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Background Another project starts. This is a build that I’ve been intending to start for some time, but I was holding out to see if I could secure some of the previously available aftermarket parts to help with some additional details; they’re all (long?) out of production and availability is tending towards zero but after several years of periodic searching, a few months ago I stumbled on an auction of the kit “with lots of extras”, including Eduard phot-etch (although I already had a set), two sets of decals and, the much sought-for, Wolfpack-designs resin folded wings. I won the auction and the parts have sat waiting my attention since. The other parts I sought, I have all but given up looking for, these being the XMM resin intakes; but more of that later. I’ve got the Aires cockpit (early ICAP II) set, in fact I’ve two of them (probably a case of ordering parts when I’d forgotten I already had a set) and some ResKit wheels. The rest will need tinkering with the kit itself. I also bought a Kinetic kit, and some aftermarket parts, purely for research, but I’m sure that I’ll build that too one day (when I’ve more storage space perhaps). I remember that I built this model back in the 80s; I though it was quite early in the 80s due to where we lived when I made it, but I’m not going to trust my memory on this as Scalemates has the later boxings (which I think it was) only emerging in the late 80s. I think that I built it, an early Hasegawa F14A (aftermarket decals – low vis VF111) and an A-4E (or M?) at about the same time. I’d used low vis aftermarket decals rather than the hi-vis ones in the kit… so I’m quite sure it was this actual boxing. I remember struggling with the split forward canopy (why do they do it like that?) and remembering that the decals were quite pale against the colour I’d finished it in using Humbrol enamels… but that’s about it. So, here we are almost 4 decades later, with the same kit on the bench, but with a hope of producing a better end result; I’ll certainly be spending a little longer on this build… so I hope you’ll be patient with me as I go along this journey. Hasegawa Prowler project commences by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Wings The first thing I wanted to check is whether the wings were ok. I’d read that some of them were cast short, or small (?) so I kept my fingers crossed and removed them from their casting pieces and did a few test fits on the fuselage halves. I think I’d seen from other’s use that they come up a little short at the exhaust, but a slither of plasticard will sort that when they’re installed, but the test fit seemed positive. Some filler and fettling will be required to get a seamless join, but that’s just modelling. Kit parts and resin wings test fit by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr In looking at the wings more closely, I realized that both of the outer pieces were warped a little (after years of being in their bag on the casting pieces). The photo shows the extent of the warp. Slightly warped outer wings by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr I forgot to take a post-process photo, but after advice from a good mate I put some ‘nearly’ boiling water in a bowl and immersed each one (at a time) into the bowl for a few seconds then removed it and applied gentle pressure by hand to bend it the other way and straighten it. After two or three attempts on each wing, they were straight. I accomplished this during a quiet moment in the kitchen one Saturday evening whilst the good wife was watching Eurovision in the front room; I think my time was better spent. I’d been thinking about how I’ll present the model once finished; it’s a long-term plan, but one that needs considering through the build rather than at the end. I’ve a spare Trumpeter display case (316mm x 276mm x 136mm) the other two of which I made ‘concrete apron’ display boards upon which to display my wings-forward Tomcats, with ACMI pod fits) I used one of these boards to place the model on, along with an A-6, just to see if both could be accommodated with wings folded. I used my Italieri A-6E Tram for this purpose… although the Trumpeter one may arrive before I get started on that. The Italieri kit looks ‘ok’ but is a little simpler that what I’d like to model, but we’ll see how things go. And yes, I know there’s a Trumpeter EA-6B due too… no doubt it’ll be available once I’m part way through this build. We’ll see. But, a plan for the two alongside each other on a board presented as a carrier deck (I have the Brengun etched tie-downs set somewhere) will be considered. A number of Reedoak figures will be painted up, and maybe some of the Fujimi figures I have too for the background. I’ve some Verlinden tractors that could compliment the scene too... so this will not be a short build. But those resin wings will mean that such a display is possible. Planning a display by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr The model So, lets get started with the model. One thing, before we do. I’m not sure when the model I had was made, but the mouldings weren’t as crisp as I remembered. A year or two ago, I picked up a pair of kits with very tatty boxes for a very good price – which were in Hasegawa/Hales boxes: a Tracker and a Prowler. Boxes and decals had suffered damp issues and were shot but the kits are fine. The prowler in this instance is a nice and crisp moulding, so I’ll use this one for the majority of the build, although some re-engraving will be undertaken to deepen some of the around-panel lines and add a few fasteners. The fuselage is a little warped, but pulls together neatly with a little tape around the extremities. The other fuselage will serve as a practice piece for trials of modifications to come… and with a pair of Aires cockpits, I’m sure I’ll build that one too at some point. One other advantage of the older boxing is that it came with darkened glazing. I need to look at these and compare them with what I want the model to eventually look like. The forward windscreen will have the ‘armoured glass’ blue tint but the canopies will need their unique gold tint (gold plate to protect the crew from the high-energy radio frequency emissions of the aircraft jamming antennas) and how I apply that will be something to experiment with… so I might not use the dark-tinted pieces after all. I’ll be building this in an order that suits my approach; I’ll not be following the instructions except where I need to; let’s face it, this isn’t the most complicated of kits… but what I’m doing means there will be a certain amount of sub assembly done and jumping around to get to where I’ll need to get it too in the end. Cockpit So, having said the above, the first part of the build starts with the cockpit anyway. The kit parts in this regard are quite shameful. Yes, Eduard initially went to great trouble to add parts to improve this area, but the resin replacement part that came along (with its photo etch parts too) is certainly the standard to beat. The Aires cockpit in firstly removed from its moulding parts and the main components (not all of them) assembled using tape and blue tack (why are there so many spellings of this?) to look at it’s fit into the fuselage. I was prepared for some serious surgery here, knowing that few Aires cockpit tubs fit without some cleaning out of the kit sides, and this was no exception… except, where the instructions said to remove material (insides of cockpit side steps and the bits to cut away) wasn’t far off all that was needed; which was good. Aires cockpit pieces removed from 'sprue' by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr The cockpit for this kit is certainly exquisite; whilst many of the parts Aires produce are stunning, in this instance, with such a large open tub, the detail is not only amazing, but there’s a lot of it and it will all be visible once the kit is finished, so it’s worth spending time on to get right. Fuselage surgery started with removing the front coaming and the rear cockpit rear panel; I used a 0.9mm drill in a pin vice to add holes on the cut side of the parts, trimmed away with some sprue cutters and then removed the remaining pieces with an abrasive bit in a mini-drill which made short work of the Hasegawa plastic. Fortunately, the plastic in the kit is typical Hasegawa, being quite firm (rather than the soft plastic of certain Margate based companies – although that now has improved considerably) so cutting away was measured but with some success. The inner faces of the cockpit area identified by Aires were also removed using the min-drill, along with some thinning of the central arch prior to a first test fit. First cut... drill and cutaway for Aires cockpit by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr A test fit was undertaken using lots of tape and blue tack to hold it all together. Several times, this would be undertaken until I was satisfied that enough material had been removed to allow a more stress-free fit of the tub. The only real positive locating guide is that of the lip on the rear of the rear cockpit, so I let that be my guide. This suggested that the front coaming was a little short of where it needed to be and after several attempts at verifying this I decided that some research may be needed to see of more revising was required. First test fit before (lots of) fettling by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Looking at how another modeler had used the Aires part, I noticed in one photo that he’d cut and shimmed the cockpit tub to lengthen it. I decided that I would try the same… but noted that it didn’t need much. The cut, down the middle of the section between cockpits was made using a fine saw, the cut width being 0.5mm (I measured this for reference later, seeing how much material the cut would remove and thus shorten the tub… I then added a shim of plasticard (about 1mm) thus giving a net lengthening of 0.5mm. The photo shows a crude reassembly prior to test fit with a much thicker piece inserted… which I decided was too thick after a quick first fit and replaced with the thinner piece I mentioned. Decided cockpit needed lengthening by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr But a further test fit now put the front cockpit coaming closer to the front of the cut out, which I viewed as much better. Another reference point (looking at photos) is the position of the throttles (just visible in photos) and how far aft they are of the rear of the windscreen frame. Later photos will see the windscreen piece sat on the fuselage halves, that I used to make this check… and I was happy that the slight lengthening put these is about the right location. Lengthened cockpit... better fit by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Another view, this time looking forward into that delightful resin cockpit tub. Forward looking view of cockpit test fit by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr I superglued the insert in the tub and then took this forward with further test fits as I started to apply the cockpit frame pieces around the exterior. Spliced cockpit with 1mm insert by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr The side pieces needed some fettling to get to settle and some trimming to sit where I wanted them to sit. The instructions suggested glueing the side sill onto the vertical inside pieces, but I found it better to trim the inside pieces to sit inside the cockpit walls and then fir the sills… for a more repeatable fit. At this point, I was still using blue tack to hold the tub in place so ‘fit’ was a little variable. Test fit, adding the surrounds by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr With the tub held in place this way, I used a sharp pencil to mark off the underside of the tub at the front and rear so that I could add four ‘shelves’ onto which the tub would sit. To give a positive location at the rear, I also beefed-up the rear frame to hold the tub positively and to fill-in the gaps that were otherwise evident around the cockpit’s rear. At the bottom of the picture you will also see a curved piece of plasticard that I attached to close-out the remaining gap forward of the coaming; I secured this with small triangles of plasticard/plastic strut, secured with superglue. In this photo you can probably also see the tabs I added to the fuselage halves to help give a better, more positive alignment of the two halves. Note that the between cockpits arch is now much, much thinner to allow the resin panels to sit with less stress on it. Packing out the rear section and braces for cockpit by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Here’s another image of the cockpit tub with the forward frame added. There’s lots more detail to add to the rear bulkhead of the front cockpit (and a bit to the rear) but I’ll tackle that later. For now, I’ll move on to another area of the kit. Cockpit forward piece added - gap filler by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Intakes So, let’s talk intakes. The kit is quite disappointing in this area as, quite simply, they’re blank. Having failed to find a set of the Russian XXM resin intakes anywhere, I pondered alternatives. The easy approach would be to just leave them. No, that wasn’t going to work for me. I thought about scratch building some intake blanks (I’d need exhaust blanks too), but when I looked through my reference library I failed to find (m)any photos that convinced me that these were used at any time apart from when the aircraft was stored in the hangar bay (or perhaps during an ocean transit). I found just one photo and that was of the exhausts blanked! So… what to do? I decided to dig out my A6 kits (Italieri A-6E and Fujimi EA-6A) and see how they tackled it. Well… that was enlightening! Each of the A6 kits has an attempt at providing some form of passage through to a compressor disc, but the Italieri compressor disk is tiny and whilst the Fujimi disk is the right size at about 10mm diameter (scaled from dimensions for a P&W J52) the intake itself is a little oddly shaped. However, both have cut-out intake splitter plates; the Fujimi kit has a half-diameter trunking piece. The intake shapes are however varied. The first photo shows the Hasegawa kit ‘blank’ intake alongside the Fujimi kit. Intakes... to see the compressor disk or just a blank? by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr A further comparison of the three kits sees the manufacturers attempts at intake shape. Let’s be honest here… this is nothing new (ever looked at the intakes offered on A-7s, of F-100s come to that) so the shape of these seems to be a challenge for most companies. I think in isolation, you could probably get away with any of them, but together they do tend to jump out a bit. I presume that there would have been subtle differences in the Prowler intake from that of the intruder, but not too much. I think the Hasegawa kit item shape isn’t too far off, although it is still a little egg-shaped (rather than symmetrical which I think it should be), but it’s possibly close enough; the Italieri seems too squashed and the Fujimi just too round… but… that was not the point of the exercise, so let’s use what we have and move on. Comparing intake lip shapes ... prowler and intruders by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr The intention was therefore to produce some form of trunking that would allow the compressor disk to be seen through the intake. I’ll use the Fujimi disk for now (as it’s about the right size – close enough) and attempt to fabricate something. Time for some prototyping! Because I’d already invested time on the fuselage parts I’m using, and because I didn’t trust myself to get this right first time, as I’d not tried this sort of thing before, I grabbed the fuselage parts from the other kit (header photo). Approximating what I could see in the Fujimi kit, and in looking at photos of the XMM pieces online, I set about the drill and cut process, opening up holes in the splitter plate piece and the fuselage intake section. Intake splitter plate and fuselage drill cut and file by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr I’d no idea what diameter of plastic tube I’d need (and I didn’t have any!) so I made a tube section from plasticard which I formed around the body of a pen and secured the two layers with Tamiya thin. I then guessed the shape that I’d need to cut out of this for a first test fit – then fettled more and more. First prototype components by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr A first test fit revealed lots of fettling would be needed, but that the approach might produce what I sought. First prototype test fit by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Clearly, I’d need something a little stronger, so I guesstimated the tube diameter and popped out to get some from a local model shop, settling in the end for some Evergreen 11.1mm diameter tube. A second prototype was made using this tube, with more an more refining of the shape to give a better ‘sit’ inside the fuselage. I also attacked the inside of the outer intake with white (fine) milliput to sculpt the intake trunking shape. I remember using the old green stuff years ago, but this was my first time using the white – and yes, I set a 7 minute timer when mixing/kneading the two-arts mix to ensure I got a good mix of the two white parts. Once attached and cured (overnight) some sanding, filing and cutting away (with a sharp blade) were necessary to get the shape I was after. It’s not perfect, but it’s a test piece and more care will be needed for the final item(s). This also shows the repairs to the now-fragile splitter plate piece, the fuselage hole now reduced in size and the prototype#2 trunking. Second prototype components by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr A test fit shows where this will go; still far from perfect but getting-there! Second prototype test fit by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr A third prototype was then made, trying to make it to match the shape of the second, in which I’d constantly added and removed sections for a better fit. Some repairs were needed to strengthen the corners of this… but this was still better than the second. The main tube is made from two sections that are spliced at an angle to ‘curve’ the tube… it’s not enough yet, so some more curving is needed. The next one may be three rather than two pieces. Second and third prototype pieces by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr The following photos show some of the test fits that I eventually achieved with No. 3. It’s still far from perfect but it’s getting there. So, some points to make here… 1. The intake trunking fouls the rear of the nose gear bay piece. I removed a lot of material off the outer corner of the gear bay and ultimately filed a flat onto the trunking to allow a stress-free fit. It’s till tight, so some further fettling will be required with the next version. 2. The inside face of the crew-access ladder is now paper thin. The XMM parts replace this altogether on one of the A6 kit parts, and it’d be better to do so here, but I’m still experimenting. As the photos sow, this doesn’t give a seamless trunking on the outer faces, but they’ll be difficult to see with the finished model – only the inner faces will be easy to see (see photos) so it might be good enough. Let’s see what prototype no. 4 gives me! 3. The intake piece needs tidying up between the outer part and splitter plate, to fill-in the corners seamlessly. Something that I’ll need to try when I come to final assembly of these parts. 4. The outer diameter has an additional tube piece glued to the outside to allow this to ‘sit’ against the fuselage outer wall and present a bonding surface to secure it. 5. Inner face has a ‘flat’ filed away where it meets the nose gear bay corner. 6. The front of the trunking has a small tab that secures to the inside of the fuselage, again, to allow correct positioning and to secure the part with glue. Third prototype test fit #1 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Third prototype test fit #2 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Third prototype test fit #3 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Third prototype test fit #4 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Prototype 3 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Third prototype test fit #5 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Third prototype test fit #6 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Third prototype test fit #7 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr So, that’s it for now. I need to use the parts I’ve made, and the holes I’ve cut, as templates to try the other side and hopefully improve again on the design and assembly. It’s a lot of effort (more than I’ve tacked before) and I’m still not 100% convinced that I can pull it off… but I’ll give it a go. I still need to determine how I’ll present a seamless trunking throughout the whole of the final assembly; but let’s get it’s structure and design sorted first. I guess I could always go back to plan b and add intake blanks if the end result isn’t good enough, but let’s see how this goes. I’m in no rush. Thanks for reading… and please throw you comments my way… especially any positive suggestions that could help this further. Cheers, Jonathan

Not really new, but quoted as such in the brand new Trumpeter catalogue 2015-2016, a 1/72nd Grumman A-6 Intruder/Prowler family. - ref. 01640 - Grumman A-6A Intruder - released - ref. 01641 - Grumman A-6E Intruder - released - ref. 01642 - Grumman A-6E TRAM Intruder - released - ref. 01643 - Grumman EA-6B Prowler Sources: http://tieba.baidu.com/p/3494587466 https://tieba.baidu.com/p/8249037080 V.P.

Here’s one I built earlier 🤪. I remember building this kit as a kid. Never painted it but as a kid you didn’t care with Matchbox’s multi coloured plastic. Fast forward 30+ years and a guy at work gives me a large box with kits he say he will never build, this kit was right on the top. So, first thing as I went through the kit, the rear cockpit canopy was not formed properly meaning only half of it was there. No contacting Matchbox for a replacement 🤦‍♂️. A little interweb search for a solution and I did my first ever plastic coke bottle repair.

Kinetic is to re-release its 1/48th Grumman EA-6B Prowler kit with new wings under ref.48044 The original kit ref.48022 In box review: http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/kin/kit_kin_48022.shtml The box art of the "new" Prowler kit ref.48044 Source: https://www.facebook.com/Kineticmodel V.P.

I enjoyed this build from Kinetic. A challenge in places, and the Aires cockpit made a big difference to the overall finish.

EA-6B Prowler Exhaust Set (HMR48025) 1:48 Hypersonic Models This from our friends at Hypersonic are aimed squarely at the new(ish) EA-6 Intruders from Hobby Boss, which are pretty well detailed out of the box, but not up to Jeffrey's high standards, which has resulted in the set to both increase the detail and ease the build process of the exhausts a little. The set arrives in ziplok bag, with the comprehensive instructions on glossy paper stapled to the rear. Any delicate parts such as Photo-Etch (PE) is protected by a small slip of thick cards to prevent damage during transit/storage. The EA-6B has a different nozzle and upgraded engine from the rest of the A-6 family. The kit exhausts are split along their length around the curved section, and replicated by cylinder-shaped sections on the straight, with a separate engine rear face that is… well, shockingly poor compared to the rest of the kit. This resin replacement throws all those parts out, opting for a series of five cylindrical sections that remove the need for any sanding of seams, but also allows the parts to be moulded at a more scale thickness to improve realism. The difference between the resin and kit is akin to chalk and cheese, with lovely engine face detail with stator-blades, central bullet fairing and a delicate PE insert that fits between the two parts that make up this area. The two curved sections are added next, kinking outboard to the straight section that is the highly detailed tip of the exhaust. Each part is keyed with small blocks and cut-outs, so getting things lined up should be easy enough, and each part has a small raise number preceded by L or R so that you don't get the parts mixed up once the casting blocks are removed. When you have glued all the parts together, the casting numbers can be sanded off before painting the outside. Painting of the interior is probably best done before construction, and take care to remove any mould release residue in warm soapy water (or isopropanol) before you start painting. To install these corrected nozzles in the kit, you will need to thin the area of the fuselage into which they are fitted, which has been pointed out in two diagrams showing the inside and outside views, with shading where the work needs to be done. Another diagram highlights a tooling mistake on one of the kit parts, and how to remedy it by reducing the corner to a curve. Conclusion This set will lift the detail nicely with very little effort, while the improvement to the exhausts is massive, giving a much better scale appearance and detail to the area once fitted. Jeffrey's attention to detail is legendary, and it shows in every set he makes. Highly recommended. It is a also worth noting that Jeffrey has gone through the time consuming process to register for UK VAT so there are no issues for UK modellers ordering direct. Review sample courtesy of

EA-6B Prowler VMAQ-2 Playboys (K48112) 1:48 Kinetic Model via Lucky Model In the 1960s the US Marine Corps was looking for a replacement for its EF-10B Skyknights. The EA-6A was developed from the existing A-6 Airframe with the addition of the electronics, the most noticeable difference being the enlarged tail. 27 EA-6As were produced, 15 of which were newly manufactured. However this was in reality nothing more than an interim solution. A larger airframe was needed in part to also replace the EKA-3B Skywarriors as well. The EA-6B again was a development of the A-6 designed for commonality with the A-6. The fuselage of the new aircraft was lengthened to fit in a larger 4 seater cockpit; this housed a pilot and three electronic countermeasures officers. The forward section of the cockpit accommodates the pilot on the port side and one ECM officer station equipped with the communications, navigation systems, and the defensive electronic countermeasures including the decoy dispensers. The rear cockpit accommodates two ECM officers. 124 Aircraft were built and served with the USN and USMC. As well as ECM pods the aircraft could carry external fuel tanks and the AGM-88 HARM missile. Like any platform and more so with electronics the EA-6B underwent different upgrade programmes over the years. The Advanced Capability or (ADVCAP) programme in the 80s improved the aircraft flying characteristics and the electronics, however this was cancelled. Then much later on the Improved Capability (ICAP) programme was instigated by Northrop Grumman to improve electronic countermeasures with the installation of an ALQ-218 receiver, this with new software provided more precise and elective-reactive radar jamming and deception and threat location. After combat operations over Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria the aircraft was retired in 2019 to be replaced by the F/A-18G Growler. The Kit This is a reboxing of Kinetic's new tool from 2011 which was an ICAP aircraft direct from the box. This new boxing has decals for VMAQ-2 in an earlier configuration, all parts are crisp and well moulded, the kit comes with all the parts in box to fold the main wings. The sprue shots in the instructions show two small sprues CC for the Harm missiles but in fact these are contained on larger sprues which contain cluster bombs from the A-6 kit, these will be a welcome addition to the spares box. Construction starts in the cockpit, to the ain tub are added the pilots rudder controls and control column. A front and rear instrument panel goes in as well as front and rear bulkheads. For the seats four GRU-7 Ejection seats are supplied, these have separate firing handles, and a separate ejection gun behind the seat, however no belts are provided. Next it time for the main fuselage. Here there are left and right sides and a large underside insert for the middle of the fuselage. To this insert, the top of which at the front provides the top of the nose wheel bay, the side of the bay are first added. Now the main fuselage can be closed up around the cockpit tub and including the underside part. To the rear of the main fuselage the arrestor hook area also goes in at this time. The later slime lights must be removed from the fuselage sides for this boxing. At the front of the complete fuselage the three part intakes can go on, and at the rear the rear engine parts and exhausts tubes are fitted. Next up its time for the wings. Here the choice between folded or straight must be made before starting as some of the parts namely the wings, flaps and slats must be cut for folded wings. The wing fold parts are all in the box. Full flaps and slats are provided for either option with the wings being split conventionally left/right and upper/lower. For the ends of the wings the speed brakes can either be modelled in the open or closed positions. The pylons are fitted to the wings at this stage. If folding the wings then the wing stays are also included in the kit. The complete wings (or inner wings of going folded) can then be fitted to the fuselage. The nose can now be added with a recommended 50g of nose weight being fitted. Staying at the front of the aircraft the nose gear can be built up with its twin wheels and added into the nose gear bay. the front door holding the landing light is then fitted. Next up the main gears and its wheels can be built up and installed. The main gear doors can now also go on. Despite an earlier stage showing the wing pylons being attached, they are shown again now being attached? Depending on what they are carrying there appear to be different types of additional pylons available though there is nothing in the instructions to help the modeller here. At the rear the tail planes are fitted. If the wings are to be fitted folded then the instructions now show how to attach them with various fittings going on to help. To finished off various small aerial go on, and at the front the canopies go on along with the refueling probe. The front windscreen is one part, but the two main canopies are slit so care will be needed to get these right. Integral boarding ladders are provided for both sides of the cockpit. For things to hang under the wings the kit comes with three ALQ-99 pods, two fuel tanks and two HARM missiles. Though as this kit has markings for 1978 the HARM is not appropriate. Markings The kit gives markings only for 160432 from VMAQ-2 "The Playboys" from 1978. The decals are designed by Fightertown Decals and printed by Cartograf so should offer no issues. Deck Tractor The kit also includes a USN NC-2A EPU Tractor. For this all 4 sides are fitted to the base with the drivers seat on the front left going in. The drivers controls are fitted, and then the topdeck goes on. To finish off the four wheels go on. Decals are provided on the main sheet for the tugs markings. Conclusion It is good to see this kit re-released but it will need a bit of work to make into the version on the decal sheet, or source decals for a later aircraft. Still highly recommended as a kit though. Review sample courtesy of

Hi, the first model completed in 2021. A well-known Prowler kit from Hasegawa. Old model, but easy to build. Main camouflage painted with Gunze and TAmiya paints. Moreover, AK RK, AK Xtreme meal, details painted with Vallejo paints. I added Aires ejection seat, the decals are Microscale.

Evening folks! So, after almost 3 months of messing around, I have finally finished Kinetics 1/48 EA-6B Prowler and.....I am really glad to see the back of this one! I had read that this was a decent kit, but I had a lot of trouble with basically everything. But, anyway, here's the finished project: I used a decent amount of AM stuff on this one: Ares cockpit Quickboost small intakes Eduard pods Eduard wheels Superscale decals The Ares cockpit required a lot of cutting & sanding to fit, and even with all that done it changed the shape of the front fuselage section which led to a lot sanding to fit the front canopy, which was a little nerve-wracking! After a lot of very clean builds, I wanted to build a really dirty, weathered bird, and the Prowler was the perfect choice - so many of my references showed that not only do these things get really dirty (especially where the wings fold), but they also have a lot panel fading & variation, which I tried to replicate here. The decals were interesting.... Even though they were Cartograf printings, they behaved very differently to other decals from the same company. They had a long working time which I was not used to, but after realising this, I left them for ~1 hour and they had settled into the panels really well. Lots of weathering & dirt! The kit lights were undersized (somehow?!) so I replaced them with clear sprue, sanded to shape and polished - much better! Given all the cockpit details, canopies up was the only option Although it's subtle, the orange/gold/metallic tinting is present on the canopies - this was a difficult thing to get right and I kept spraying the canopies and removing the coating as I wasn't happy with it. I eventually settled on a light coat of Tamiya XF-6 Copper. I think I didn't use enough but at this point I didn't want to risk damaging the canopies so I left them as is. Overall, I am happy with how this one turned out, but it was a lot of work, and the kit was a disappointment (not sure I'd build another any time soon). That said, it builds into a decent Prowler so, can't complain too much! Some WIP photos - these were on my phone so not as nice: Here you can see all the tape and rubber bands needed to get the fuselage to conform to the resin cockpit - even still, I needed a lot of filler/superglue to get a decent finish. The kit was just not that good - the lighter grey parts had a weird, rough texture and very soft detail, so not sure what happened there? A lot of filler was also needed between the wing roots and the fuselage. After a lot of work, the kit was ready for paint! I used the black basing method to simulate the uneven fading - this was accentuated with more fading work once the camo colours had been sprayed. I used MRP lacquers for nearly everything on this build - no complaints, and highly recommended!

It was about time for this to begin. I have been gathering information and photos for so long... Practically have been just postponing the inevitable :-) The project is about building an ICAP II prowler with as much detail as possible. This will also include the two engines exposed. The build will include the following detail sets: EDUARD - EA-6B undercarriege EDUARD - EA-6B Electronic Equipments EDUARD - EA-6B Exterior EDUARD - EA-6B Interior (just bits and pieces) EDUARD - EA-6B Wing Fold (also bits and pieces) EDUARD - EA-6B Cockpit Set (just the seats) WOLFPACK - EA-6B Radar and Avionics Set WOLFPACK - EA-6B Wheel Bay Set AMS Resin - EA-6B Seamless Intakes (maybe) CAM - Jammin' Prowlers, VAQ-130 Zappers To that will be added my scratch built J52 engine in two copies. So, the project started with the engines: Here is the first out of 4 seats: A very long way to go...

Hello one and all, I have been meaning to join a GB for a while now. I was going to enter the P-51 STGB, but typically I couldn't find my decals for the aircraft... anyhow, I was looking at this one thinking that I don't own anything that I could use - yeah, I was a wee bit wrong there. A quick check of the stash proves I have about 15 x F-15's, a few Intruders, a few Prowlers, a Hawkeye and a Greyhound. After checking with Tempestmk5, I know what can and can't be entered into this GB. So lets go! So I can not build the F-14's I have for Ace Combat, however I can build an F-14 from a film as it actually flew! No not THAT film, I'm starting with an F-14 from "The Final Countdown", never seen this film. Has anyone else? Is it worth watching? As far as I understand it, the F-14 on the cover is based on an VF-84 F-14 and not the one from the film as they have *MUCH* larger stars and bars beacuse - film plot? I also have the below... Now the Dragon F-14 is complete and utter garbage, but the F-18F is pretty decent. So I will replace the F-14 in this kit with an extra F-14 I have from Revell, which I have built before and loved the kit. See below... Please excuse how terrible the finish is, I built this on my return to the hobby 6-7 years ago. I remember enjoying building this kit then however. Depending how far I get I also have these to add.... You can see the decal option for "The Final Countdown" there as well. Now this is where the fun happens... the "others" I will bring to the table. I said I also have a Hawkeye and Greyhound to add to the party. However I can only build one, I know Enzo will come straight in and say "Build Both!" but unforunately that isn't possible as the Greyhound kit is a conversion for the Hawkeye and I only have one Hawkeye (for now). Pictures below... Now the same as the F-14A/D, I have also built the Hawkeye before. This was also upon my return to the hobby, but I am still pretty happy with the end result. Ignore the dirty black line, I was playing around with preshading with a sharpie. It didn't work... Then we have the Prowler and Intruder... I recon these two will have the most interest... Just trust me, there is two Prowlers and two Intruders in that box... infact there is alot of plastic in that box. Now the eagle eyed amoung you will have spotted the goodies next to the box... yes I have lots of goodies for these birds. See below! I do have a thing for Domi's stuff over at Retrowings - his stuff is sooo good! I only have enough for one Prowler but three for the Intruder (I have a single kit laying around somewhere). The ALQ-99's where purchased for a Growler kit, but i can use them here as well. Strange question - are the Prowlers wings the same as the Intruders? I mean for the wing fold bits. So while I am build at least 2 F-14's... not sure what else to add next... Hawkeye, Greyhound, Prowler or Intruder? Hopefully I can get at least one of these ladies finished as my record in GB's isn't fantastic. 🤣 Oh forgot to add that I also have two Dragon carrier decks to add *IF* I get the time. Now that I think about it, I have about 5 boxes of the Wildcat from Sweet... Kind Regards, Dazz

I'd like to present my Prowler, 1:48 scale from Italeri box. I added some PE of Eduard and modified one wing.

Hi fellow modelers, I am currently building a Kinetic 1/48 Prowler. One of the areas I am pretty much interested is the avionics bay at the tail of this beautiful bird, also known as "birdcage". There is a lot of material out there for the birdcage itself, but I am more interested in the inside the fuselage area corresponding to it. This area is omitted by most modelers, as once the Birdcage is posed open, it prohibits eye contact to it. My intention is to add as much internal detail as possible. Since I do not want to build it based on Star Trek plans and blueprints, I wonder if any of you have any photos, plans or any other material that could help and that you are willing to share, for this area. Copyrights will be taken into account very seriously, so in case that you prefer, instead of posting here, sent me a pm or an e-mail. Any help will be most appreciated. Thank you in advance, DIO