IJN A6M5 ZERO Fighter (Mitsubishi, Mid Prod.)

Estimated availability April 2025

The most manufactured aircraft in Japan’s aviation history and arguably a representative icon of WW2 fighters, a new kit of the “Zero Fighter” will be released using an entirely new tooling from Fine Molds.
The Zero was developed as a carrier-based fighter to be employed by the Imperial Japanese Navy’s carrier fleet. It was unmatched in the skies when it first appeared during the Second Sino-Japanese War and remained so for much of the first half of WW2, performing so well that its exploits became legendary.
The Type 11 was the first production model, but improvements continued during its mass production, and the Type 52 can be considered to be the fifth model in its production run. The Type 32 shortened the main wings in an attempt to increase speed, while the Type 52’s wing tips become more rounded. The Type 52s manufactured at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the original developer of Zero, can be divided into subgroups of early, mid and late production variants. This kit represents the Type 52 mid-production variant featuring the then-recently adopted thrust-adding non-separated exhaust, but the fuselage does not feature the heat shield patches near the wastegates which were added later.
The conventional plastic model of an aircraft splits the fuselage down the middle resulting in left and right parts, but this kit replicates how the original fuselage was separated into the front and the rear sections, where the rear section is one single part made with slide mold technology. With components such as a canopy comprised of separate frame and transparent parts, this kit features an uncommon breakdown of parts and resulting in a novel construction experience designed to enhance the model building process, culminating in a Zero Fighter kit apt for the Reiwa era (2019~).