HwA

Thank you Selwyn. Now I know which panels to cut out from the kit.

I am starting on a 1/48 Academy hunter FGA.9 with sets from Flightpath and S.B.S model. I plan to place Flightpath's gun pack under the hunter but am clueless on the following questions. 1) Other than the gun pack, should I also remove the panels forward and aft of it on the model kit? 2) Notice from pictures that 3 bomb winches are used to lower/raise the gun pack. I cannot identify how the bomb winch on the underside attach to the fuselage. Any picture or drawings which illustrate the installation or location of the attachment point? 3) Does the aft fairing of the sabrinas remain on the fuselage during gun pack removal/installation? 4) I was told that gun barrels are unscrewed and push forward to allow the gun pack to remove from the fuselage. Do the gun barrels protrude out of the gun troughs when they are pushed forward or they remain invisible as usual.

Glued all undercarriage doors in close position. Also add epoxy putty to the inside of the doors to prevent them from collapsing into the opening. The cockpit of this kit is smaller than other brands A-4. The seat is so narrow that I cannot find any pilots slim enough to fit in it. End up making a simple pilot body shape with epoxy putty to sit into the tiny seat.

Joining this group build with this Esci kit which I received at no cost from a fellow modeler yesterday. I'm not sure if Blue Angels uses E version but since rivet counting is not an priority in this group build, I will just assemble it with whatever that come in the box.

Beautiful.

Amazing metal finishing. Looking like a real aeroplane. Absolutely love your way of weathering on this model.

Thank you Crowbar and those who "like" this thread. I'm lucky to walk away with a 2nd place in the event. Model suffer some minor damages on the way home. Will take some photos to post in the finishing line after repairing and touching up.

Thanks Oliver. Not much of update as It had been a rush to complete this model for a local event. The decal I purchase on ebay took more than double of what it usually need to arrive from USA and only reach my mailbox 2 days before the submission date. Manage to take photos tof both bombs and wheels this afternoon during the rush to complete it before the deadline this evening. Will try to update with more photos after collecting it back from the event tomorrow. Bombs from Hasegawa weapon set. Attempt to modify kit's wheel to resemble those on B-57. I had either shorten the nose landing gear too much or enlarge the chin pod too much. The clearance between the chin pod to the ground is only around 5mm now. Wish that I had done a more thorough dry fit before cutting the nose gear. The simple base for it which was complete 2 weeks ago.

Very beautiful. More close up photos please

Wow, there's so much details on your model. Absolutely love the canopy, rivets, wing speed brakes and those red covers and streamers. Did you modify the nose wheel gear for the aircraft to tilt nose down? I have not reach the stage of adding landing gears to my model and wondering if I should shorten the nose gear.

Thanks Mr B, Val, Canberra kid and Mike for your kind remarks. I hope I don't mess up the whole thing during weathering. Btw, is there any suggestion for white alphabet and number decals to replace those from the kit? Airfix has the tail number printed in grey instead of white. Hi Michael, the "clear masking film" is normal clear scotch tape. They are not as flexible as masking tape but is useful to cover bigger surfaces. These are the materials I use for masking.

Beautiful model

Finish adding colors on the top.

Beautiful and neat build. They look so nice together.

Nice finishing, make the black look interesting.