Gary Kitchen
Nice build comments. Following along. I have the Airfix and the Hasegawa for a dual build so nice to see where this goes.

Alex
Thinking about getting a Zero, so following your progress...

Ogre-Trombone Autor
Thanks, Gary. I added some additional comments to the sprue photos. Somehow I managed to accumulate three kits of the same aircraft, and this seemed like a good opportunity to thin the stash.

Nicolas
Following

Andy Ball
My money's on Tam....

Sam S
Following!

John
Following this one!

Spanjaard
vey nice comparison

Ogre-Trombone Autor
Probably a safe bet, @Andy, but for twice the money will it be twice as good? None of these kits will break the bank of course, but I'm curious to see just how much better Tamiya will prove to be.

Andy Ball
I did the Airfix-Tamiya side by side, I think you're right about the cost-to-build quality ratio…Airfix probably wins, but the Tamiya kit is worth the extra and it isn't tremendously more..IMHO…

Jennifer Franklin
following 👀

Ogre-Trombone Autor
It's been slow going as I finish a couple of other projects. I think I'm procrastinating about masking the canopies by focusing on other parts of the build. I'll clean and assemble the propellers next, but I should be able to prime this weekend.

Sy Bar
🍿👍

S M
Interesting comparison! Following!

Alberto
You have great skills with airbrush control 👍. The painting of the dark green one is very interesting

Guy Rump
I've really enjoyed going through your photos, great guide! Following! 👍

Carlo
I used the Tamiya XF-76 which I was really happy with, it's lighter than what you ended up with. I also used an Ultra Matt varnish from AK Interactive which gave it a really flat look.

Ogre-Trombone Autor
Thank you, @alberto, kits like this are a perfect opportunity to practice one's skills.

@carlo, I'm not enough of a Zeke aficionado to do anything other than trust the kit color recommendations. Next time I'll know. I am expecting that weathering and varnishing and especially adding decals will have the effect of toning down that color.

John E
Love these types of comparisons. Great work so far. Following.

Ogre-Trombone Autor
Painting has been a somewhat arduous process. I still need to touch up the belly of the Hasegawa kit before I can move on to gloss and decals. Masking and painting the markings has produced really nice results, but it's time consuming. Not pictured are the multiple touch-ups I've needed to do. The Vallejo chipping medium has not given me the kind of effect I wanted. It could be me, but I'm not convinced it's a great product. Maybe something else might work better.

Gary Kitchen
I'm sure I read on someone else's zero project that IJN paint was notoriously poor quality and so fading and wear was generally quickly occurring and very apparent.

John E
Coming along nicely. I read that A6Ms had a red oxide primer under the camo and on top of the bare metal. Might be of interest to your weathering. ipmsottawa.com/files..ide_Low_Tagaya_F.pdf

Ogre-Trombone Autor
Thanks for sharing, @John. That's a really cool doc! Tons of great info in there. I've seen some others apply a yellow-green wash to heavily weathered USN planes to hint at the primer layer; maybe I can do something similar with red.

Vincent
Very interesting project. Looking forward to the end results!!

S M
So cool chipping! 😎

John E
Looking good!

Harald Besold
Thank you for sharing your experiance.

CaptGPF
Well documented, step-by-step fly-off! Watching!

Łukasz Gliński
Not sure how I managed to miss it for so long, great work 👍

gasolier
Impressive weathering

Ogre-Trombone Autor
Thank you, @gasolier! I'm really trying to push myself with this project, both from the technique side and in my attention to detail when working from references. I still have a lot to learn.

John E
Looking great! The red primer and the rest of the weathering is very nice!

Thomas Kolb
That's a super impressing trio. I like the oil and dirt stain effect on the undersides, you really made a fine job on the chipping and paint discoloring as well. The comments made it fun to follow the build.

Ogre-Trombone Autor
I just realized that this "little" project took me almost 6 months! There were many gaps when I wasn't able to get to my bench, but I'm still surprised it took me this long. Anyway, I am happy to be finished and more or less pleased with the results. All three of them are very good kits, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of them. But having done my own side-by-side comparison, with Tamiya's kit standing out as the best of the three, why would you buy either of the others?
Some thoughts:
Airfix is an excellent kit for beginners. It's cheap! (I paid $10 USD for mine.) The instructions are clear and easy to follow, and the engineering and assembly are sensible. Even if the details are a little crude, it builds up well. There are times you wants something simple that can be built quickly without a lot of delicate work.
Hasegawa is also very reasonably priced. I found this kit for about $11 USD. Even though the cockpit is basic, with a closed canopy that doesn't matter so much. The surface detail is outstanding, making it a good platform for paint and weathering effects. (Not that the Tamiya kit is expensive, but you might be less inclined to experiment with it.) The decal options are compelling, particularly the one I chose, which inspired me to try out some new techniques.
Thanks to you all for following and indulging me in this exercise. More photos to follow!

Guy Rump
Very impressive results and variety of weathering. Congrats!

Nicolas
That's a very good result. Congrats.

John E
Thanks for the notes on the different kits. I built the Tamiya and loved it. The three came out great!

Jennifer Franklin
Excellent results on the "experiment". Those are interesting notes on the different kits. Thank you for sharing them.

Ogre-Trombone Autor
A few final photos to close the book on this project. This was a lot of fun. Thank you all for your kind words and attention!

Gary Kitchen
Great finishes and a great build thread to follow. Cheers. 👍

Neuling
Same as Gary! 👍

Spanjaard
+1👍

Łukasz Gliński
Very nice finish of this trio! Maybe the antennas are bit too thick for my taste, but the weathering is impressive 👍

Vincent
Great project Thanks for the detailed description!

Ogre-Trombone Autor
No doubt, @Łukasz Gliński. It was the best I could do at the time. I've ordered purpose-made rigging thread for future use. Thanks!

S M
Very impressive trio indeed!👍👍👍

Treehugger
Q: Is the measurement line on the MT-C Dspiae circle cutter tool you have, are those measuring lines usable, like are they accurate?
I have an old circle butter, but the measurement line is taped onto the tool, and isn't really usable. I always have to try and fail to get a proper circle size with the old one I have.
Re. photo #151

Ogre-Trombone Autor
@treehugger, the Dspiae tool can be hard to dial in... it takes a fair bit of trial and error. The marks can help get you in the neighborhood, but I find I need to do several test cuts before I get it just the right size. The good part is that once you've got it, you can cut as many as you need. That's usually at least four, so it ends up being a time saver, and the results are great. Getting the blade tension right also takes some practice, though you quickly get a feel for that.

CaptGPF
Agree with Ogre on the Dspiae tool - only thing to add is make sure you cut it on a hard surface, not a rubber mat