Hasegawa has re-boxed their well-known A6M2b in 1/48 scale. Despite being an “old” mold (at least 10-yr, if not a bit more), the parts still hold really well, with no flash anywhere, petite and fine details, recessed panel lines and perfectly molded parts.
Construction, as usual begins with the cockpit. The only thing I decided to add was to drill the lightening holes in the seat and to add a pair of Eduard IJN steel seatbelts to it. The rest of the cockpit is straight out of the box, down to the decal used for the instrument panel. I was impressed by how good it looks when completed.
I departed from the instructions a bit after finishing the cockpit. Instead of adding the cockpit to a fuselage side, I actually glued the fuselage sides together and then I added the cockpit from underneath. I could see the fuselage bulging a little bit when I introduced the fuselage from underneath. Careful sanding of the cockpit bottom piece prevented the fuselage from bulging.