ARMS - The arms were left very much alone except for the two shields. The one on the right shoulder needed only an extra vernier and to be filled up with some putty. The shield on the left arm instead was more fun. I made a wide opening on the rear and added some new components, made with sprue and spare parts from old models, to simulate the extra armaments of this Zaku. Using thin plasticard, I added some more details to top of the shield, too. LEGS - The legs were the trickiest part of the whole model. The lower part of the legs has a complicated design that limits a lot the movement of the feet and of the knees. Moreover the verniers coming out of it are very cool but also very cumbersome, in particular those on the rear. I studied the few parts used to render the lower legs and started cutting off stuff. The upper part was completely cut off, to allow the knee an articulation of 90 degrees with the lower leg. I used plasticard to cover the exceeding gap left. Then I cut out about 4 mm of the internal part of the lower edge from both legs, shaping a nice curve and allowing a wider foot movement. The thickness of the part, originally rendered with an angled edge, was substituted with the thickness of real plasti

	card, applied inside the lower leg. On the back, I cut some more plastic to keep the line of the new design that I was giving to the part. The rear vernier original fixed housing was cut off in the process, so I came out with a new flexible arrangement for it, using steel wire connected to one of the inner plastic frames. This way the vernier is fixed much higher than before, it can move up and down a little and permits the movement of the foot, too. The frontal part of the lower leg was also cut out and made mobile, using a small hinge constructed with plasticard and copper wire fixed to the two parts. The movement is quite limited, but the effect is very nice. I designed a new scheme for the foot soles, too, not having any original design for that part at the time.  PAINTING - I used as usual Humbrol enamels. The main colours are Light Grey (HUMBROL MATT 64), Sea Grey (HUMBROL MATT 27) and Gun Metal (HUMBROL 53). The cockpit hatch was painted with Bright Red (HUMBROL 19) and then covered with Satin varnish. Decals and small painted details in white and black give the model the final touch.     Lewismaster

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