Academy A6M5c Zero Fighter Type 52c

This is a 1/72 scale Academy plastic model kit. The "Zero" Fighter (Reisen or Zero-Son) was the lmperial japanese Navy's first single-seat and single-engine shipboard fighter with the retractable undercarriage. It was the most produced types of all Japanese combat aircraft of World War II. The most successful Sakae-powered prototype was adopted as the Zero type 11, and two squadrons with 15 aircraft were sent to China in July 1940 for trials under operational conditions. More than 400 had been delivered by the time the type 21 and type 32 appeared at Pearl Harbor. After the battle of Midway the Allies slowly gained the ascendancy, and the Zero found itself outclassed by the F4U Corsair and F6F Hellcat. Mitsubishi urgently tried to devise improved versions and type 52 (A6M5) was built in quantities far greater than any other japanese combat aircraft. To satisfy front line demands for increased fire power and pilot protection, most of the changes were made in these areas under the designation type 52c (A6M5c). An additional 13mm machine gunwas added mounted in each wing just outboard the 20mm cannon. Towards the end of the war, hundreds of Zeros of many sub-types and young pilots were converted for reckless suicide attacks, Kamikaze. This 6" wingspan model includes fully engraved panel lines and rivet detail, detailed cockpit interior and landing gear bay, drop tank and four 30kg bombs, and engine detail.