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Modeling the Scooter – Aces High Magazine (AK2939) In The Spotlight #2 AK Interactive The A-4 Skyhawk was developed by Douglas as a replacement to the highly successful Skyraider, bypassing the original intended replacement, the turbo-prop powered Skyshark, which was mired in development issues related to the reliability of the gearbox. The Skyhawk was designed with simplicity in mind, which it achieved by wrapping a small airframe around a powerful jet engine, going on to serve with many countries and in many theatres, including Vietnam, use by the Argentinians in the Falklands, and extensive service with the Israeli Air Force. The Book This book by Daniel Zamarbide is part of the Aces High magazine line from AK Interactive, and covers the history and modelling the A-4 in many forms, scales and operators. It is perfect bound in A4(ish) portrait format, with 110 pages of glossy colour printing within. The front inside cover is emblazoned with an advert for AK’s new 3rd Generation Acrylics range, some sets from which we’ve been reviewing over the last few weeks, with a few more sets still to come. The book starts with an introduction, a colourful visual guide to the layout of the book, which includes builds of three very different models of the Skyhawk, interspersed with photos and discussion of the real thing, including what the various models got up to during service. The book is broken down in detail as follows: Introduction Index Colour Profiles Skyhawks in Scale Kits, Decals, Aftermarket, Books, Simulators, Games and memorabilia. Skyhawk History A-4C Little Hawk at War – A-4C Fuerza Aérea Argentina A build of the 1:32 kit from Trumpeter -E kit with a conversion Skyhawk History A-4E Little Hawk at War – A-4E US Navy A build of the 1:32 -E kit from Trumpeter Skyhawk History A-4N Little Hawk at War – A-4N Israeli Air Force A build of the A-4M with conversion from WolfPack A-4Q Summary Build of the 1:48 Hasegawa kit A-4E Marines Summary Build of the 1:32 Hasegawa kit As you can see, the 1:32 Trumpeter kits are the only ones covered in detail in this volume, although there are two different base kits and some interesting conversions, but it would have been nice to see some work in other scales in the main chapters of the book. That said, the quality of work is exceptional, and as with all techniques, they translate well to most other scales if you’re a 1:72 or 1:48 modeller with Skyhawks on your mind. Each build is preceded by an extensive section describing the aircraft with plenty of photographs of the airframe in question, most of them contemporary, providing plenty of additional information to start your build with. The modelling sections have a different coloured outer edges to allow fast flipping to the relevant one when necessary, which should save a few seconds each time, all being well. There’s a lot of historic information included in the preambles, and we can all learn a little no matter how much we think we know. The builds have a uniformity of scale, but other than that they are substantially different from each other, and with the addition of a couple of customised pilots for two of them, there are some serious skills on show throughout the pages. Products from various aftermarket companies are used, including our friends at VideoAviation who supply the bomb load for one of the builds, and as you’d imagine, there’s a heap of AK Interactive products on display, including their Real Color, 3G Acrylics, washes, varnishes and others products, although there are some other brands on show too for a bit of diversity. Conclusion The book supplies plenty of information that can be used and adapted to your own modelling skillset to a greater or lesser extent as you see fit. There’s a fair amount of information within the pages too, and of course the visuals are professional, with crisply focused and well-composed photos that illustrate the techniques in use. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of