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Border Model Zero in 35th scale
Border Model are releasing their next 35th scale kit soon. This comes as rather surprising news, considering they just announced their Nakajima B5N2 Type 97 Kate. That was accompanied by a flight deck as a separate kit and very few would’ve guessed that Border will hit us with a new kit immediately after. Obviously though, that was carefully planned. If you wonder why, well, we also wondered. But what we wondered about was why Border are releasing Kate, instead of a Zero. Nakajima’s bomber is very good addition to any line, but Mitsubishi’s legendary fighter is what everybody speaks about when it comes down to WWII actions in the Pacific.
Mitsubishi Zero is well represented in 48th scale and last addition to that line came from Eduard on top of everything. We know perfectly well how good they are. In 32nd on the other hand, Zero is represented by Tamiya, which needs no further comment. Nevertheless, we’ll add few words. Tamiya’s Zero in 32nd was their very first of that line. By “that line” we mean the newly tooled, almost perfect kits, that continued in the face of Spitfire, Mustang, Mosquito and Corsair. They are brilliant in every aspect imaginable and Japanese model maker started with the lagendary Zero on purpose. That was a while ago.
Now, Border are going to try their luck on the Zero arena. However in 35th scale. As we all know, they are trying to somehow alter the known course of modeling scales and change planes to fit tanks and helicopters in one unified – 35th – scale, which is probably not a bad idea at all. It is unusual, uncommon and probably unwanted by many, but it is a change. And a change is something that is guaranteed in life. Probably the only thing with a warranty tag.
Adding to that is the way Border model are approaching their subjects. As you can see on the pictures Border presented on their FB page, this kit features nice panel lines as well as variety of rivets, complex enough to be admired. How accurate their Zero will be is yet to be confirmed, but the effort they make is what we are focusing on here. The tempo with which the Chinese model maker are producing their 35th scale planes is astonishing. The level of detail demonstrated does not fail to surprise, having in mind how quickly everything unfolds too. That is of course, continuation and apparent knowledge gained from their armor kits.
So, all in all, this is a blitz-release from Border, which we are about to evaluate rather soon. It is admirable how fast they are doing things in the far East and how many interesting subjects they approached. They already have Fw-190, Bf-109, Stuka, etc. Now they are about to introduce the mighty Zero. Latter one a plane that is rather controversial and highly heated subject among historians, who all agree solely on its qualities in the air.
Hopefully, Border did a good enough job with this new release and we will get a new Zero in another /different & unusual/ scale in 2023. Not that Tamiya needed an immediate replacement, but it is nice to have another one of those and in different scale. One thing is certain – Border’s approach will significantly differ from Tamiya’s, Hasegawa’s and Eduard’s, which will expand even more the Mitsubishi Zero universe for the modelers.
Pictures are courtesy of Border Models’ FB page
