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Hello everyone: This letter about the short -tail Zero was an error on my part due to a photo that was altered long after being taken, which I realized only AFTER a more original version of the photo was brought to my attention...
Unlike what were the arguments made to me about this mysterious short-tail Zero, this error in photo interpretation had nothing to do with lens distortion at the moment the photo was taken: These distortions are almost always detectable, with a "bulbous" look or a "vitrified" look that is almost always very obvious...
It is a case of REPRODUCTION error, but such errors tend to be on one ENTIRE axis, not selective in the area affected: It is what makes this example of altered reproduction so unusual: It affected the tail only, and in a very discrete manner...
This is due here to the gradual curvature of a book's binding which made the transition from distorted to undistorted invisible: As it got more extreme towards the book's binding, you can see the image was cropped to "conceal" the effect... No lens effect whatsoever here, and the front end matches all other photos perfectly...
The original unaltered photo matches other photos and the new Tamiya model kit quite well, and shows that, despite what was said about lens distortion, an unaltered photo that is not obviously distorted is quite reliable... Without tampering!
Original photo:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j215/jicehem/Photoavecreprages_.jpg
Mysteriously "altered" tail version (matches forward of rear of canopy, NOT behind):
http://www.warbirdphotographs.com/NavyBWZeros/A6M7-M63-4.jpg
Sorry to anyone I might have mislead with my "short-tail" Zero theory...
Fortunately such peculiar image alterations are not common...
Gaston
P.S Note that my measurements off four actual Zeroes show the Tamiya kit 1" too long in the tail between the canopy rear and the rudder hinge: 138 inches instead of the correct 137", or a small .5 mm in 1/48th. The 1/48th Tamiya kit also has the root of the leading edge of the fin 2 inches too far forward, slanting it too much by 1mm at the root. The ailerons are also far too narrow in chord, 1mm plus, and the nose deck side profile is also too short by 1-2 mm.
The canopy is the only accurate one in 1/48th, and the kit is still overall by very far the best Zero in 1/48th scale... The discussion below pre-dates this edit of this original post....
G.
Hello everyone: This letter about the short -tail Zero was an error on my part due to a photo that was altered long after being taken, which I realized only AFTER a more original version of the photo was brought to my attention...
Unlike what were the arguments made to me about this mysterious short-tail Zero, this error in photo interpretation had nothing to do with lens distortion at the moment the photo was taken: These distortions are almost always detectable, with a "bulbous" look or a "vitrified" look that is almost always very obvious...
It is a case of REPRODUCTION error, but such errors tend to be on one ENTIRE axis, not selective in the area affected: It is what makes this example of altered reproduction so unusual: It affected the tail only, and in a very discrete manner...
This is due here to the gradual curvature of a book's binding which made the transition from distorted to undistorted invisible: As it got more extreme towards the book's binding, you can see the image was cropped to "conceal" the effect... No lens effect whatsoever here, and the front end matches all other photos perfectly...
The original unaltered photo matches other photos and the new Tamiya model kit quite well, and shows that, despite what was said about lens distortion, an unaltered photo that is not obviously distorted is quite reliable... Without tampering!
Original photo:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j215/jicehem/Photoavecreprages_.jpg
Mysteriously "altered" tail version (matches forward of rear of canopy, NOT behind):
http://www.warbirdphotographs.com/NavyBWZeros/A6M7-M63-4.jpg
Sorry to anyone I might have mislead with my "short-tail" Zero theory...
Fortunately such peculiar image alterations are not common...
Gaston
P.S Note that my measurements off four actual Zeroes show the Tamiya kit 1" too long in the tail between the canopy rear and the rudder hinge: 138 inches instead of the correct 137", or a small .5 mm in 1/48th. The 1/48th Tamiya kit also has the root of the leading edge of the fin 2 inches too far forward, slanting it too much by 1mm at the root. The ailerons are also far too narrow in chord, 1mm plus, and the nose deck side profile is also too short by 1-2 mm.
The canopy is the only accurate one in 1/48th, and the kit is still overall by very far the best Zero in 1/48th scale... The discussion below pre-dates this edit of this original post....
G.
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