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A-6A Intruder from A-6E kit - what needs to be done?


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All,

 

I'm just wondering if one can build an early A-6A Intruder from the 1/72 Italeri / Tamiya kit?

I once had the Fujimi 'A' kit, however I found the surface detail almost too faint and would probably not hold out to a decent panel line wash once I got to that stage.

I see that Italeri are re-releasing their A-6E kit later this year and was just thinking if this could be back-dated to an early Vietnam era A-6A model.

If so, I would appreciate any advice on what needs to be done in order to get the main details right - I'm not too pedantic about minor cockpit detail etc.

 

One other question, does anyone know if the A-6E's were actually used operationally during the Vietnam War? I believe the 'E' entered service in 1971, so may have been used during the Linebacker raids of '72.

Anyway, any tips and advice to help me consider this possible future project would be truly appreciated.

 

Cheers and thanks.. Dave.     

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Hello, Dave

From the top of my head I would say there A and E models should not be that different. Many A-6As had been converted to E standard and IIRC the old Squadron/Signal's In Action even claimed both models are externally identical, only differences being upgraded electronics and engines. I am not sure about the answer to your second question but I, too, suspect E models were deployed in Vietnam operationally. If nothing else, they were probably aboard one of the US carriers, which covered evacuation of Saigon at the end of April 1975. Cheers

Jure

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Thanks Jure and Hook,

It's starting to get a little clearer now. An E to A conversion appears to be possible with not too much effort.

I'll keep reading to see what else I can find, however those links are very useful indeed.

I've also just found out that Italeri also produced a KA-6D kit which may have parts useful for a straight 'A'.

 

Cheers.. Dave.

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Hello, Dave

I do not know about Italeri KA-6D, but I dug out my EA-6A. This kit has perforated fuselage air brakes (although holes are not bored through), tailhook without fairing and inboard wing fences in early location, just outside the inboard ordnance pylon. Vents and scoops just below and aft of starboard canopy rails are of A-6E type, as are DECM aerials at the wing roots/LEX. As Andre said, this is probably the main hurdle, although hardly an insurmountable one. Cheers

Jure

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4 hours ago, Jure Miljevic said:

Hello, Dave

I do not know about Italeri KA-6D, but I dug out my EA-6A. This kit has perforated fuselage air brakes (although holes are not bored through), tailhook without fairing and inboard wing fences in early location, just outside the inboard ordnance pylon. Vents and scoops just below and aft of starboard canopy rails are of A-6E type, as are DECM aerials at the wing roots/LEX. As Andre said, this is probably the main hurdle, although hardly an insurmountable one. Cheers

Jure

 

Jure,

This is all good to know. I take it that apart from the obvious tail fin bulge, jamming ordinance and Tanker bits most of the other parts between Italeri's A-6E, KA-6D and EA-6A are common. 

If I understand this correctly, then due to the DECM Leading edge wing roots the KA-6D and EA-6A are thus not exactly accurate if built straight OOB.

I also believe that late A-6A's did not have the perforated rear fuselage airbrakes so perhaps the A-6E (with mods) would be the best kit to built a late 'A' and perhaps scrounging some airbrakes from one of the other two kits could assist to make an early 'A".

 

Anyway - thanks once again to all contributors.

 

Cheers .. Dave.         

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Thanks Jati, 

I once had the Fujimi A-6A however sold it on a while back. Although a very nice kit, I was not that fussed on the rather shallow and soft panel lines (similar to their A-7 Corsair series). The Italeri kit appears to have deeper panel lines that will probably suit my current modelling techniques. It's not that I'm ham fisted, rather have trouble achieving the end result when panel lines are less defined. 

 

Cheers and thanks.. Dave

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59 minutes ago, theplasticsurgeon said:

I've got the Italeri KA6D.  It has alternate parts for perforated fuselage airbrakes.

I've also got a Fujimi A6E, so can check any other details later tonight.

 

That would be great. Now if someone is willing to part with their perforated airbrakes, I could concentrate on buying the standard A-6E kit which includes the Rockeye bombs etc.

As far as I can tell, there's also something different with the pylons that come with each kit, the KA-6D and EA-6A kits including the ALQ-100 antenna probes, whilst this is omitted in the A-6E kit. 

I'll probably have to source these as well.

 

On second thought's it looks like it would be best to try to obtain the KA-6D kit and just source AM weapons elsewhere (probably an easier option).   

 

Cheers .. Dave   

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You may want to consider what specific scheme you're looking to do first, that way it would dictate what parts you may or may not need. Early Vietnam Intruders didn't have the ALQ-100 antennas and would have the perforated brakes, while mid/later war would have the antennas and brakes could be perforated or just plates.

 

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I'm not sure how the Italeri kits are, but if you're considering buying the KA-6D tanker to make an A, make sure the kit still has the full cockpit for the bomber rather than the limited tanker panel, and also the belly doppler antenna to use in place of the tanker drogue assembly. 

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All Italeri kits feature the same cockpit tub, panels and GRU-7 seats, regardless whether it's supposed to represent an A-6E, KA6D or EA-6A. 

 

Cheers,

 

Andre 

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Many thanks for your input ziggyfoos.

As you have probably worked out, the subtle differences of the A-6 Intruder series is not my strongest suit by any stretch of the imagination!!

At this stage I have no particular scheme in mind, however a US Navy aircraft that served in Vietnam would be my first choice.

 

I have just come across your AoA website and will certainly be on the lookout for the black/white arrestor hook decals when there are back in stock - great idea!

Your "Intruders from the Beach" decal sheet also looks extremely tempting. Will you be scaling down your "Intruders from the Sea" sheet to 1/72 scale at any time?  

 

Cheers.. Dave

 

 

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5 minutes ago, Hook said:

All Italeri kits feature the same cockpit tub, panels and GRU-7 seats, regardless whether it's supposed to represent an A-6E, KA6D or EA-6A. 

 

Cheers,

 

Andre 

 

Thanks Andre, that helps.  

 

Cheers.. Dave

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40 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Will you be scaling down your "Intruders from the Sea" sheet to 1/72 scale at any time?  

 

I planned to already but didn't get around to it, I still would like to but don't have a timescale for it.

The stripes will be available again end of the month.

 

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11 minutes ago, ziggyfoos said:

 

I planned to already but didn't get around to it, I still would like to but don't have a timescale for it.

 

 

So what will it take to convince you to do it?

Pretty PPPPLLLLEEEAAASSSEEE !!!

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Excuse my ignorance, however I would have thought that scaling these down from 1/32 or 1/48 would not be a big issue.

All the previous artwork is already there and you have notes on correcting the 1/72 Fujimi kit with the Marine decals - I'm obviously not in the decal game so am just looking at this from a consumers perspective.

 

Anyway - perhaps I just need to go with a Marine bird after all, I'm not too fussed, however the US Navy options look more interesting to me.

 

Cheers and once again thanks for supplying the modelling public with what appear to be truly excellent products... Dave.

 

 

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10 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Excuse my ignorance, however I would have thought that scaling these down from 1/32 or 1/48 would not be a big issue.

All the previous artwork is already there and you have notes on correcting the 1/72 Fujimi kit with the Marine decals

 

It still takes time to even do the sheet layout and not all decals may work on the 1/72 kit by simply resizing them since the existing 1/32 and 1/48 versions (for example, tails/rudders) may not be the same exact size/proportions as the 1/72 kit so those decals may have to be redone. I also have a "real" full time job so my decal work is already limited to when time permits. Plus printing instructions as well as the decal themselves will cost thousands of dollars total. That Intruders from the Sea sheet is also my most expensive sheet to make. Then there's the risk of little sales to justify the time/expense in 1/72.

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Fair enough.. please understand that I was not trying to be condescending in any way. 

The amount of time and energy that go into projects like this are very much appreciated by all modellers who crave for that extra ounce of accuracy and detail.

I'll do some research on USMC A-6A ops and will probably be convinced to go down this route.

 

Thanks and please continue the excellent work!!

 

Cheers.. Dave  

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5 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Fair enough.. please understand that I was not trying to be condescending in any way. 

Not a problem, I didn't get that impression at all. I was just answering straight forward.

 

5 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said:

I'll do some research on USMC A-6A ops and will probably be convinced to go down this route.

For some reason they are overlooked all the time and overshadowed by the USN squadrons yet were heavily involved and active throughout the war.

 

Edited by ziggyfoos
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Dave, some info on USMC actions during the Vietnam war can be found here:

 

http://www.recordsofwar.com/vietnam/usmc/USMC_Rvn.htm

 

scroll down the list on the left to find a various squadrons, including A-6A ones. Select a squadron and a date to read what they did. The Command Chronology gives a brief outline of events that month, including usually ordnance expended while the Debriefing Reports are actual mission reports.

 

Jari

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