the

modeller. We have our own Czech school, where

we don't demand cutting so much, and we prefer

to make molds with a whole new fuselages

and wings, or even some of the small parts.

This means a total of seven new molds for all

versions of the A6M5, and two more molds for

the two-seat A6M2-K Zero trainer.

The two-seat A6M2-KModel 11 Zero was

primarily a training aircraft, produced from 1944

as a conversion from the A6M2 Model 21. Don't be

confused by the eleven in the model designation,

it is correct, because it refers to the training

version of the Zero, and from this point of view

it is a training machine with the first wing

configuration and the first engine configuration

of the Zero in this category of aircraft. I believe

that this is clear to all of you. In training units,

this Zero was used both for advanced pilot

training and for other roles, for example, for

target towing for gunnery practise. You can

recognize such machines by the two towing

sleeves under the wing, and the rope stretched

from the container to the rear of the aircraft.

We also have one of these in the Kamikaze

Tokkōtai kit, the other four are combat-used

machines. The reason why one of the two sets

of moldings in the kit is for the Zero training

aircraft is twofold. First, Kamikaze pilots trained

on them, and secondly, the two-seat Zero was

used in combat during Kamikaze attacks. This

was related to the approaching end of the war

and the decline in quantities of combat aircraft

due to intensive deployment, especially during

the battles for Okinawa, but also to the distance

to the target that the attacking units had to

cover during those battles. Then a second crew

member came in handy to help with navigation.

In those days, navigation was not as simple as

it is today, neither GPS nor Starlink were turned

on at that time.

Then there is a third reason for including the

A6M2-K in this kit. It is an amazing machine, far

from the usual appearance of a WWII fighter.

In fact, it looks like some post-catastrophic

creation from the movie Mad Max. And the two-

seat Zeros are also unusually colorful for IJN

fighters from the second half of the war. Judge

for yourself, all the versions of the coloring

from Kamikaze Tokkōtai can be found in this

issue of the Newsletter. In addition to the kit, we

are also releasing several small accessories,

T-face masks for both types, as well as Look

and Space sets. Don't be confused by the several

sets of photoetched, masks and Space and Look

sets for other Model 52 Zeros for the new 48th

scale kit from Fine Molds. Yes, we also produce

accessories for competing kits. We pamper our

competition, because what would we be without

competition, right?

You can also learn more about the Kamikaze

units in today's article by Martin Ferkl and Jan

Bobek titled Kamikaze Tokkōtai, Special Attack

Units of the Imperial Japanese Navy flying the

Zero. A podcast is also in preparation in the

Eduard On Air series, in which I discuss the

units and the issues faced by Kamikaze pilots

with Jan Bobek, whose complete lecture on

the same topic can be heard on You Tube in the

aforementioned Plastic Modelling stream from

Friday, March 28th. We don't end there with

the Kamikaze theme, and in the next issue of

our newsletter we will offer a peek behind the

curtain of the kit preparation and introduce

you to the graphic designer of the boxart of

EDITORIAL

INFO Eduard4

April 2025