New product coming in July

1/48 Imperial Navy Okinawa Type 52 Armor (Mitsubishi)

This Mitsubishi model 52 "Ko" will be made as a plastic model for the first time in 1/48!

The A6M Zero Type 52 "A" (commonly known as the Zero Fighter Type 52A) is a type with an increased ammunition capacity for the Zero Fighter Type 52 20mm machine gun. The original Type 52's Type 99 20mm No. 2 machine gun Type 3 on the wing could be loaded with 100 rounds of ammunition per gun in a drum magazine, but the Type 52A was modified to a belt-fed Type 4 and could load 125 rounds of ammunition. For this reason, a trapezoidal cover was added to the base of the 20mm machine gun protrusion on the leading edge of the wing. In addition, the original Type 52 had a teardrop-shaped bulge on the underside of the wing to accommodate the drum magazine, but the Type 52A was modified to a belt-fed type, so this bulge was eliminated. Furthermore, all Mitsubishi Type 52A's thrust-type single exhaust pipes have a short heat-resistant plate at the outlet, a characteristic of Mitsubishi.

In this product, these differences have been carefully reproduced using new molds. In particular, the appearance equipped with Mitsubishi's short heat-resistant plate is the first time it has been represented in 1/48 scale. Markings include decals for the original 343rd and 221st Air Groups. In particular, the 343rd Air Group aircraft is an aircraft currently on display at the Japan Air Self-Defense Force Hamamatsu Public Relations Center.

New product scheduled for release in July 2025. More information at the Fine Molds website.

FZ03 – Mitsubishi Zero A6M5a Type 52 IJN – 1:48

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