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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 There are 90 pages of historical content which is nicely interspersed with good quality photographs of the relevant aircraft being discussed with most of the images being in colour.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