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I inherited this model from the late Tom Weinel, former F8U Crusader pilot, model builder and Naval Aviation curmudgeon. It arrived in a largely-constructed state, but i needed to take a few steps backwards in order to fix some elemental construction issues in order to get some assemblies to play well with each other- mainly the upper fuselage seam and the leading edges of the wing. Either due to kit design or operator error, the wing did not "sit" in proper alignment with the fuselage saddle when i test fit it. As usual, i wrote an extensive "Deep Dive" (some may call it an incoherent, rambling diatribe) on building this huge Douglas monster. It is available here: Let me get the executive summary out of the way. Subject: Douglas A3D-1 Skywarrior, BuAer No. 135431 from VAH-123. NAS Whidbey Island, WA, 1962. Kit: Hasegawa A3B Skywarrior, Kit No. 04041 Scale: 1/72 (You'll need to pay me to build a bigger one) Additional Parts Used: Resin Nose Radome and 20MM tail Gun installation from Hasegawa A3D-2 Skywarrior "Early Version", kit No. 00029; resin main wheels from Reskit, part no. RS72-0170. Paints Used: Tamiya Acrylics mixed to FS595 specs per guidance found over at www.replikator.club; Tamiya LP-series metallic lacquers and Mr Color Lacquers for the undersides and the faded orange. Decals: National Insignia from Fundekals sheet FD 72-011; BuAer Numbers and Modex codes robbed from Microscale sheet 72-26 and Zotz RA-5 Vigilante decal sheet; Itty Bitty BuAer numbers kluged together from a couple of Eagle Strike/AeroMaster F-4 decal sheets. Modifications/Additions: "Blunt" nose and tail cut from fuselage and replaced with earlier version nose and tail from the Hasegawa "Early Version" kit. The Quickboost conversion parts i think are identical, and should work as well. Intake Bullets had the oil cooler inlets drilled out and plugged with tubing of smaller inside diameter; Bullets were subsequently filed, sanded, and re-profiled to make them more pointed. Intakes were cut from front of nacelle and seams were filled on inside; subsequently primed, masked and painted the insides before re-attaching to the nacelle. Aerodynamic fairings removed from inboard sides of engine pylons and corresponding gaps and cavities filled. Inboard wing slat panel lines eradicated. This was required in order to backdate the aircraft to A3D-1 standard. Locating pins on the nacelles removed and replaced with longer, more substantial pins made from Copper rod. Nacelles were painted and weathered prior to mounting on the wings, towards the very end of the painting stage. Anti-collision beacons removed. Fuselage Fuel Vent Mast replaced with smaller, earlier version, mounted on underside of left tailplane. Void between top of nosewheel tyre and inner side of nosewheel fork opened out and cleaned up Multiple layers of filler, added to rear of canopy at the base to improve the profile and integrate it better with surrounding fuselage sheet metal. Weathering: Panel lines highlighted with mix of Model Master Grey enamels; Oil, Lubricant, and Hydraulic leaks depicted with Windsor & Newton Payne's Grey artists oils; Hand prints and foot traffic depicted with Tamiya Weathering Master, Set B "Soot". Shadowing on landing gear, flap tracks, gear doors etc. done with a wash of water, Future, and Tamiya Flat Black. This model came to me with the interior already assembled and painted, so with the exception of a wash i added, some seam filling and the addition of masking tape belts, there is nothing else added. Late in construction i discovered the model did not have sufficient nose weight, so i fixed this by mixing copper BB shot with 5 minute epoxy and i poured it in through the opening for the lower entrance hatch/bailout chute (having masked off the surrounding surfaces first, to prevent epoxy drips from ruining the finish). The model was a test case for closing up 90-degree gaps by using a combination of black woodworking CA, and bare metal foil. The result was a joint that was not eliminated, per se but mitigated to a degree where it was appropriate for scale. This allowed me to delay engine installation until after the model had been painted. Since the model came to me with the wings assembled, it was not practical to cut out, and depict the aerodynamically actuated Douglas slats (something of an Ed Heinemann design trademark). While it would make the model more accurate, it would definitely complicate the assembly task in the construction end game. BuAer 135431 was the 39th Skywarrior built, and was part of the second batch of A3D-1s. Originally delivered in overall gloss sea blue, it was assigned to NATC at Pax River and served as a service test aircraft. I'm not sure if it ever went to sea with an operational squadron, but it was re-painted in the Light Gull Grey over Gloss White paint scheme and assigned to VAH-123; the west coast A3D Fleet Replacement Group. Many of the aircraft in the squadron wore high visibility Fluorescent Orange markings as a preventative measure against midair collisions. The dayglo did not stand up to the elements very well, losing its fluorescence first, then fading to a pumpkin orange colour before the dayglo wore away exposing the white primer underneath. I based this model off a profile photo found in the Aerofax book on the A3D, written by the late Rene Francillon. Other photos taken of different aircraft from the same squadron helped to "Fill in" the knowledge gaps, so the markings represent something of an only partly informed, educated guess. Omission of the twin 20MM cannon in the tail was not an oversight; Early on in the service testing and evaluation, the gun system showed poor reliability and it's effectiveness as a defensive measure was uncertain at best. This was my first test using the Tamiya LP- series of metallic lacquers and For the most part they worked well. I used a 50-50 mix of LP-11 Silver and LP-61 Metallic Gray for the stainless steel "hot sections" on the aft engine nacelles. Masking the canopy framing was difficult and only made bearable by using the KV Models vinyl A3D canopy masks. They are accurately cut but they are somewhat thick and occasionally they had difficulty adhering to some of the tighter radii on the upper canopy. Eduard masks would have been my first choice, since the washi-paper material is thinner and it sticks well enough to the clear part, but not too well. The thickness and tenacity of the KV masks combined with the multiple coats of filler, primer, paint, and clear coats resulted in chipping when the masks were removed the first time. This required substantial re-work. Speaking of the canopy, it's thin and clear, but the attachment to the fuselage is problematical because it sits on a curved "saddle", as it were. Also, built from the box, the canopy profile has an exaggerated bubble shape when simply placed onto the model. The A3D canopy was actually integrated fully into the surrounding sheet metal structure and it was not installed as an afterthought. I applied multiple layers (3, i think) of Mr Surfacer 500 to the back of the canopy to build up the profile and blend it in more seamlessly with the upper fuselage. However, i think it was definitely worth the effort. I would like to take more photographs of the finished model, but right now i need to take a breather and ponder my next project. I have another Buccaneer close to the finish line, a Boeing 720B in progress and of course there's still more decals to put on the Phantom. As the largest and heaviest aircraft to serve aboard a carrier, the A3D makes an impressive centre piece in a Carrier-Based Naval Aviation collection. While it seems somewhat simplified compared to contemporary offerings from Academy, Airfix, and Clear Prop etc. It's a good starting point for just about any A3D Skywarrior one would choose to build. Fly Navy!

Hi all, I am currently building a Trumpeter TA-3 Skywarrior and am really struggling to find any decent pictures of the cockpit area other than the instrument panel and was wondering if the BM collective could point me in the right direction to find some, especially of the rear cockpit area. Many thanks in advance. Craig. 🇺🇦

Douglas A3D Skywarrior Warpaint Series No.112 This latest volume in the Warpaint series by Guideline covers the Douglas A3D Skywarrior and its variants. The book is produced in Guideline's standard Warpaints layout with this volume being compiled and presented by Charles Stafrace. Full colour profile illustrations are provided by Richard J. Caruana who has also included two large profile and plan diagrams to 1:72 scale. There are 90 pages of historical content which is nicely interspersed with good quality photographs of the relevant aircraft being discussed with most of the images being in colour. For those who are not interested in 'boring grey' machines, there are quite a few hi-vis liveries included as shown on the page below. One interesting aspect, of use to the historians and modellers alike, is the inclusion of six pages that detail the deployments of the aircraft to Carrier Air Wings and their parent carrier. The list includes CVW designations, dates joined and left, plus Theatre of Operation (i.e.Vietnam etc.) and airframe type. The photos that intersperse the narrative are clear and of good quality and show some unusual modifications and markings. This should please those modellers who wish to enhance their builds with something a little different from the norm. The book finishes off with a few pages of close-up views, showing detailed views of the aircraft. There is also a page depicting the kits, decals and accessories and these details include producer, part-reference number, scale and aircraft version. Some of the items listed are possibly not currently available but it is still a good reference for the modeller. Two large sets of diagrams have been drawn by Richard J. Caruana to 1:72 scale. Both sheets are printed on a single pull-out sheet, measuring 59cm x 40cm, and provide details of the A3D-2 (early); A-3B; A-3D; EA-3B; ERA-3B and KA-3B airframes. The view below shows a section of one of the sheets. Conclusion This a very interesting book and I have enjoyed reading the narratives and seeing liveries and markings that I didn't realise were in use during the A-3's timeline. There should certainly be plenty to interest any post-war, US Navy, large jet aircraft enthusiasts with the content contained in which, in my view, is an excellent publication and highly recommended to adorn anyone's aviation/naval shelves. Review sample courtesy of

Some test shots parts from the future Trumpeter 1/48th Douglas A3D-2 Skywarrior kit (ref 02868) were presented at the USA IPMS Nats 2012 at Orlando. Appear (too) briefly in this video between 3:36 & 3:39 Hope to see soon some pics of this kit that is supposed to be out in late 2012 or early 2013. Source: Source: http://scalemodels.ru/images/2011/12/1324713102_14.jpg'>http://scalemodels.r...24713102_14.jpg V.P.

A rushed post on a Sunday night before departing up the line to work for the week. trumpeter's KA-3B, detail is excellent, but fit in some places is poor (internal bulkheads mostly too wide - luckly a tip from Zone-Five warned me off on this one). 3 pictures for now and I'll edit with some more text when I get 5 minutes!

A3D-2 Photo-Etch Sets (for Trumpeter) 1:48 Eduard Trumpeter's new kit of the overlooked Douglas Skywarrior has received a bit of a kicking over the details of its main gear bays, and some other more minor aspects too, but it is an injection styrene kit of an unusual subject, which hasn't been available in this scale before. Eduard's new Photo-Etch (PE) sets aim to improve the detail throughout in a modular fashion that allows the modeller to pick and choose where to spend their time and hard-earned money. Interior (49665) Consisting of two sheets of PE, one pre-painted and self-adhesive that measures 7cm x 5.8cm, and a bare brass sheet measuring 7cm x 8.6cm, it covers the cockpit area. The pre-painted sheet holds a complete set of new instrument panels that laminate together to form highly detailed replacement for the raised detail on the kit panels, which should be removed before installing. It also includes rudder pedals, side console panels, sidewall quilted insulation batting, a number of instrumentation boxes and some extra detail or replacement parts to improve other boxes within the cockpit. Seatbelts (49677) This set Measures 7cm x 5.9cm and contains a full set of seatbelts for the three main crew seats, plus the rear jump-seat that sits against the cockpit bulkhead. It also includes a set of seat cushions that are designed to be deformed from behind with a ball-point pen to give a more organic representation of the cushion material. Brackets for the jump-seat harness and front seat-box and head-box skins are also included to add extra detail to the front seats. Undercarriage (48791) Comprising two sheets of brass measuring 7cm by 11.7cm and 14cm respectively, this set includes detail for the three gear bays, and although it doesn't address the see-through triangular hole that has been the cause of much hand-wringing, it does improve the detail already present. The nose gear bay is made up from individual panels, and these are augmented by various skins and wiring looms after the moulded-in detail is removed. The nose gear leg also receives a new PE oleo-scissor link, and some wiring/hose work to the side, as do the main gear legs, which also have a new hub-cap added, dished by rolling a ball-bearing around until it matches the profile of the hub. In the main gear bays, the detail is uprated by skins, wiring looms and additional equipment boxes. The "floor" of the bay is also given a new set of scale ribbing with tapered nosing along the outer edge in a very visible area. The gear bay doors are skinned and detailed before being added to the bays with the kit retraction jacks mounting to new brackets on the door skin. Bomb Bay (48764) It is immediately evident by the weight of the package that this is a large set, and inside are three frets of brass, two of which measure 14.4cm x 9.2cm, with the third only slightly smaller at 14cm x 7cm. It is a pretty comprehensive update, including highly detailed skins for almost every part of the bay, the results of which are a sight to behold. The bay doors are skinned with more representative skins with circular perforations showing through to the interior, while the lower edges of the bay are similarly skinned, and a latticework of beams link it to the racking in the roof of the bay. The rack is folded up from a single part, and cross-beams are added to give it lateral strength, while a myriad of small brackets are formed along the raised edges to add extra visual interest. The lightened beams are folded up and have top and bottom flanges added to create a H-shape with tapering ends. These are laid at intervals along the rack, with ten created in total. Optional cross-members are folded up to create bases for the bomb-crutches, and although only two are shown in the instructions, there are six crutches provided, each of which has a pair of mounting rails that slot into the brackets at the sides of the rack. The most effective aspect of this set is that the kit detail is still visible in part through the gaps in the rack and the latticework that holds it in place, giving a pleasing 3D look to the area that was lacking before. Conclusion Of course you could have a moan that Eduard haven't added the hole between the two main gear bays, but a cursory look at some photos on the net leads me to believe that could be added by the application of some moderate modelling skills. What is provided is well detailed, and will improve the look of your Skywarrior immensely. If you're planning on opening the bomb bay, I'd recommend that set as a necessity! Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Douglas A-3 Skywarrior, pics by bootneck