COBI Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero-Sen Set 5729

COBI's Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero-Sen is a 1:32 model built from 347 blocks, 27 cm long with a 38 cm wingspan. The propeller and ailerons move, the wheels retract on rubber tires, and the canopy opens for the pilot figure, which is printed front and back. A display stand and nameplate are included. No stickers.

Where the name comes from

The aircraft had no name. Its designation was Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter, and the zero is a calendar reference: it entered service in the Japanese year 2600, which is 1940, and Japanese practice was to take the last digits. Allied pilots shortened it to Zero, and the name that stuck was one the Japanese navy never used.

What it cost to be that good

In 1941 the Zero could out-turn, out-climb and outrange anything the Allies had in the Pacific. Jirō Horikoshi achieved that by removing weight wherever weight could be removed.

There was no armour behind the pilot. The fuel tanks were not self-sealing. The airframe used a lightened aluminium alloy developed specifically for it. The result was an aeroplane that could fly rings around a Wildcat and would burn if a single incendiary round reached a wing tank.

Against inexperienced opponents in 1941 that trade was overwhelmingly worth it. By 1943, against pilots who had learned not to turn with it and against aircraft that could absorb hits, it was killing its own side — and Japan was losing irreplaceable pilots in aircraft that offered them nothing when things went wrong. Around 11,000 were built.

In the COBI range

Set 5731 is the Grumman F4F Wildcat, the aircraft the Zero was chiefly matched against, at the same 1:32 scale.

Specifications

Pieces: 347 · Figures: 1 pilot · Scale: 1:32 · No stickers
Model dimensions: 27 × 38 × 11.5 cm (10.6 × 15.0 × 4.5 in)