DaveJL

Finally, a start! As always, the ordnance to begin. The kit's AIM-9s are fairly soft in detail so I replaced these with a pair from a Tamiya F-16. The AIM-120s are nicely done and the correct B version of the missile, with the larger rear fins. The fuel tanks needed a good tidy up along the seam, but of course I made a mess of re-scribing some detail so will need to be re done! Pylons next. More seams to tidy. The Jet Passion BOL rails are excellent. Wings: Not much but we're off. A set of lovely 3D printed intakes arrived a few weeks back, courtesy of @wellsprop. Finally, I think I've settled on a serial number, simply because I have a picture of it ... ZE693! Hoping to get a little done on the cockpit at the weekend. Dave

Cheers Craig! More done over the last couple of days. Wings on, some re scribing done then on with the IP and windscreen. I used one of the surplus canopies that Eduard provide as a mask for the cockpit. I'm not a fan of the etch pylon shackles so I found some better ones in the spares: All sub assemblies ready: The lovely drop tanks were removed from their blocks and tidied. These really are exquisite - I did find however that to get them to seat correctly on the pylons, I had to trim down the ridge on the upper surface. The etch fuel lines were an absolute pain, really a hateful job, but they look good once fitted. Just about ready for a lick of primer. All the various bits of painting - the stripes, nose and so on - are the bits that have put me off building a Mustang! Lots of 'firsts' to come Dave

Thanks chaps!

Glad it looks that way, truth is I couldn't be bottomed masking it all up

Thanks mate! For the wheel wells, I sprayed a base coat of black then MRP ‘Super Silver’. The instructions suggest Old Crow had the yellow chromate rear panel, so I used Tamiya XF-4 for that then painted the bits in the centre free hand with thinned XF-4. Flory wash to finish.

Thanks for the heads up, will take a look when I get to that stage! Managed a good bit of progress since the last update. Wings first, generally a good fit, though I did have some warped undercarriage parts (I've noticed this has been mentioned on other builds) and needed a little sprue goo to tidy up a bit of the leading edge join: Undercarriage bay was painted and weathered prior to fitting: Fuselage was also closed up. A good fit, though I do think I had a point out by just a hair which gave me a bit of a bigger seam line to clean up. Stabs and rudder on, along with the various vents on the underside: A question for those in the know regarding the large air scoop at the back, just fore of the tail wheel, would the roof, i.e not the door, be painted in the D-Day stripe colour or left as bare metal since it a visible part of the fuselage? The inside of the door and radiator or whatever it is are sprayed silver as things stand. The IP was also assembled, ready to fit: A little re-scribing and re-riveting (is that even a word? ) to do on the nose then I'll get the wings on. More soon. Dave

Thanks chaps!

Thanks all!

1/48 Tamiya A-1H Skyraider VA-25 'Fist of the Fleet' USS Midway, 1965 Build thread Cheers Dave

Hello all, Here is my recently completed 1/48 Tamiya A-1H Skyraider, marked as BuNo 139768 of VA-25 'Fist of the Fleet', flying off the USS Midway during the Vietnam war in 1965. Delivered to the Navy in 1956, this Skyraider served with VA-42 and VA-122 prior to being transferred to VA-25 in July 1964. On the 20th June 1965, this aircraft was piloted by Lt Clint Johnson and was credited with downing a North Vietnamese MIG-17 along with Lt Charlie Hartman. 139768 was passed to VA-115 in 1966 and forced to ditch in the Gulf of Tonkin due to battle damage in March 1967. Build thread: Extras used included: Aeromaster - decals Brassin - wheels and seat New Ware - masks Quickboost - canopy shroud Quinta - cockpit decals Bombs are from Hasegawa, paint is MRP and the weathering is mixture of Abteilung oils, Flory wash, AK pencils and Tamiya sets. Thanks for looking. Dave

Thanks mate, hope the build is of use to you! Final details added so we're done! More photos in RFI. Really enjoyed this one, something about a Spad that is just right! As always, thanks to all who commented on/followed the build, greatly appreciated. Cheers Dave

Cheers Craig!

Thanks chaps! Rest of the kablooey stuff is now on, then attached the prop for good measure. I went ahead and added a little more soot from the exhausts using neat oils. That's the airframe pretty much done so I added canopy opening handles from some Quinta bits that were in the spares. And popped in a map beside the coaming. Necessary before Google maps became a thing A few small details to add to the cockpit now. Hoping to have it done by Wednesday at the latest. Quite chuffed with how it's looking! More soon. Dave

Thanks Cliff! Managed to pop on the undercarriage. Couldn't resist and added both rocket pods and the bombs on one wing, along with the fuel tank. A small detail added - the gun camera port is just a void, so filled it some with some Canopy Zap PVA and added a dab of gloss. An idea entirely pinched from @Dads203 . You can see it between the innermost cannon and pylon. Next lot of bombs on tomorrow then just a few details around the cockpit to finish. Dave

Cheers Craig! I was thinking about adding a little more to the wings and exhausts but will see how I go towards the end