Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'VA-97'.
Found 1 result
-
Hi All, The Hasegawa 1/48 A-7E Corsair is a wonderful example of the state of the art in the late '80's as far as the mainstream injection Molded manufacturers are concerned- it has a level of detail and features, such as detailed avionics bays, separate flaps and detailed cockpit that set Hasegawa at the top of the tree in those heady days, and as a kit it outstrips it's contemporary's such as the Hasegawa 1/48 F-16 and F-15. It also sports the finest injected molded AIM-9's I have encountered in any kit to date, although more modern toolings may have overtaken this aspect of the kit. This is the Revell of Germany boxing of this venerable classic, and I snapped this edition up around 10 years ago, being familiar with the contents and harbouring a soft spot for the good old "SLUF" (Perhaps I feel a certain kinship with it's sobriquet!) I utilised the Superscale VA-97 Corsair decals, to depict the aircraft as it appeared in April 1980, part of the USS Coral Sea's air wing, and sporting the identification stripes applied to the US Navy aircraft as part of Operation Evening Light, which itself was the Airpower component of Operation Eagle Claw, the mission to rescue the Americans held in Tehran who didn't make it to the Canadian embassy. The sheet is still around in various outlets, and I also understand that Hasegawa released the kit with these markings as a special edition some years ago. Many hours of searching the web for the few photographs of the VA-97 aircraft of the period resulted in the identification of the weapons load as a pair of Rockeye II CBU on the middle pylons, two fuel tanks on the inners and a pair of AIM-9's for self defence. I used the kit's AIM-9D as they are superb, although some grainy black and white shots hint that AIM-9L's may have been utilised at the time, although I am unsure as to the Lima's in service date. I added a pair of the Eduard Brassin Rockeyes and Bob's your Uncle: I am very pleased with some aspects of this build, although there is a lot of room for improvement, but overall an enjoyable build. As always, thanks for looking, Cheers, Troffa (edited to correct Photobucket ineptitude)
- 17 replies
-
- 31
-
