The A6M Zero in 1/72: Akagi’s Zeros Prepare for Pearl Harbor – Finished Diorama

At long last, below are photos of the finished diorama depicting the Zeros of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Akagi aircraft carrier preparing to take off as part of the first wave attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. I finished this project back in June 2017 but, as often happens, life got in the way of the hobby and I never posted the finished piece.

Below is a photo of my first attempt at this diorama from 2017, taken by the side of the pool.

For a variety of reasons, I was not satisfied with it:

The diorama was too small to take good photos;
The Zeros came from different die-cast companies and looked odd as the shades were slightly different and the Akagi’s red recognition bands at the rear of the fuselage were different widths;
The tail numbers on three of the Zeros were not decaled and looked shoddy;
One Kate — even if that Kate was Fuchida’s famous AI-301 — seemed insufficient for the occasion since there were 27 Kates but only nine Zeros on the Akagi’s deck that day;
The flags were significantly underscaled and I had inadvertently switched the ones on the inside for the ones on the outside;
The island, which was scratchbuilt, lacked some details, including voice tubes, proper staircases, and, notably, the rolled futons used during the Pearl Harbor attack to guard against shrapnel from the expected counterattack that never came;
The 4.5 meter rangefinder on the deck just fore of the island was missing, as were the two antennas fore and aft of the rangefinder;
The deck needed more figures to simulate the beehive of activity seen in actual photos; and
The diorama needed a more appropriate backdrop.

So I kept at it, as time permitted, slowly correcting all the aforementioned problems. I doubled the length of the deck, used nine identical Witty Zeros all with appropriately decaled tail numbers, included seven Kates, recreated the flags at the right scale and placed them on the proper side, added more details to the island, included the range finder just fore of the island, painted more figures (for a total of 85), and added a backdrop that showed the horizon at sea.

I finally finished the improved diorama this week, just in time to post these photos today, on the anniversary of the attack. Nonetheless, I will continue to detail how I constructed each piece of the diorama in future posts.

Starboard Shots

View from the Front

Portside Shots

View from the Rear

Overhead Views

Detail Shots

Lagniappe 360 Degree Video of Island

Below is a 360 degree video of the Akagi island without the futons used at Pearl Harbor to protect from shrapnel from the expected American counterattack that never materialized.

Thank you for your indulgence and I hope you enjoyed the photos and video. As always, comments, questions, corrections, and observations are welcome.

Once again I want to thank my friend and fellow collector Joe Buccellato, of NY, who painted all the best figures in this diorama. I also want to thank Tim Lau, of Maryland, who created the decals for the Zeros and gave me solid advice when I was stuck, and Chris Pflueger, of California, who gave me some great tips on photographing the diorama. I also want to acknowledge Sidnei Maneta, of Brazil, who took the time to provide great information on the Kate tail numbers, which will be covered in a future post. I’d also like to thank Sasa Drobac of Serbia, who designed the incredibly detailed 3D printed binoculars, searchlights, and rangefinders used on the island. Finally, I want to thank Ara Hagopian, of Massachusetts, whose constant encouragement provided the push I needed to actually turn my ideas into these 1/72 scale scenes.

The A6M Zero in 1/72: Akagi’s Zeros Prepare for Pearl Harbor, Part 3.3 – Japanese Pilots and Crew in 1/72 Scale

This is Part 3.3 of a series of posts on the construction of a diorama depicting the Zeros of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Akagi aircraft carrier preparing to take off as part of the first wave attack on Pearl Harbor. This post concerns only the 1/72 pilots and crew to be used in the diorama. To view the finished diorama, please click here.

I. Plastic 1/72 Japanese Pilot Sets

As recently as five years ago, modelers would have been hard-pressed to build a diorama using 1/72 plastic Japanese pilots. The only figures available were the two pilots included in the 1998 Hasegawa WWII Pilot Figures set. Fortunately, with the explosion of 1/72 plastic figure manufacturing in recent years, modelers have significantly more choices. Below is a brief survey of the various plastic Japanese pilot sets. Resin and metal figures are covered in a separate section.

Although I generally paint my own figures, my skills are mediocre at best. As I’ve said before, I’m a dilettante — I dabble in everything and master nothing. Thus, as I have in the past, I turned to a genuine hobbyist with real expertise for help. The results of his skill and patience follow. These are the figures I intend to use in the diorama, obviously clipping the bases.

A. The Hasegawa Set: The Two Lone Japanese Pilots

Issued in 1998, the only Japanese pilots available to modelers until 2013 were the two figures in the Hasegawa 35008 WWII Pilot Figures, a hard plastic set that included two Allied, two German, and two Japanese pilots. Plastic Soldier Review (PSR) described these figures as “realistic” with “fair but not particularly sharp” detail. As can be seen in the photo below, the two Japanese poses are traditional fare and, being made of hard plastic, are easy to clean up the seams and take paint very well. I intend to use the two painted figures in the bottom right of the composite photo below.

Hasegawa 35008 WWII Pilot Figures

B. RedBox Fills the Vacuum

The vacuum was finally filled in 2013, when RedBox, a Ukrainian company, released three sets of Japanese WWII pilots: 72048 Japanese Kamikaze; 72052 Japanese Army Aviation Pilots and Ground Crew; and 72053 IJN Pilots and Ground Crew. Modelers could not have asked for more to end the 15-year famine as RedBox produced three superb sets, each with 6 to 8 different pilots. PSR gave all three sets 10/10 for historical accuracy and 10/10 for sculpting — quite an achievement given PSR’s notoriously exacting standards. PSR described the sculpting of the three sets, respectively, as having “good proportions and excellent detail,” “completely natural look throughout, expressive faces and good detail,” and “excellent [with] good detail in all the areas where it is needed.” Below are side-by-side photos of the three sets with the PSR unpainted figures on the left and my painted figures on the right (photos used with permission from PSR).

RedBox 72048 Japanese Kamikaze

RedBox 72052 Japanese Army Aviation Pilots and Ground Crew

RedBox 72053 IJN Pilots and Ground Crew

C. The Modelkasten Tainan Pilots

A superb but not widely available Japanese pilot set is the Modelkasten 1800 JNAF Aircrew “Rabaul Zero Fighter,” a hard plastic set depicting a wartime photo of the famous Tainan Air Group. Released in Japan in 2016, the seven-figure set, which was previously released in 2013 by Modelkasten in 1/48 scale, is considerably more expensive and offers far fewer figures than other sets. The figures are standing or squatting, apparently posing for a photo. Saburo Sakai, arguably Japan’s most famous ace, is presumably in the group. While there are seven figures in the box, there are only six poses in the set as one of the seated figures is duplicated. Note that the box photo is of the 1/48 figures. For some unknown reason, the set is not listed on the PSR website.

Modelkasten 1800 JNAF Aircrew

D. Hasegawa Returns

In 2018, modelers were treated to yet another Japanese aviation set, the Hasegawa 35116 Japanese Navy Airmen set, a hard plastic kit of bomber plane crews that requires assembly of body parts. PSR rated this set 10/10 in every single category, describing it as “a terrific set which delivers everything it promises . . . all are very well sculpted and can be posed in a variety of useful and realistic positions.”

Like Modelkasten, Hasegawa appears to have scaled down the figures to take advantage of the ever-growing 1/72 scale market. The photo on the box cover below is almost certainly of a scale larger than 1/72. My guess given the “35116” stock number is that they were originally sculpted in 1/35 scale but this is merely speculation. The PSR photo below of the actual assembled figures shows that an interesting characteristic of the set is the distinctly Asian features of the figures.

Hasegawa 35116 Japanese Navy Airmen

The kit contains four identical sprues, each with four different torsos, four different heads, and four different sets of arms that, as mentioned, require assembly. See photo of sprue below. Thus, it is possible to mix and match and create up to 16 different figures — 12 slightly different seated figures and four different standing figures. I assembled the four standing figures to give a sense of the flexibility afforded in creating different poses. See photo of standing figures below. While the four torsos are the same, they have four different heads and four different sets of arms, resulting in four very different figures.

I found the figures quite pleasing, with great proportions and no overscaled heads — a common problem in 1/72 scale. Being made of hard plastic, I also found it easy to clean up the seams. (Note that I didn’t assemble the sitting figures as I couldn’t think of a use for the Akagi diorama. Note also that the four standing figures will be painted for the diorama but I didn’t want to delay the post.)

II. Resin and Metal 1/72 Japanese Pilots

A. CMK Figures

There are several small resin sets available to modelers, primarily from Czech Master Kits (CMK), a Czech company that makes resin figures and accessories in various scales. I know of five CMK Japanese aviation-related sets — three that I will use for the diorama. The other two sets have pilots wearing two-piece uniforms inappropriate for Pearl Harbor. The photo below shows the three relevant sets: CMK F72077 Ki 21 Japanese Crew; CMK F72043 Japan Navy Pilots and Mechanic; and CMK F72290 Japanese Army AF Mechanics. Though the Ki 21 was a Japanese Army bomber plane, the three pilots in the F72077 are dressed like naval pilots, including the kapok life vests, clearly indicating they’re flying above water. As can be seen on the right side of the composite photo below, the three army mechanics wear essentially the same uniform as the navy mechanic to the left. (Note: Again the third figure will be painted for the diorama but I didn’t want to delay this post.)

CMK Japanese Aviation Figures

CMK also produced at least a couple of Japanese Army sets: F72042 Japan Army Pilots and F72113 Japanese Kamikaze Pilots. I couldn’t use these for the Akagi diorama because their two-piece uniform is noticeably different from the naval uniform used at Pearl Harbor.

B. RedBox Resin Figures

RedBox had previously released its plastic Japanese aviation sets in resin three-figure packages. Because the plastic sets are already pictured above, there is no reason to cover the resin sets here. However, to give a sense for the quality of the resin figures, below is a side-by-side picture of one of the Kamikaze resin sets and its plastic counterparts. While the appreciably more expensive resin figures are generally more realistic and have crisper, better-defined detail, that is not the case here. RedBox’s plastic figures are virtually identical to the resin ones. If anything, one of the shortcomings of resin — its brittleness — is shown here, with the geisha’s handheld flower bouquet being broken off.

RedBox R72011 Japanese Kamikaze

C. Orion Resin Figures

Orion, another Ukrainian company that is somehow affiliated with RedBox, released at least one Japanese aviation three-figure resin set, the 72010R WII Japanese Army Aviation Tropical Set 1. Very likely the only Orion Japanese resin set, it was never released in their plastic line. I will not be using these figures in the Akagi diorama since, as the photo below shows, two of the figures are in tropical short sleeve uniform. They’re included here simply to alert the reader to their existence. Perhaps Orion will release these figures in plastic in the future.

Orion 72010R WII Japanese Army Aviation Tropical Set 1

D. Hecker & Goros Metal Figures

The only metal Japanese aviation set I’m aware of is the Hecker & Goros 226 Japanische Luftwaffe 1941-45, which includes one crewmember, one pilot, and one mechanic. Although the figures may be just slightly overscaled, the detail is rather fine and, being metal, paints quite well. The photo below of the painted figures does not show the mechanic figure, which I will not use in the diorama.

Hecker & Goros 226 Japanische Luftwaffe

III. Relative Pilot Sizes

The relative size of the figures from different companies is important to many readers. The best way to get a sense for those differences is by displaying the figures from different companies side by side. See photo below. The white figures in the top row are from the RedBox Kamikaze set. The figures in the middle row, from left to right, are CMK (2), Hecker & Goros (1), and Hasegawa (2). Finally, the figures in the third row are from the RedBox Army Aviation set.

As the photo below shows, the CMK figures (second row, far left) have tiny heads but look realistic. The Hecker & Goros figures (second row, middle) are larger but, as the final diorama will show, look just fine when displayed separately from their counterparts from other companies. In my opinion, the Hasegawa figures (second row, far right) are spot-on in terms of proportions. Anyhow, I leave it to readers to come to their own conclusions.

IV. Japanese Cockpit Pilots

Though I don’t intend to use seated cockpit pilots in the diorama, included here for the sake of completeness are two such sets: HobbyMaster HP0004 WWII Pilots Set; and JP Productions 721114 Japanese Pilots. The HM set includes two Japanese, two German, and two British pilots that have been factory painted. While there was very likely a difference in the size of real German and Japanese pilots, HM has greatly exaggerated that difference, as the left half of the photo below clearly shows. The PJ pilots, on the other hand, are beautiful little figures with realistic proportions. Of course, they’re correspondingly more expensive and require painting. Nonetheless, the PJ figures make their HM counterparts look like trolls.

HobbyMaster HP0004 & PJ Productions 721114
Japanese Cockpit Pilots

V. Deck Crew

It is impossible to build a diorama of the Akagi deck without crew. While pilot figures were scarce, deck crew figures were even more so. As the sections on RedBox and CMK above show, there is now a decent number of options. However, I still needed more deck crew for my project, so I scrounged around and eventually found that Spanish company Barcelona Universal Models (BUM), which releases kits under various labels, had included Japanese crew figures in several of its Sword tank and vehicle kits. They’re made of an awful spongy plastic-like material that breaks easily but, in the end, they paint well. As mentioned, they’re included in at least five different Sword sets: Sword 172179 Isuzu Truck Workshop (pictured below); 172130 Chi-Ro Tank; 172131 Sumida Armored Car; 172138 Isuzu Fuel Truck; and 172211 Chiyoda Staff Car.

Sword 172179 Isuzu Truck Workshop

To be sure, modelers can never have enough support figures. But, as the photo below hopefully shows, diorama builders now have a fair number of Japanese crew figure options.

VI. Japanese Naval Uniforms

The basic question every modeler faces when painting soldiers is what colors to use on their uniforms and other accoutrements. Alas, the subject of WWII Japanese naval uniforms is expansive enough that several books have been written specifically on it. I found Gary Nila’s Japanese Naval Aviation Uniforms and Equipment (Osprey, 2002) and Osamu Tagaya’s Imperial Japanese Naval Aviator (Osprey, 1988) particularly useful. The reader is directed to those sources as it is beyond the scope of this article to try to cover such a broad topic.

However, I do want to offer some brief but possibly useful observations. Descriptions of the colors of any uniform and kit are generally helpful but rarely specific. When it comes to painting guides, illustrations are inarguably more effective than descriptions. The composite photo below shows several illustrations of Japanese navy pilots that I gathered from various sources. I chose these because they were the most representative of a Japanese naval pilot around the time of Pearl Harbor. It is immediately evident that interpretations of the colors of the uniform and kit vary considerably. Thus, modelers have a certain degree of latitude in the tint of the colors that they use.

Japanese Naval Pilot Uniforms

Source of each illustration:
1. Sakaida, Henry. Imperial Japanese Navy Aces 1937-45. Osprey, 1998, p.76 (artist Mike Chappell);
2. Tagaya, Osamu. Imperial Japanese Naval Aviator. Osprey, 1988, p.35 (artist John White);
3. Sakaida, p.76 (artist Mike Chappell);
4. Healy, Mark. Midway 1942: Turning Point in the Pacific. Osprey, 1993, p.14 (artist Chris Warner); and
5. Tamiya box art for its 1/16 Japanese Navy Fighter Pilot (artist unknown).
All are used under the Fair Use exception to the copyright laws.

Below are a few more brief observations on some common characteristics of naval aviators that I believe merit attention and readers may find useful:

Helmet – Although there were three types of helmets used by Japanese aviators during WWII, the differences between them are indiscernible at this scale. Suffice it to say that they were made of dark brown leather, fur-lined, usually with rabbit fur. It was fashionable for the right flap to be turned upwards.

Headband – In a tradition that dated back to the samurai, many IJN pilots used a white or red headband called Hachimaki — literally “helmet scarf” — both for good luck and to keep the sweat off their eyes. These were often adorned with inspirational slogans or mottoes. The hachimaki given to Commander Mitsuo Fuchida just before the Pearl Harbor attack, for example, bore the motto “Certain Victory.” See illustration 3 above.

Scarf – It was also common for pilots to wear a white scarf usually made from parachute silk around the neck. A white wool muffler was also used. See illustrations 3 and 4 above.

Uniform – The Japanese naval uniform is most often described as “brown gabardine.” Tagaya, for example, states that “all IJN airmen, regardless of rank, wore a one-piece dark brown gabardine flight suit with a large breast pocket located on the left side of the chest, as well as pockets on both trouser legs.” Nila is slightly more helpful with regards to color, describing the uniform as “a heavy, tight-weave wool gabardine material that ranged in color from a dark-chocolate brown to dark brown with a dark green tint.” Again, the description is helpful but not specific enough without an accompanying illustration.

Life Vest – When flying over water, Japanese pilots — Army and Navy — wore life jackets filled with kapok, a light cotton-like fiber from the pods of the tropical Ceiba tree that is inherently buoyant and resistant to water. The kapok life vest was flexible and comfortable and also provided a certain degree of protection from shrapnel. Note that all the pilots in the illustrations wear kapok life vests, essentially a hallmark of IJN pilots.

Gloves – Japanese pilots wore gauntlets with long loose wrists made of deerskin leather thin enough that it afforded freedom of finger movement to use instruments. Note that four of the five pilots in the illustrations have their gauntlets in hand.

Parachute – It has become conventional wisdom that IJN pilots did not use parachutes. The notion probably originated with Gordon W. Prange’s incomparable Tora! Tora! Tora! (Readers Digest, 1963) (p. 85), where he writes: “Like all the fliers, Takahashi carried a map of Oahu, a pistol, a knife, and waterproof cork jacket, the latter to give a slim chance of survival in case he had to ditch at sea, for these men wore no parachutes” (emphasis mine). Professor Prange was most probably right about the pilots at Pearl Harbor. However, many post-Pearl Harbor photographs show IJN pilots using their parachutes.

In an interview with Military History (December 2002), Saburo Sakai, Japan’s legendary Zero ace, was asked whether it was true that Japanese pilots were not allowed to carry parachutes. He responded: “That was never true. Some commanders ordered pilots to take them, although most of our battles were over enemy territory, and we would never have considered being captured. I flew with the thing as a seat cushion, if at all, since the straps reduced range of motion in the cockpit.” See illustrations 1, 2, and 4 above.

Boots – Early in the war, IJN pilots wore brown boots made of cowhide leather taken from China with a lambskin lining and black rubber heels and soles. However, as the war continued and the Japanese empire expanded, the need to produce equipment faster meant that boots were only made in black leather with a white canvas lining. By war’s end, as materials became progressively more scarce, naval flight boots were made of natural untanned pigskin. Thus, the modeling guideline is straightforward. For the early part of the war, such as Pearl Harbor, only brown boots are appropriate. From 1943 on, either black or brown boots will work. See illustrations 4 and 5 above.

Map – Naval aviators flew over vast distances and often carried a map that they sometimes tucked into the boot or into a trouser pocket. See illustration 4 above.

Sword – Naval pilots above the rank of lieutenant commander or higher were allowed to carry their swords into action. However, most declined to do so as they flew vast distances over the ocean where there were no landmarks and the metal sword could throw off their navigational instruments. See illustration 4 above.

Gun – IJN pilots often carried a side arm, though it was not intended for self defense but to commit suicide rather than be captured. Probably the most popular pistol was the Nambu, whose appearance closely resembled the German-made Luger. The pistol was tied to a lanyard that hung from the pilot’s neck, and was then tucked into the flight suit or one of the trouser pockets. See illustrations 2 and 3 above.

Timepiece – Some INJ pilots often wore a pocket watch suspended from their necks with a silk parachute cord. The timepieces, usually made by Seikosha (Seiko’s predecessor), were luxury items bought by the pilots themselves. See illustration 4 above. Note that several of the RedBox IJN Pilots wear just such a watch. See inset thumbnail at right.

VII. List of 1/72 Japanese Pilots and Crew

Below is a list of all the 1/72 Japanese aviation figures I could find. Although I included PSR photos above, I’m also including links, where available, for anyone who wants to read the PSR reviews.

CMK F72042 Japanese Army Pilots (2 pilots & 1 mechanic)
CMK F72043 Japan Navy Pilots (2 pilots & 1 mechanic)
CMK F72077 Japanese Crew (3 pilots)
CMK F72113 Japan Kamikaze Pilots (3 pilots)
CMK F72290 Japanese Army AF Mechanic (3 mechanics)
Hasegawa 35008 WWII Pilot Figure Set (2 pilots)
Hasegawa 35116 Japanese Navy Airmen Set
Hecker & Goros 226 Japanese Navy Fighter Pilot Mechanics (1 pilot)
HobbyMaster HP0004 WWII Pilots Set
JP Productions 721114 Japanese Pilots
Modelkasten 1800 JNAF Rabaul Aircrew (7 pilots)
Orion 72010R Japanese Army Aviation Tropical Set 1
RedBox 72048 WW2 Japanese Kamikaze (6 pilots)
RedBox 72052 WW2 Japanese Army Aviation Pilots & Ground Crew (6 pilots)
RedBox 72053 WW2 IJN Pilots & Ground Crew (8 pilots)
RedBox RBR72011 Japanese Kamikaze Resin Figures
Sword 172179 Isuzu Truck Workshop (PSR link is not Isuzu truck but it shows the same figures)

As the list makes clear, there are plenty of options for anyone wanting to create a diorama involving Japanese Navy pilots. Hasegawa has the distinction of making excellent figures and being the first and — to date — the last company to produce 1/72 scale Japanese pilots.

Lagniappe Photos

While working on the diorama, I realized I would need more deck crew than I had anticipated. While painting is not my forte, I resigned myself and began preparing 25 figures. The photo below shows the deck figures from various companies in plastic, resin, and metal with their bases clipped off, seams cleaned up, glued to bottle caps, and ready for priming.

The photo below shows the figures after they had been primed using a brush with Tamiya Surface Primer.

And finally, the photo below shows the figures after painting with Vallejo acrylic paints. I apologize again for my meager painting skills but I hope these figures will at least look the part.

As I had mentioned in a recent post, my intention going forward was to include more photos and less text. With over 20 photos and a lot less text than previous posts, I hope I succeeded.

Thank you for your indulgence and I hope you enjoyed the post. If something looks amiss, please let me know. I would be delighted to correct inaccurate information so that this may be useful to other 1/72 scale collectors and wargamers. As always, comments, questions, corrections, and observations are welcome. Following the plan for this diorama that I set nearly two years ago, stay tuned for the construction of a section of the deck of the Akagi in 1/72 scale in the next post.

Once again I want to thank my friend and fellow collector Joe Buccellato, of NY, whose workmanship and patience far exceed mine. He again enthusiastically painted most of these figures and to the extent they succeed the credit is all his.

The A6M Zero in 1/72: Akagi’s Zeros Prepare for Pearl Harbor, Part 3.2 – Masanobu Ibusuki: The Unsung Ace

This is Part 3.1 of a series of posts on the construction of a diorama depicting the Zeros of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Akagi aircraft carrier preparing to take off as part of the first wave attack on Pearl Harbor. This post only concerns Masanobu Ibusuki. To understand the concept of this diorama project, please refer to this post. To view the finished diorama, please click here.

As mentioned in the preceding post, the Japanese pilots who participated in the Pearl Harbor attack were considered some of the most experienced, most highly skilled, and best-trained pilots in the world at the outbreak of the Pacific War. Still, their odds of surviving the war were minimal, irrespective of experience, skill, or training. As previously discussed, only two of the nine pilots survived the war. One of these was Masanobu Ibusuki, whose post-war story I found compelling.

As with Shigeru Itaya, I could find no biography of Ibusuki in any book or on the internet. What follows is derived from one-sentence references in various books as well as bits and pieces from obscure corners of the internet.

Assigned to the IJN’s Flagship Akagi

Ibusuki graduated from the Japanese Naval Academy in April 1940 and joined the fleet as a lieutenant in March 1941, less than a year later. He was assigned to the Akagi as a Zero fighter pilot and by early October was training for Pearl Harbor at Kagoshima Harbor, a Japanese harbor with similar terrain. Below is a photo of Akagi’s fighter pilots taken six months before Pearl Harbor (Japanese Naval Fighter Aces 1932-45, Ikuhiko Hata et al).

Attack on Pearl Harbor

At Pearl Harbor, Ibusuki was second in command to Shigeru Itaya, leading the second Shotai of Akagi Zeros in the first wave. His primary mission was to intercept American resistance above Pearl Harbor; his secondary mission was to strafe battleships anchored at Ford Island and parked aircraft at Hickam Air Field. The box art below from Trumpeter’s 1/24 scale Zero kit shows Ibusuki’s aircraft (AI-103) at Pearl Harbor. The two yellow stripes on the tail designate him as chutai (squadron) leader of the nine Akagi aircraft in the first wave.

Along with Itaya, Ibusuki was one of two Zero pilots credited with shooting down Captain Raymond Swenson’s B-17 (#40-2074) Flying Fortress at Hickam Air Field – the first B-17 casualty of the war. The public domain photo below shows what was left of the B-17 (Pearl Harbor Visitors Bureau website).The panoramic photo below was created by friend and fellow hobbyist Ara Hagopian by merging and enhancing three separate screen captures from color film taken by Sgt. Harold Oberg just three hours after the attack. The wreckage of the B-17’s fuselage can be seen on the far left. The severed tail can be seen on the far right of the photo.Raids on Port Darwin and Colombo

Ibusuki participated in numerous attacks on allied ports and ships while assigned to the Akagi. In February 1942, shortly after Pearl Harbor, he participated in the raid on Port Darwin, Australia and in April 1942 in the raid on Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) – two Japanese attacks on British ports that were virtually identical in scope and execution to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The photo below shows Australian ships burning at Darwin Harbor after the attack (Wikipedia MV Neptuna entry). Cheating Death at Midway

Probably more than at any time during the war, Ibusuki showed his mettle on June 4, 1942 at the Battle of Midway. While the entire Combat Air Patrol (CAP) — the Zero fighters charged with patrolling overhead to protect the Japanese fleet — worked extraordinarily hard throughout the battle, no one worked harder than Masanobu Ibusuki. Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway, Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully’s outstanding 600-page tome on Midway, includes Japanese operational records from the carrier air groups. The data shows when each CAP watch group launched and when it returned, as well as the pilots who comprised each group.

I gleefully added the periods each Akagi pilot was in the air during the various watches and produced the table below. As the table demonstrates, Ibusuki participated in two watches: the Third for 2 hours and 4 minutes; and the Eighth for 7 hours and 15 minutes, totaling 9 hours and 19 minutes patrolling overhead. The pilot with the next highest time, Zenji Ono, spent a total of 7 hours and 13 minutes during four watches. It bears mentioning that the average flight duration for all 19 Akagi pilots was 2 hours and 34 minutes — roughly a third of Ibusuki’s time. While I did not tabulate the periods for the pilots of the three other Japanese carriers at Midway, a review of the data revealed that no pilot even came close. Ibusuki showed his commitment and love of country that fateful day as he fought off American fighters and bombers hour after hour.

Ibusuki launched for his second watch at 9:45 a.m. that morning. Merely an hour later, fires raged uncontrollably throughout the Akagi deck after SBD Dauntless dive bombers from the USS Enterprise led by Richard Best hit it with 1,000-lb. bombs. Ibusuki continued to fight for another six hours before exhausting his fuel and being forced to ditch his Zero in the ocean as he could no longer land on the burning Akagi. Like several other Akagi Zero pilots at Midway, Ibusuki was rescued by the light cruiser Nagara. The Battle of Midway decimated the Imperial Japanese Navy but Ibusuki and several others cheated death that day. The photo below from Midway 1942: Turning Point in the Pacific, by Mark Stille, shows Japanese survivors of the Hiryu, rescued by a U.S. ship after drifting 14 days — their despair is an apt metaphor for the Battle of Midway. (NB: Corgi [PR99405] produced a lovely 1/72 scale limited edition of Best’s SBD-3 Dauntless with Midway markings.)

Unscathed After Crash-Landing at Guadalcanal

The Akagi now sunk, Ibusuki was transferred in July 1942 to the Shokaku, another carrier that had been present at Pearl Harbor. In early September, during fighting at Guadalcanal, Ibusuki’s Zero’s fuel tanks were ripped by enemy fire. Out of fuel, he was forced to crash-land just off-shore, in an area controlled by the Japanese. Again, he survived unscathed and was soon back in action.

A few months later, in October 1942, he led 20 Zero fighters at the Battle of Santa Cruz. Though the Shokaku was severely damaged from three direct hits, requiring it to return to Japan for repairs, it did not sink, yet it counted a meager four surviving Zeros by the end of the battle. Ibusuki had survived yet another close call. The photo below shows the crew of the Shokaku fighting fires on the flight deck during the battle of Santa Cruz (Wikipedia Shokaku entry).

Surviving the “Turkey Shoot” with the “Tora” Unit

As the Shokaku underwent repairs until February 1943, its experienced pilots were reassigned to other carriers and land-based units. While it is unclear where Ibusuki was assigned during the Shokaku’s repairs, by June 1943 he was serving as group leader of the newly formed land-based Air Group 261 — the Tora (“Tiger”) unit — at Kagoshima. The cover illustration below, from Japanese Naval Air Force Camouflage and Markings, Donald W. Thorpe’s seminal work on Japanese markings, could well be Ibusuki’s aircraft. Without mentioning Ibusuki, Thorpe describes the Zero in the illustration (虎-110) as belonging to the Group Leader of Air Group 261; on the other hand, without referencing this specific Zero, Hata names Ibusuki as the Group Leader of Air Group 261. It is reasonable to conclude from these two references that this might be Ibusuki’s aircraft since his membership covered the entire life of the Tora unit. (NB: Both Dragon [50049] and Witty [72-012-005] have produced 1/72 scale models of 虎-110.)

In June 1944, Air Group 261 suffered heavy losses during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the largest carrier-to-carrier battle of the war. The aerial part of the battle came to be known as the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot because of the disproportionate losses suffered by the Japanese — over 600 aircraft were lost versus only 123 lost American aircraft. The photo at left is a graphic symbol of the destruction suffered by the IJN. While Ibusuki survived the battle, his unit was decimated. In July 1944, only a month after the Turkey Shoot, Air Group 261 was disbanded and what remained of its personnel was reassigned to Air Group 201, yet another prestigious land-based fighter unit operating out of the Philippines.

Surviving the First Kamikaze Unit

Barely three months later, Ibusuki was involved in one of the most controversial decisions of the war. Amid continued Japanese losses and distressed by the inexorable American march to his homeland, Takijiro Onishi, the Admiral in charge of the First Fleet under which Air Group 201 operated, reluctantly concluded that special attack suicide units willing to crash their explosives-laden aircraft into Allied vessels would be more effective than conventional bombing in slowing the rapidly advancing American forces. On October 19, 1944, Onishi consulted with Air Group 201 leadership, including Ibusuki, regarding the creation of such a unit. Cognizant of the Emperor’s Rescript requiring subjects to carry out their duty at any cost, Ibusuki assented. Onishi, now known as “father of the Kamikaze,” thus ordered Air Group 201 to form the first Kamikaze special attack unit. As the special attack units met with some success, the tactic spread throughout the IJN as the war reached its inevitable conclusion. Of the estimated 3,800 Kamikaze pilots who sacrificed their lives in these deliberate suicide attacks, more than 200 belonged to Air Group 201. In January 1945, surviving Air Group 201 pilots, including Ibusuki, were transferred to Taiwan.

Finishing the War with the Yokosuka Kokutai

Whereas most Air Group 201 pilots lost their lives, Ibusuki again survived, ultimately joining possibly the most elite unit of the Japanese Imperial Navy — the Yokosuka Kokutai. Created in 1916 as an aircraft testing and research unit, and to develop aerial fighting techniques, the Yoko Ku, as it came to be known, attracted the cream of Japanese pilots from all armed forces. In February 1944, as the IJN became desperate for pilots following Japanese heavy losses, the Yoko Ku was forced to become a fighting unit. Ibusuki must have joined the Yoko Ku in early 1945, after Air Group 201 was dissolved. According to Hata, in mid-February 1945, a group of 10 Zeros, Shiden-Kai, and Raiden aircraft led by Ibusuki shot down 19 American F6Fs and F4Us operating from aircraft carriers over Atsugi, Japan, about 25 miles southwest of Tokyo. The photo at left from Ikuhiko Hata et al’s Japanese Naval Fighter Aces shows Ibusuki while with the Yoko Ku.

The last Ibusuki wartime reference I could find was from August 1945. Following Japan’s unconditional surrender, American B-29s were spotted flying over Japan contrary to the terms of the ceasefire. Eager to intercept the American bombers, his men turned to now-commander Ibusuki for guidance. “International law forbids us to attack the enemy after surrender, but it is okay to get back at planes that attack us. Come on men, go get [them],” Ibusuki responded. Ibusuki’s WWII service was thus book-ended by the beginning of the Pacific conflict at Pearl Harbor and by its conclusion with the Japanese surrender.

The few paragraphs above are the sum total of what I could cobble together regarding Ibusuki’s wartime service from the score of brief one-sentence references to him in a couple dozen books at several libraries. Having concluded definitively that Ibusuki had survived the war, I began searching in post-WWII sources. My persistence was soon rewarded.

Ibusuki in His Own Words

I eventually found a reference to an article Ibusuki had written in 1955 for the English-language Nippon Times (now Japan Times) entitled “My Life as a Zero Pilot.” Lacking access to the Nippon Times, I learned that the article had been reproduced in a little-known journal called Japan Digest. Unfortunately, the digest was nowhere to be found online and only a handful of libraries in the U.S. carried the hard copy. I wrote to Indiana University Library and, after paying a fee and waiting a few days for someone to scan it, received a three-page PDF file by email.

At long last here was Ibusuki, telling his story in his own words – in English no less! While copyright laws prevent me from posting the entire article, these are the most salient points: Ibusuki had participated in some of the most intense episodes of the war, including Pearl Harbor, Port Darwin, Colombo, Midway, Rabaul, Saipan, and other Pacific battles. “I was not afraid – as I recollect – but I doubted that I would survive the war,” Ibusuki muses of Pearl Harbor. But he had indeed survived the war and was fortunate not to have been wounded, particularly as he had participated in the bloodiest fighting of the war. However, he had several brushes with death, including once ditching his plane at Midway, as previously discussed, and twice crash-landing after suffering battle damage at Guadalcanal and Peleliu. As I had surmised, he had indeed made ace – six times over – having shot down 30 planes (25 American and five British) during the war, including five in just one battle off the coast of Ceylon (two Hurricanes, two Spitfires, and a Swordfish torpedo bomber), according to his account.

Joining the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force

Ibusuki had joined the National Safety Force formed by Japan with American aid in 1952. In 1955, now nearly 40 years of age, he had learned English and was a member of Japan’s newly formed Air Self-Defense Force, which replaced the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy (the non-bellicose name complied with a provision in the new Japanese Constitution that Japan may not maintain war-making potential). Ironically, Ibusuki was flying U.S.-donated F-86 Sabre Jets (the American response to the Soviet MiG-15) and being trained by U.S. instructors. According to some sources, there were 30 applications for every opening and recruits were required to have a university education and proficiency in English. Ibusuki had nothing but praise for his American trainers and was pleased to be sitting in the cockpit once more. “I have won my wings again, and I am flying once again,” Ibusuki declares in closing. The photo below shows F-86 Sabres of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (Asian-Defence-News.blogspot.com July 2015).Encouraged by the Japan Digest article, and armed with more information, it became easier to locate additional articles. In March 1956, several U.S. dailies carried a brief article, similar to the one below from the San Rafael Daily Independent Journal dated March 1, 1956, detailing Ibusuki’s participation in joint U.S.-Japan training exercises in Japan. (The article is brief and mostly factual, and I felt comfortable posting it under the theory that facts cannot be copyrighted.)

Further research yielded several other 1956 articles that referenced Ibusuki in connection with the formation of Japan’s first tactical fighter wing since WWII. The most important of these was a September 1956 New York Times article entitled “Japanese Air Ace to Lead New Wing.” The article is noteworthy because of its unequivocal reference to Ibusuki as an “ace” with 25 victories over U.S. aircraft. The article details the creation of the Air Self-Defense Force and, among other things, describes how Ibusuki was a favorite of American pilots at the officer’s club. The first part of the article appears at right. Copyright laws prevent me from posting the entire article.

Nearly Cheating Death Again

However, less than four months later, the 41-year-old Ibusuki was dead. On January 9-10, 1957, just over 15 years after Pearl Harbor, several U.S. newspapers carried variations of the blurb below — this one from the Arizona Republic dated January 10, 1957:

Japanese Jet Pilot Dies in Air Collision TOKYO, Thursday (INS) – Japan lost one of its leading jet pilots yesterday when Lt. Col. Masanobu Ibusuki, 41, was killed in a collision between two American-built F-86 Sabrejets of the Japanese Air Defense Force. The pilot of the second plane, Maj. Gen. Hachiro Setoyama, commander of Japan’s Second Air Wing, parachuted to safety (emphasis mine).

Another brief article from January 9, 1957, in the Jamestown (N.Y.) Post-Journal provided additional information:

Japanese Pilot Dies in Aerial Collision HAMAMATSU, Japan (IP) – One of Japan’s best pilots, a veteran of the Pearl Harbor attack, was killed today in the new Japanese air force’s first aerial collision in its three-year history. Sabre Jets piloted by Lt. Col. Masanobi Ibusuki and Maj. Gen. Hachiro Setoyama brushed while flying in formation and went out of control. Both pilots were ejected from their cockpits but Ibusuki’s parachute did not open. His body reportedly plummeted into the ocean (emphasis mine).

Setoyama, himself a navy bomber pilot during WWII, parachuted to safety. Ibusuki, who had repeatedly cheated death during the war, actually survived the collision and successfully ejected from the Sabre. Ultimately, however, he was unable to cheat his destiny when his parachute failed to open. The sea, over which he flew his entire career as a naval pilot, made good its claim over him – perhaps fittingly. If death was unavoidable, Ibusuki could not have chosen a more suitable end, particularly given his dedication to duty as a Japanese pilot steeped in the Code of Bushido – “always prepared to die.”

The Unsung Ace

Ibusuki’s own article, published in the Nippon Times, where anyone could have contested his assertions, the New York Times article, which holds itself to the most stringent fact-checking standards, as well as many other short articles from various newspapers, invariably either credit Ibusuki with 25-30 kills, or otherwise refer to him as an “ace.” Why then does Ibusuki not appear on available lists of aces, such as Ikuhiko Hata et al’s Japanese Naval Fighter Aces 1932-45 (1989) or Henry Sakaida’s Imperial Japanese Navy Aces 1937-1945 (1998)? Ibusuki’s situation is similar to Itaya’s, an issue covered in a previous post. It is simply inconceivable that any pilot could survive four years of constant “kill-or-be-killed” aerial combat in WWII, including nine hours of fighting at Midway, without achieving five victories. The logical and inescapable conclusion is that the lists are incomplete, at least with regard to Ibusuki. If anyone reading this post has access to Henry Sakaida, one of the foremost experts on Japanese aces of WWII, please refer him to this post. Perhaps the record can be set straight — if indeed it is incorrect — and Ibusuki can claim his rightful place in Japanese naval history.

Thank you for your indulgence and I hope you enjoyed the post or at least found it informative. If something looks amiss, please let me know. I would be delighted to correct inaccurate information so that this may be useful to other 1/72 scale collectors and wargamers. As always, comments, questions, corrections, and observations are welcome. As mentioned, stay tuned for an overview of IJN pilots available in 1/72 scale in the next post.

I’d like to thank the great folks at Indiana University Library for their courteous and quick service in locating, scanning, and sending me Ibusuki’s article. I would also like to remind readers that I’m merely a 1/72 scale plane, tank, and soldier collector — not an academic or expert on this subject by any means.

Lagniappe Paragraph: “Life Imitates Art Far More than Art Imitates Life”

I realize this is totally off-topic, but as I avidly read about Ibusuki’s death, my thoughts drifted to the eerie similarities with the backstory of Bartholomew Quint, the ill-mannered professional shark hunter in Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster movie Jaws. Serving on the USS Indianapolis, which had just delivered “Little Boy” to Tinian to be used on Hiroshima, Quint was one of just over 300 out of 1,200 men who survived its sinking by a Japanese submarine torpedo on July 30, 1945 – literally 16 days before the Japanese surrender. Approximately 900 men survived the sinking itself; of those, almost six hundred perished over the next four days from dehydration, salt-water poisoning and, more importantly for this article, shark attacks. Quint, who had been traumatized after witnessing many of his shipmates being eaten by sharks, ironically met his fate in the same terrifying manner – only thirty years later. Like Ibusuki, Quint eluded his fate during the war – but it was merely a reprieve.

For anyone interested in Robert Shaw’s unforgettable performance as Quint, particularly as he recounts the sinking of the Indianapolis, below is a four-minute YouTube video. Please note that Quint’s dates and figures are slightly inaccurate.

The A6M Zero in 1/72: Akagi’s Zeros Prepare for Pearl Harbor, Part 3.1 – The Pilots

This is Part 3 of a series of posts on the construction of a Pearl Harbor diorama. It will depict the Zeros of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Akagi aircraft carrier preparing to take off during the first wave attack. To understand the concept of this diorama project, please refer to the previous posts. This post concerns only the nine Zero pilots who participated in the first wave. It’s important to make abundantly clear at the outset that I’m not an expert on this subject and what follows is superficial research compiled from the dozen books I own on the Zero, supplemented by bits and pieces from obscure corners of the internet.

I. Introduction

It is often stated that few of the highly skilled pilots of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) at the beginning of the Pacific War — most of them highly experienced veterans of the China War — survived the conflict. While there is little doubt the assertion is generally accurate, information specifically summarizing the fate of IJN Pearl Harbor pilots proved elusive — at least in English. My interest, of course, was on the fate of the nine Akagi Zero pilots who participated in the first wave. Below is a June 1941 photo of Akagi’s fighter pilots from the new edition of Ikuhiko Hata et al’s Japanese Naval Fighter Aces 1932-45, translated from the Japanese by Christopher Shores. Itaya Akagi Cropped Conveniently for purposes of this post, Peter Smith’s Mitsubishi Zero: Japan’s Legendary Fighter provides a narrative that names all nine Akagi Zero pilots of the first wave:

“The Akagi had contributed the No. 1 Fighter Strike Unit comprising a hikotai of nine A6M2s divided into three shotai of three planes each. No. 1 Shotai was Lieutenant-Commander Shigeru Itaya, who was in overall command of the 1st Wave fighter aircraft, with Petty Officers 1st Class Takashi Hirano and Shinatsugu Iwama. No. 2 Shotai consisted of Lieutenant Masanobu Ibusuki, with Petty Officer 1st Class Yoshio Iwashiro and Seaman 1st Class Toichiro Hanyu. No. 3 Shotai comprised Warrant Officer Suekichi Osanai, Petty Officer 2nd Class Masao Yaguchi and Seaman 1st Class Mitsuyoshi Takasuka.”

Curiously, Smith does not provide a similar narrative for the pilots of Akagi’s second wave, nor does he provide any narrative whatsoever for the pilots of the other five aircraft carriers at Pearl Harbor. A rare and serendipitous occurrence, it’s as if Smith knew that these were the nine names I needed. 🙂 At any rate, once armed with the names of the nine pilots, obtaining additional information was simply a matter of checking indices, lists of aces, lists of deaths, and lists of academy graduates in other books, plus bits and pieces from the internet.

Notations

Two notations are necessary at this point. First, the spelling of Japanese names can often get mangled in translation. Thus, for consistency I’ve used the spelling in Hata et al’s Japanese Naval Fighter Aces 1932-45. For example, after several searches proved futile, I concluded that the following corrections were necessary to Peter Smith’s list: Shinatsugu Iwama was actually Shinaji Iwama; Yoshio Iwashiro was actually Yoshio Iwaki; Masao Yaguchi was actually Masao Taniguchi; and Mitsuyoshi Takasuka was actually Mitsuyoshi Takasuga.

Secondly, I thought it best to avoid using ranks after Pearl Harbor to avoid confusion, as pilots were promoted over the course of the war and it was not uncommon to promote pilots posthumously. For example, a pilot may have held the rank of seaman during Pearl Harbor but had been promoted to petty officer at the time of his death.

II. The Pilots: Low Odds of Survival

Below is a table of the Zeros that participated in Akagi’s first wave used in a previous post, modified to include the pilots’ names and the date of their deaths (DOD). I used various sources, most notably the aforementioned new edition of Hata et al’s Japanese Naval Fighter Aces 1932-45, which helpfully includes a couple of profiles of the Zeros used by these pilots.Though the Japanese pilots who participated in the Pearl Harbor attack were considered some of the most experienced, most highly skilled, best trained pilots in the world at the outbreak of the Pacific War, the odds of surviving the war were minimal, irrespective of experience, skill, or training. It is a sobering thought that, as the table graphically demonstrates, of the nine Akagi Zero pilots who participated in the first wave, six had perished by October 1942 — less than a year after Pearl Harbor — and another was killed by the end of the war. Only two of the nine pilots survived the war. While this sample size is too small to extrapolate to the 78 Zero pilots from all six carriers in both waves, it does provides a reasonable estimate of the number of survivors: probably around 17.

The table also makes clear just how difficult it was to make ace; i.e., to score five victories. As can be seen on the table, only two of the nine pilots accomplished the feat, one with 14 victories and one with 8 victories, despite the fact that these were some of the most experienced pilots in the world involved in arguably the most target-rich episode in human history. Thus, the odds of making ace were the same as those of surviving the war — roughly one in five. (NB: Let’s be clear, “victory” is a euphemism for “kill,” the term more commonly used. To be an “ace,” a pilot had to shoot down five enemy planes, which often resulted in killing five or more men. I use the term “ace” without any value judgment. These men were merely doing what their country asked of them. To the extent there’s admiration for an “ace,” it is not because the pilot killed other men but rather because of the skill necessary to survive.)

III. Notable Pilots

While I’m fairly certain that much could be written about each one of these nine pilots, my goal was to identify them and their Zeros and ascertain whether they survived the war or made ace. I hope the table above achieves that modest purpose. However, I want to bring the reader’s attention to four of these pilots, without disrespect or attempt to diminish the achievements or sacrifices of the other five. These four pilots are pictured below; from left to right, they are Shigeru Itaya, Yoshio Iwaki, Masao Taniguchi, and Masanobu Ibusuki. Uncannily, all four appear in the first photo above and are specifically identified in the caption, despite the fact that only six of the 19 pilots pictured are mentioned in the caption.

Shigeru Itaya, the overall commander of the 43 Zeros in the first wave, was covered in a previous post, soon to be rewritten with assistance received from readers familiar with Japanese sources. Please refer to that post by clicking here. Yoshio Iwaki, one of the two pilots who made ace, had earned eight victories when he met his death August 24, 1942, in the Eastern Solomons, incidentally serving on the Shokaku — another carrier present at Pearl Harbor.

The other ace was Masao Taniguchi, pictured in the lagniappe photo at left, who not only has the distinction of achieving the most victories — 14 — but was also one of the two pilots who survived the war. After being shot down in October 1944, he was fortunate to be convalescing in Japan when the war came to an end. Coincidentally, Taniguchi, like Iwaki, also served on the Shokaku after the Akagi was sunk at Midway.

Because Iwaki and Taniguchi both made ace, information on them is slightly more available. See, for example, Hata et al’s Japanese Naval Fighter Aces for short biographies of these two. However, it was Masanobu Ibusuki, the other pilot who survived the war, and for whom little information is available, whose story I found compelling — and the subject of the next post.

As always, thank you for your indulgence and I hope you enjoyed the post. If something looks amiss, please let me know. I would be delighted to correct inaccurate information so that this may be useful to other 1/72 scale collectors and wargamers. As always, comments, questions, corrections, and observations are welcome. As mentioned, stay tuned for a brief biographic note on Masanobu Ibusuki in the next post.

The A6M Zero in 1/72: Akagi’s Zeros Prepare for Pearl Harbor Diorama, Part 2.4 – The Decaled Zeros

This is Part 2.3 of a series of posts on the construction of a Pearl Harbor diorama. It will depict the Zeros of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Akagi aircraft carrier preparing to take off during the first wave attack. This post is a follow-up to the previous post and concerns only the pre-built 1/72 scale Zeros to be used in the diorama with renumbered tail markings. To understand the concept of this diorama project, please refer to the previous posts.

The Actual Akagi Zeros

As previously mentioned, the Akagi contributed nine A6M2 Zeros to the first wave attack. As a refresher, below is a table from a previous post of the Zeros that participated in Akagi’s first wave. The Prebuilt 1/72 Scale Models

The photo below shows the prebuilt 1/72 scale Akagi Zeros currently available. It is immediately evident that of the nine actual Zeros that participated in Akagi’s first wave, only AI-155 and AI-154 have been produced in diecast. Unfortunately, the Corgi AI-154 is unusable as is, since Corgi used black, rather than red, tail numbers.The Diorama Zeros

For purposes of the diorama, the goal is to use the five models in the photo above plus four spares — two additional Wittys and two additional FOVs. Only the Dragon AI-155 will be used unmodified; the remaining eight will require new tail numbers as per the chart above. Below is a notional photo of the expected result once the decals are applied.

The Decaled Zeros

I searched extensively for MYK Design’s A-72009 Tora! Tora! Tora! Carrier Akagi 1/72 decal sheet (pictured below), since it includes five of the nine necessary tail numbers: AI-103, AI-107, AI-151, AI-155, and AI-158. (The AI-155 decal is unnecessary as I’ll be using the Dragon model that already carries that tail number.) Alas, I was unsuccessful as the sheet has been out of print for years.

Ultimately, I had no choice but to make the decals myself. I enlarged the image at left, cleaned it up, enhanced the numbers as much as possible, and then reduced it back to 1/72 scale. I then printed the image on Micro-Mark decal paper.

To my dismay, I found that handling the decal sheet resulted in slight smudging. After rereading the decal paper directions, I reprinted the image and “fixed” it onto the sheet with Winsor & Newton fixative. Failure to apply a coat of fixative to protect the image will result in the image smudging like lead on a pencil drawing when touched.

The photo below shows the decal sheet printed on the Micro-Mark decal paper after the fixative had been applied.With decals in hand, I prepared the three Witty models for application of the decals by removing the tail numbers and yellow stripes as necessary — leaving two stripes for the AI-103; one stripe for the AI-107; and no stripes for the AI-158. See photo below.

There are essentially two ways to remove the tampo markings on diecast models: 1) by scraping them off, preferably with an X-Acto #10 curved blade; or 2) by applying some sort of solvent, such as Testors 1148 thinner or standard acetone for nail polish removal. I found that a combination of the two methods worked best for me. (Note: Do not use enamel thinner on plastic models. It will ruin the plastic finish.) Once the original markings were totally removed, I applied a coat of Pledge (Future) floor finish to ensure that the decals found a glossy base that would prevent silvering. (Pledge’s self-leveling properties are amazing!) After waiting a day for the Pledge to cure, I used Micro Set and Micro Sol solutions to apply the decals.

Micro Set prepares the surface where the decal is to be applied by cutting the oils in the paint, thus allowing the decal to slide on the surface, making it easier to reposition the decal as necessary. Micro Sol softens the decal, allowing it to conform to the surface of the model, which is particularly useful on irregular surfaces such as the panel lines and ridges on the Zero tails. Using these two solutions will help make the decals look “painted-on.”

After waiting another day for the decals to dry, I again applied a coat of Pledge to completely seal the decals between two layers of Pledge. Of course, the Pledge application resulted in a glossy finish. After waiting yet another day, I sprayed the decals with Testors Dull Cote to give the tails a matte finish that matched the rest of the model. The photo below shows the results after the Dull Cote had dried.

In addition to an unmodified Witty model (AI-155), the photo below shows the three decaled Witty models (AI-103, AI-107, and AI-158), plus one decaled FOV model (AI-151). Note that some paint came off the tail of the FOV when I removed the tampo markings, giving it an unintended — though not totally unwelcome — weathered look. (Yes, I’m accepting that which I cannot change. 🙂 )As previously mentioned, Corgi inexplicably applied black tail numbers to the AI-154 (see inset in the photo below), rather than the well-documented red numbers. I removed the black numbers with Testors thinner and applied a decal with correct red numbers following the process discussed above. Note that the MYK Design A-72009 decal sheet did not include the AI-154 so I made the decals using letters and numbers from different fonts to simulate the MYK Design numbers. The lagniappe photo below shows the result. I made the extra decals standing by the tail in case I botched the first application — a common occurrence, at least for me, when applying decals. To summarize, six models are now ready: the unmodified Dragon AI-155 plus five decaled planes — three Witty models (AI-103, AI-107, and AI-158), one FOV (AI-151), and one Corgi (AI-154). I’ve decided not to decal the last three (AI-152, AI-153, and AI-156) as the FOV model did not respond well to removal of the tampo markings. Instead, I’ll use paper covers using the stencil in the previous post.

I apologize for such a tedious post. I realize that except for diehard readers, discussion of the tail numbers can get repetitive and confusing. Still, I think the photos by themselves tell the story.

Again, thank you for your indulgence and I hope at least some of you enjoyed the post. If something looks amiss, please let me know. I would be delighted to correct inaccurate information so that this may be useful to other 1/72 scale collectors and wargamers. As always, comments, questions, corrections, and observations are welcome. Stay tuned for a brief discussion of the Zero pilots who participated in Akagi’s first wave attack in the next post.

The A6M Zero in 1/72: Akagi’s Zeros Prepare for Pearl Harbor Diorama, Part 2.3 – The Diorama Zeros

This is Part 2.2 of a series of posts on the construction of a diorama depicting the Zeros of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Akagi aircraft carrier preparing to take off as part of the first wave attack on Pearl Harbor. Providing the history of the Zero or its technical details is beyond the scope of this article. This post concerns only the prebuilt 1/72 scale Zeros to be used in the diorama. To understand the concept of this diorama project, please refer to the previous posts.

The Actual Akagi Zeros

As previously mentioned, the Akagi contributed nine A6M2 Zeros and 27 B5N2 Kates to the first wave attack. As a refresher, below is a table from a previous post of the Zeros that participated in Akagi’s first wave. As is readily apparent, the tail numbers are all in the AI-150’s except for AI-103 and AI-107. Up to this point, I had deliberately avoided discussing the tail numbers as creating the correct numbers will be one of the more difficult parts of this project, as discussed below. The Prebuilt 1/72 Scale Models

The photo below shows the prebuilt 1/72 scale Akagi Zeros currently available.* It is immediately evident that of the nine actual Zeros that participated in Akagi’s first wave, only AI-155 and AI-154 have been produced in diecast. AI-155 — Shigeru Itaya’s Zero — has been produced by Dragon, Forces of Valor, and Witty. A review of each can be found by clicking on the name of the manufacturer. A short biography of Itaya is also available by clicking on his name. AI-154 has been produced by Corgi. Unfortunately, despite all evidence to the contrary, Corgi inexplicably used black tail numbers rather than red numbers, for which there is abundant proof. AFV Club also produced an Akagi Zero — the AI-101 — that participated in the second wave. For the sake of completeness, it will be used in this project so collectors may compare models from all five manufacturers that have thus far produced an Akagi Zero. The Diorama Zeros

For purposes of the diorama, the goal is to use the five models in the photo above plus four duplicates. The challenge is to create models with all of Akagi first wave numbers other than AI-155. Even AI-154 will be required as the tail number must be in red. The idea is to scrape off the original painted numbers and replace them with appropriate decals so that they match the table above. As thus far I have been unsuccessful in finding the decals, I made a stencil of the tail to cover the tail numbers in the interim. I then scanned the color of each model and applied it to the tail stencil. Matching base colors proved more difficult than I had anticipated.

For those interested in how the colors of the five manufacturers compare, below is a plate showing a scan of each model’s base color. The color of the Corgi model is actually beige and the inset at left matches the model reasonably well. I’m perplexed, however, by the difference in the color of the Corgi model in the photos and conclude it’s due to the lighting. The FOV and Witty colors look very similar but that’s as close to the models as the scanner could make them. Once I made stencils for all five colors, I covered the tail of each model with a new number.The lagniappe photo below provides a notional idea of the intended result. At this point, the tail numbers appear to be a weak part of the project. That will change, however, once the decals are applied. Again, thank you for your indulgence and I hope you enjoyed the post. If something looks amiss, please let me know. I would be delighted to correct inaccurate information so that this may be useful to other 1/72 scale collectors and wargamers. As always, comments, questions, corrections, and observations are welcome. Stay tuned for photos of the models once the decals are applied.

* Witty also produced AI-101 and AI-102 but both were used in the second wave and, except for the tail numbers, are identical to the AI-155. While Atlas/Oxford (same casting) also produced aircraft carrier A6M2 Zeros, they did not make an Akagi Zero. Instead, Atlas produced a model from the Kaga while Oxford produced one from the Ryujo.

The A6M Zero in 1/72: Akagi’s Zeros Prepare for Pearl Harbor Diorama, Part 2.2 – Prebuilt 1/72 Models

This is Part 2.1 of a series of posts on the construction of a diorama depicting the Zeros of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Akagi aircraft carrier preparing to take off as part of the first wave attack on Pearl Harbor. This post concerns only prebuilt 1/72 scale models depicting Zeros from the Akagi. To understand the concept of this diorama project, please refer to the previous two posts.

Prebuilt 1/72 Scale Akagi Zeros

As I’ve indicated in the past, I lack the modeling skills to build the aircraft necessary for this diorama. Thus, I’ll be using nine prebuilt diecast 1/72 planes. To my knowledge, five manufacturers — AFV Club, Corgi, Dragon Wings, Forces of Valor, and Witty Wings — have tried their hand at producing models of the A6M2 Zero — the version of the Zero used at Pearl Harbor — specifically representing Zeros from the Akagi.*

The photo below shows the Akagi Zero models from the five aforementioned manufacturers, in alphabetical order from left to right. Note the difference in the base color, which reflects the continuing debate over the true color of the actual Zeros.Below is an overhead shot of the five models. Note that the AFV Club and Dragon models have “inked” panel lines, burnt umber and black, respectively, which make the lines stand out. By contrast, the panel lines on the Witty, which are widely considered to be close to scale, are barely visible. My preference is the middle route taken by both Corgi and FOV — while their panel lines may be overscaled, the fact that they were not inked results in a Goldilocks look.Finally, the lagniappe overhead shot below allows better comparison of dimensions. As is apparent from the photo, the difference in dimensions is de minimis (couldn’t resist the alliterative flourish). Ultimately, however, the reader can make that judgment.For purposes of the diorama, the plan is to use these five prebuilt models plus four duplicates to complete the nine Zeros in Akagi’s first wave. Since these manufacturers combined have produced only the AI-154 and AI-155, the project will require disguising the tail numbers so that they match the nine tail numbers used on the Akagi (see table in previous post). That is the subject of the next post.

Again, thank you for your indulgence and I hope you enjoyed the post. If something looks amiss, please let me know. I would be delighted to correct inaccurate information so that this may be useful to other 1/72 scale collectors and wargamers. As always, comments, questions, corrections, and observations are welcome. As mentioned, stay tuned to see these Zeros with the nine new tail numbers in the next post.

* While Atlas Editions and Oxford Diecast also produced A6M2 Zeros for aircraft carriers, neither made an Akagi Zero. Atlas produced a model belonging to the Kaga aircraft carrier (AII-105). Using the same Atlas casting, Oxford Diecast later produced an A6M2 Zero model belonging to the Ryujo aircraft carrier (DI-108). In any case, the Atlas/Oxford models are wheels-up only (wheels are molded retracted into the lower fuselage), requiring a stand and making it difficult to pose them next to other models.

The A6M Zero in 1/72: Akagi’s Zeros Prepare for Pearl Harbor Diorama, Part 2.1 – The Tail Numbers

This is Part 2 of a series of posts on the construction of a diorama depicting the Zeros of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Akagi aircraft carrier preparing to take off as part of the first wave attack on Pearl Harbor. Providing the history of the Zero or its technical details is beyond the scope of this article. This post concerns only the tail numbers of the Zeros of Akagi’s first wave. To understand the concept of this diorama project, please refer to the previous post.

The Akagi Zeros and Their Tail Numbers

As previously mentioned, the Akagi contributed nine Zeros and 27 Kates to the first wave attack. Below is a photo of the Zeros on the deck of the Akagi just prior to take-off.To create the diorama, it is necessary to determine what tail numbers were used in the first wave. In the aftermath of WWII, there was some controversy and confusion concerning the tail numbers of the various aircraft that participated in the attack and whether they were in the first or second wave. Plastic model manufacturers, including Tamiya, even issued models of the AI-101 Zero with yellow command stripes. Photos later proved conclusively that the AI-101 did not carry the horizontal yellow command stripes on the tail and, in fact had participated in the second wave, not the first. Further research shed more light on the tail numbers and at this point the issue is mostly settled.

The table below provides context regarding where each of the Zeros fit within the organizational framework of Akagi’s aircraft. As in the past, I created the table for learners like me who want to visualize where a small piece fits into a larger whole. As I’ve previously made clear, I’m just an amateur enthusiast (redundancy intended) so please use the table at your own risk. I relied on a number of sources, particularly Peter Smith’s Mitsubishi Zero, photos of an Akagi display at the USS Arizona Memorial Museum, and bits and pieces from the internet. Note that the squadron was made up of three flights (shotai) of three aircraft each. The Zeros with horizontal yellow stripes led each three-plane flight. The two Zeros below each yellow-striped Zero belonged to the shotai’s wingmen, in order of rank. For purposes of the diorama, I will be using nine prebuilt models made by AFV Club, Corgi, Dragon Wings, Forces of Valor, and Witty Wings.

Again, thank you for your indulgence and I hope you enjoyed the post. If something looks amiss, please let me know. I would be delighted to correct inaccurate information so that this may be useful to other 1/72 scale collectors and wargamers. As always, comments, questions, corrections, and observations are welcome. Stay tuned for a photo overview of prebuilt 1/72 scale Zero models made specifically for the Akagi to be used in the diorama.

The A6M Zero in 1/72: Akagi’s Zeros Prepare for Pearl Harbor Diorama, Part 1 – The Concept

I derive more pleasure from my models when they’re combined with appropriate figures and placed in historically accurate settings — obviously within the limitations posed by 1/72 scale. Thus, I was eager to place the Zeros in my collection in a diorama recreating the scene on the Akagi aircraft carrier as its first wave prepared to take off for the attack on Pearl Harbor. This series of posts concerns the construction of such a diorama.

As mentioned in previous posts, the Akagi was the flagship — and one of six aircraft carriers — of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Kido Butai — the strike force that carried out the attack on Pearl Harbor. The attack was carried out in two waves, each comprising Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters, Nakajima B5N Kate torpedo and level bombers, and Aichi D3A Val dive bombers. The Akagi contributed nine Zeros and 27 Kate bombers to that first wave. (Akagi’s Val dive bombers participated in the second wave.)

The superb illustration below depicts the Akagi as it prepared to launch its aircraft at Pearl Harbor. Note the nine Zero fighters amidships, parallel to the island, followed by the 27 Kate bombers aft of the midships elevator reaching all the way back to the stern.(NB: I found the unsourced illustration above on the internet. While sourced illustrations of the Akagi abound, this particular one actually depicts the formation of the Zeros and Kates of the first wave as they prepared to take off for Pearl Harbor. I would appreciate information on its source, both so I may provide proper attribution to the artist and perhaps acquire the plate at higher resolution. If you know the source, please contact me.)

The Akagi measured 855 feet from bow to stern but its wooden flight deck was 817 feet. The goal is to represent the 140 feet of the flight deck delimited by the yellow rectangle shown in the illustration below (roughly 1/6 of the entire flight deck). The project will require nine A6M2 Zero fighters plus one B5N2 Kate — the lone representative of the 27 Kates of the Akagi in the first wave. That leading Kate is significant, however, as it belonged to Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, who was in overall command of all aircraft participating in the attack on Pearl Harbor. For those of us who grew up watching Tora! Tora! Tora! each year, who could forget Fuchida barking the codeword three times into his radio to indicate the Japanese had achieved complete surprise?

The diorama will also require construction of the flight deck, the midships elevator, and the island superstructure. The enormous exhaust funnel on the starboard side, as well as the antiaircraft guns on either side of the carrier, are beyond the scope of this project as they’re located below the flight deck. (Forgive the funky orange outlined text. It was necessary to make the text stand out.)

This series of posts will cover the aircraft, pilots, deck crew, flight deck, and island superstructure. With any luck, the last post will bring all these elements together in a fairly straightforward diorama. Here’s the plan:

Part 1: The Concept

Part 2.1: The Actual Zeros
Part 2.2: The Model Zeros
Part 2.3: The Diorama Zeros
Part 2.4: The Decaled Zeros

Part 3.1: The Actual Pilots
Part 3.2: Masanobu Ibusuki
Part 3.3: Japanese Pilots and Crew in 1/72 Scale

Part 4: The Flight Deck

Part 5: The Island

Part 6: The Finished Diorama

The lagniappe photo below of aircraft preparing to take off from the Akagi provides a good idea of the project.While I intend to complete this project in the next three months, please remember the following stanza from Robert Burns’ immortal Scottish poem Tae a Moose, later popularized in English by John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men:

“But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!”

Again, thank you for your indulgence and I hope you enjoyed the post. If something looks amiss, please let me know. I would be delighted to correct inaccurate information so that this may be useful to other 1/72 scale collectors and wargamers. As always, comments, questions, corrections, and observations are welcome. Please do contact me if you know the source of the illustration. Stay tuned for a synopsis of the Akagi’s first wave Zeros in the next post.

The A6M Zero in 1/72: Shigeru Itaya Leads the Zeros at Pearl Harbor, Part 4 – The Witty Wings Model

This is Part 4 of Shigeru Itaya Leads the Zeros at Pearl Harbor. It is a review of the Witty Wings 72-012-001 1/72 scale model of Itaya’s Zero at Pearl Harbor. For a brief biographical note on Shigeru Itaya and reviews of the Dragon Wings and Forces of Valor models of the same aircraft, please refer to the previous three posts. Relevant information on Itaya’s aircraft from those posts is repeated below to make this review self-contained. The reader may want to skip directly to the review of the Witty Wings model.

Itaya’s A6M2 Zero, Tail No. AI-155

As discussed in Part 1, Itaya led the 43 Zeros from all carriers in the first wave of the attack on Pearl Harbor. In each wave the Zero planes were the first airborne, both because they needed the least runway to take off and in order to protect the slower, less maneuverable torpedo and dive bombers that followed. As the leader of the first wave of Zeros, Itaya was the first Japanese pilot airborne during the attack.

As noted previously, there is precious little information available on Itaya. This dearth of information extends to Itaya’s plane at Pearl Harbor, a Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero, tail no. AI-155. Although there are some references on the internet that Itaya’s Zero’s tail no. may have been something other than AI-155, the books I consulted consistently use that number. To my knowledge, there are no existing photos of the AI-155, though there are enough photos of other planes from the Akagi aircraft carrier to give us a reasonably accurate understanding of its colors and markings.

Below is a color profile from what is probably the most comprehensive source of information on the colors and markings of WWII Japanese aircraft, Eduardo Cea’s eight-volume treatise entitled Japanese Military Aircraft. I scanned this particular profile from Volume 2, The Air Force of the Japanese Imperial Navy: Carrier-Based Aircraft, 1922-1945 (I). While I’m aware that there are a number of errors in the English translation of the Spanish text that are somewhat distracting, the series is beautifully illustrated, incredibly informative, and inarguably comprehensive, and, being fluent in Spanish, I blithely overlooked the errors. 🙂 The profile is reproduced here for discussion purposes under the fair use exception to the copyright laws.Itaya’s Zero at Pearl Harbor has been released in 1/72 scale by three different manufacturers: Dragon Wings 50017; Forces of Valor 85032; and Witty Wings 72-012-001. This post concerns the Witty Wings model. The Dragon Wings and Forces of Valor models were reviewed in the previous two posts.

The Witty Wings 72-012-001 Zero

Below is a portside view of the Witty model. Unlike the Dragon and FOV models, which are caramel and ivory, respectively, the Witty model is a pale gray that tends towards white. The photos below are equivalent to those of the Dragon and FOV model. I took them photos at the same time, alternating the model for each different shot, so as to control for lighting and angle. As is clear from the photos, the pale color of the Witty model does not photograph well or, more accurately, I lacked the skills to photograph the Witty model well.Note that the panel lines are faintly visible. The diminutive width of the lines is a feature of the Witty that pleased many collectors, as they appear to be more to scale than those of other manufacturers. In addition, unlike Dragon, Witty did not apply any type of wash to highlight the lines, making them appear even fainter. It is this combination of smaller size and lack of a wash that gives the impression that the panel lines are close to scale. While I understand the desire for accuracy in scale and respect the point of view, I find the Witty lines too faint. The Dragon panel lines may be too pronounced; the Witty lines, however, are not pronounced enough. Still, I suspect a very light inking of the Witty lines would result in Goldilocks panel lines.The photo below provides an excellent view of the tail number “AI-155.” As mentioned in the Dragon and FOV reviews, the “AI” code was the designation for the Akagi aircraft carrier. In the three-digit number after “AI”, the first digit (“1”) indicates that it is a fighter plane. The last two digits (“55”) are simply the aircraft number within the unit. The tail numbers on Japanese carrier aircraft were usually red.

Note also the three horizontal yellow stripes on the tail that indicated command: three stripes for the group leader; two stripes for a squadron leader (9 aircraft); and one stripe for a flight leader (3 aircraft). Note also the “no step” rectangular area outlined in red at the rear of each wing next to the wing root.The photo below provides an excellent view of the Hinomaru, which was carried on both sides of the fuselage aft of the wing and on both the upper surface and underside of each wing — six “circles of the sun” in total. The vertical red stripe on the fuselage is the identification mark for the aircraft carrier Akagi.

Note also the manufacturing plate stenciled just aft of the red stripe. The inset shows that the plate bears the number 1575, meaning it was the 1,575th Zero built. The “2-2-9” means it was built in the Japanese year 2602, second month, ninth day = February 9, 1942. (Yes, two months after Pearl Harbor. 🙂 Like FOV, Witty “borrowed” this particular stencil from a Zero recovered at Port Moresby in April 1942.) Incidentally, the A6M is called the “Zero” because it first entered service in the Japanese year 2600 (1940), the zero year of the new Japanese century. Please bear in mind that the entire plate is just 4mm wide (just over 1/8 inch). Though the manufacturing plate on the Witty is not as crisp as those on the Dragon and FOV models, Witty should still be commended for the effort.Below is a shot of the starboard side. Note the absence of the manufacturing plate, which was only stenciled on the port side.In the photo below, note the polished natural metal propeller. Note also the two red warning stripes on the tips of the blades that created two neat red circles when the propeller was spinning. As is the case with the vast majority of 1/72 scale prebuilt models, the propeller spins freely.

Note the outlets for the 20mm cannons on the leading edges of the wings just above the landing struts. Also on the leading edge of the portside wing, note the pitot tube (shadow on floor), which cannot be taken for granted. The Corgi Zeros, for example, do not have one.As with the Dragon and FOV models, the photo below shows that the landing strut covers on the Witty also have the “55” that matches the last two digits of the tail number. Note that unlike Dragon and FOV, Witty omitted the oval-shaped fasteners on the cowling. Note also the metal drop tank that gave the Zero an extra 73 imperial gallons of fuel (87 US gallons), significantly increasing its range. Later drop tanks were made of wood and had a slightly different shape. Note also that, like FOV, Witty included a pilot.

The Rub

Well, no, not really a rub — more of a quibble. As previously mentioned, Witty inexplicably omitted the oval-shaped fasteners on the cowling, resulting in a generic-looking cowling. I initially assumed that Witty intentionally omitted the fasteners in order to use the same cowling on its three different Zero models (A6M2, A6M3, and A6M5). However, upon taking a closer look, I realized that the cowling was indeed that for an A6M2 — sans fasteners.

The photo triptych below of three different Witty Zero models demonstrates that Witty crafted a different cowling for each of their three models. The cowling on the A6M2 is wider and shorter than that on the A6M3, reflecting the different engines used on each, and has a scoop that runs the length of the cowling. The A6M2 cowling also lacks the individual exhaust pipes that protrude from the cowling flaps on the A6M5.

The lagniappe photo below shows that while Witty neglected the fasteners, it offset the lapse somewhat by including the aircraft number “55” on the underside of the cowling as was done on the strut covers — a trivial detail perhaps, but pleasing nonetheless. While other manufacturers included the number on the landing strut covers, Witty alone included the number on the cowling.

The Upshot

The Witty 72-012-001 Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero is a beautiful model that closely resembles the original. The excellent casting shows no perceptible problems in its proportions. The panel lines, though faint, are the closest to scale. The cowling, propeller, and undercarriage are all well executed, with no apparent issues other than the missing cowling fasteners. The markings are accurate and crisp and the aircraft number on the underside of the cowling is a neat detail. All Witty Zeros come in wheels down version only, which, although not ideal, still gives the collector the option to display the models on their stands or use them without the stands in dioramas. Matchbox, for example, made its Zeros in wheels up mode only, making it nearly impossible to use in dioramas. While Witty included no features such as a sliding canopy like Dragon or a removable cowling like FOV, their absence does not detract from the model. In short, the Witty A6M2 Zero is a terrific little model — a proud replica of the real thing — and even a cursory review of model aircraft forums reveals that it is a favorite among Zero collectors.

Again, thank you for your indulgence and I hope you enjoyed the post. If something looks amiss, please let me know. I would be delighted to correct inaccurate information so that this may be useful for other 1/72 scale collectors and wargamers. As always, comments, questions, corrections, and observations are welcome. Stay tuned for a simple diorama of Itaya’s aircraft preparing to take off from the Akagi aircraft carrier at Pearl Harbor in the next post.

WWII in 1/72 Scale

My Obsession with Miniatures and WWII

Category: Pacific Theatre