Lifelike Decals has released this sheet of decals for Zero fighters to correct what it describes as erroneous sizing of Hinomarus in some manufacturer’s kits. Their website states:

”We noticed that some Zero kits decals etc. do not have correct size Hinomaru marks, so we released “Hinomaru for Zero” sheet separately”.

The Hinomarus come it three distinct types - with the white surround (both wide and thin); without the white surround; and with green overpainted surround, with enough Hinomarus for a half dozen different aircraft. The decals are thin, with minimal carry-over of the carrier film (approx. 1mm). They come off the paper quickly, were easy to adjust into place, and reacted well to Solvaset decal softener to conform to surface bumps and panel lines. Printed by Microscale, they are all in perfect register.

The set comes with an extensive explanation of the actual Hinomaru size requirements as they were applied, and the differences in application between Mitsubishi and Nakajima produced aircraft. This is the same sheet that’s included in the Zero marking sets “Mitsubishi A6M Parts 1 (48-061) & 2 (48-062)Limited Edition”.

An important NOTE- from the Lifelike website, the manufacturer states:

“We released two Zero decals (48-061/062) and one Hinomaru decal (48-SP-01) in October 2023, but we found that mark I and K (dark green outlined Hinomaru) are missing in the common Hinomaru sheet. They are to be used for one item each of 48-061 and 062.
We are now asking same printer (so that same red color and hue is used) to print small sheet of mark I and K, but they are very busy now and printing will take more than 8 weeks from order confirmation. This indicates that we will receive small sheet in February 2024 at earliest. When we receive it, we will announce its receipt in this NEWS column, and will send small sheet to every distributors worldwide. WE ARE VERY SORRY FOR THIS SILLY AND CARELESS MISTAKE”.

Addendum -As of April 26, 2024, the manufacturer has released the Hinomaru decals originally missing from the printed sheet. There are two each of the wide (1.5mm) green trimmed fuselage Hinomarus and two each of the narrow (.75mm) green trimmed upper wing Hinomarus, labeled“”I” and “K” on the sheet, as well as additional kill markings for one aircraft. As stated on the “News” page of the Lifelike website: “When we printed 2nd version of 48-SP-01, we also printed small sheet of Hinomaru mark I/K that was lacking in the first version as well correction sheet for brighter kill marks of 46-061 a/c #2. We have already sent these small decals to distributors. When you want these sheets, please contact retail shop you purchased our Zero and Hinomaru decals.

If you find difficulty in getting these sheets, then please contact us by e-mail.”

For anyone wanting replacements for their Zero kit decals, This is definitely the only place you need to look.I gratefully thank Lifelike Decals and IPMS for the opportunity to use and review these decals.