The Zero doesn't come in white and red?

[Miragen 4,546]

The A6M is one of the most beautiful fighters of the war, and I always remember it for the white and red paintjob it's often displayed in.

 

Yet in game it doesn't exist in that color, only in more a sunfaded if not outright ugly color.

The D3A1 comes in those colors, and it looks amazing.

 

Does the Zero just not exist in those colors and is always misrepresented, or do we only get other version ingame that didn't have those colors?

[the_suztown 2,508]

Went and looked it up and it seems as though the white colour was a common misconception and most early A6Ms were painted in a brown-ish/caramel colour called "Ame-iro".

 

Obviously take this with a massive grain of salt and is a result of a 5 minute google search and a couple of webpages.

[Miragen 4,546]

I tried looking into it as well but it's apparently a very popular subject and a ton of information about it, but not specifically about the white ones but moreso the variety of colors and variations.

And with the D3A1 getting that color scheme it woulda atleast imply that it exists to some degree.

 

This just isn't really.. it.. I would love a white Zero if there is any historical basis for it.. there also aren't any skins for it on the market. 

Just really dissapointing.

Edited September 5, 2020 by Miragen

[Smin1080p 60,444]

I came across this subject a few years ago when making a model of an A6M2 also. Pretty much most box arts and some books depicted them as a white / ivory colour as was done in most movies too.

 

In reality, it seems the actual colour was a more off coloured caramel / sky / beige that is closer to for example early RAF aircraft undersides (See Spitfire / Hurricane Mk I for example). 

 

The "Brilliant White" colour doesn't seem to have any historical backing. Most airworthy or museum aircraft are now represented in a more true colour.

 

[the_suztown 2,508]

7 minutes ago, Miragen said:

D3A1 getting that color scheme it woulda atleast imply that it exists to some degree.

Well thats something else I noticed, there is a consensus that any japanese aircraft depicted in white may have been the same colour as the Zero but there is very little hard evidence left to draw a full conclusion.

 

The only thing that is really being agreed on is that the ivory white is wrong.

[tester188@psn 1,413]

In a recent study by historians, the early Zero was painted gray. When the gray paint deteriorates, it becomes a reddish color. It was recovered on Guadalcanal Island.

https://magazine.mercari.com/hobby/collection/katabuchi

[Miragen 4,546]

38 minutes ago, Smin1080p said:

The "Brilliant White" colour doesn't seem to have any historical backing. Most airworthy or museum aircraft are now represented in a more true colour.

 

 

To be fair, even this one looks better than any version we get ingame, that all look roughed up, a mismatch of color as if the plane was rebuild after a crash and they put some spare parts together, a lot of parts with damaged paint making it look neglected and left outside for a few years.

 

Even if the color is accurate, and I mean one of the many on there probably is, it still looks very roughed up.

 

Compared to the one in the picture, granted it's a museum piece and not a combat ready plane, it looks really clean and sleek.

 

 

7 minutes ago, tester188@psn said:

In a recent study by historians, the early Zero was painted gray. When the gray paint deteriorates, it becomes a reddish color. It was recovered on Guadalcanal Island.

 

 

https://magazine.mercari.com/hobby/collection/katabuchi

 

Also read that the black cowling in the sun starts looking grey or blue'ish after a while, possibly some anti-glare protection.

Edited September 5, 2020 by Miragen

[Smin1080p 60,444]

9 hours ago, Miragen said:

 

To be fair, even this one looks better than any version we get ingame, that all look roughed up, a mismatch of color as if the plane was rebuild after a crash and they put some spare parts together, a lot of parts with damaged paint making it look neglected and left outside for a few years.

 

Even if the color is accurate, and I mean one of the many on there probably is, it still looks very roughed up.

 

Well the ones in game are supposed to represent combat aircraft. If you look at any historical photos of Japanese aircraft, they were always extremely worn and scratched. They have heavy weathering and use.

 

The photo I showed for colour reference was a museum example, so naturally is going to be sparkling and clean as an exhibit, but thats not correct for a combat game setting. 

 

As for the Mod 11 having mismatched colours, thats correct for the particular group of aircraft we are trying to represent

 

[Miragen 4,546]

I mean like I said, obviously that's a museum piece, as for the wear on the model, they obviously don't roll out the factory like that, it's still a design choice to represent the vehicle in a worn manner rather than new or new'ish.

 

Whilst I appreciate the historical accuracy, part of the appeal of the game is also being able to enjoy and appreciate historical vehicles in a way you never could before, in high quality models, sounds you get to enjoy some legendary vehicles, and you want them to look good.

Gaijin obviously is aware of this, by locking the vehicle condition slider behind a paywall, so people can have their vehicles look more factory new. 

 

And whilst for tanks, that are just giant hunks of metal, roaring engines, some wear and dirt can actually make them look better, but you don't want your planes to be banged up, covered in dirt and whatever, I just feel it's a bit of a shame these are represented in such a rough manner that takes away from the visual aspect of the game, flying one of the most amazing planes of WW2 and it looks like I just found it in a barn 20 years after the war.

 

I realize a lot of planes have this wear on them, but with the light colored paint, the color scheme it comes out particularly bad on the A6M unfortunately.

[Th3hadyn 5,881]

Imo for the in game Zeros, they have the problem of having very dated visual models. So far as i'm aware, they are some of the oldest models in the game that aren't ported from Wings of Prey. I think they could do with a touch up at some point, similar to what the merlin Spitfires, Hurricanes and Yaks got. The A6Ms are one of the most famous WW2 fighters out there. So imo they should get some love at some point.

[Miragen 4,546]

Didn't they get an update at some point? I vaguely recall something like that.

 

But I agree, out of all the planes in the game, the Zero is one of the most iconic ones and I don't feel they received the love they deserve. 

[Target1331 3,054]

8 hours ago, Miragen said:

Didn't they get an update at some point? I vaguely recall something like that.

 

But I agree, out of all the planes in the game, the Zero is one of the most iconic ones and I don't feel they received the love they deserve. 

Nope, they were not updated. Still the Birds of Steel (BoS) model for most of them (or based on it, but added later, e.g. the recent Chinese A6M2). Here the updates, when each variant was added:

Vehicle	Added
A6M2 [CN]	1.93
A6M2	BoS
A6M2 Mod.11	1.39
A6M2-N	BoS
A6M3	BoS
A6M3 Mod.22	BoS
A6M3 Mod.22 ko	1.37
A6M5	BoS
A6M5 ko	1.25
A6M5 otsu	1.37
A6M2 [USA]	1.25

 

List in my signature has the update when each variant was added or if applicable updated (e.g. F4Fs were the last ones updated in 1.83, which is now almost 2 years ago).

 

Best regards,

Phil

[Miragen 4,546]

Borderline ancient models at this point then, guess that can be said for a lot of models. Would be nice if they get updated at some point as the discrepancy between old and new models is pretty noticable, but I question if that is ever going to happen.

 

Maybe then can handpick some of the iconic ones and clean those up, but I suppose that's just a pipe dream.

 

Thanks tho.

 

Edited September 7, 2020 by Miragen