Mitsubishi A6M2b Model 21 Zero Fighter

The A6M2b Type 21 Zero was the second production version of this famous World War II aircraft. Flight testing of the first A6M2 began on December 28, 1939.
The aircraft's performance exceeded the Navy's wildest expectations.
Production of an initial test series of A6M2s began, and initial flight trials were completed in July 1940. The Type 21 was externally similar to the earlier Type 11, but was fully equipped for the Navy, featuring folding wingtips and an arresting hook. On July 21, 1940, the Japanese Navy decided to transfer 15 pre-production A6M2 aircraft to the 12th Combined Naval Air Corps for combat trials in China.
The A6M2 first entered service in China on August 19, 1940.
In combat, the Zero proved a formidable opponent to most other contemporary combat aircraft, spearheading the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, and most of the other Japanese conquests in the Pacific. The A6M2's last air combats took place on October 26, 1942, during the Battle of Santa Cruz.
Afterward, the A6M2 was replaced by the A6M3 version of the Reisen and used in second-line and training units. Many of these obsolete A6M2s were reconditioned and used in kamikaze attacks during the last year of the war.

Plastic model kit

• with photo-etched parts

Scale 1:72

unbuilt / unpainted

Paint and glue not included