1/72 Douglas XAD4-1 Prototype Skyhawk (Airfix)

[TheRealMrEd]

Hi all.

 

Since finishing my last efforts a couple of days ago, I decided to do a little update and maintenance work on some oldies that have been laying about the display case, needing some love and attention. One of these happens to be my conversion of the old, original Airfix A4D-1 kit, back-dated and modified to better represent the prototype, on the day of her toll-out.

 

I can't even remember when I first built this model, but has certainly been many years ago. The model itself was sort of simple and crude, and to a much greater extant than now, so was the level of my work upon it. That being said, making the conversion was a joy and a pleasure. In fact, to confess the truth, I still more dearly enjoy cutting up and modifying a kit,  than actually completing it! That may be the reason that at least a couple of walls of my kits have been started, but never finished!

 

In any event, this kit had been finished to my  "then" standard, but over the years I found that the landing gear legs had been painted white, and should have been metal; the cable cutter (or is it the pitot?) was missing from in front of the windscreen, and so on. I decided to fix some of the errors, but not to redo the whole aircraft to a higher state of modeling. She is what she is, and shall remain mostly as she has been -- a proper marker for the type of models I built long ago, to get to the type of models I build today. She may not be as fancy as today's effort might be, but, I love her still...

 

As to the mods to the original kit, IIRC, I had to add a bit of a "hump" behind the canopy, made of CA cement, and sanded to the correct shape; I had to backdate the aircraft's tailpipe to the original straight-through tube, vs the "sugar-scoop" king of exhaust of the later variants; I had to add the fairings on either side of the horizontal stabilizers where they meet the vertical stabilizer, and of course, add the long "test boom" to the nose. I may have had to do a little work to the rudder, can't remember for certain:

 

Anyway, here she is, gussied-up a little bit, but not all the way:

 

 

At the roll-out, the serial number and model type were hidden with paper and tape stuck over them, and this is depicted above.

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, I was amazed to find -- after much research -- that the underside was actually painted like this:

 

 

As often happens with people of Scotch and Irish descent (my maternal grandmother was a Flynn, and my wife's grandmother was a  MacEntegart), we all spend a lot of time around this time of year...reflecting.

 

Here's to old models, old modelers, ...and days of Auld Lang Syne....

 

Ed

 

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Good looking model and Interesting build 👍

[John R]

I made a start on a prototype several years ago but couldn't find any information about the colour scheme so it got put aside...and by the time I had found it other things had taken priority.

John

[Winenut]

Love the interesting version and the build and finish is just great.

 

Always wonderful to breathe some new life into past efforts

 

Lang may yer lum reek!

 

Cheer
 

Bruce

[Blue Monday]

Not enough prototypes are built. The kit manufacturers, quite understandably, concentrate on production aircraft. Always good to see how the aircraft we all know started off. Nice conversion.

 

BM.

[Eric Mc]

Nice.

 

The kit actually features some prototype attributes, such as non-ribbed rudder.

 

I did the opposite a few months ago - turning that kit into a (sort of) Aussie A-4G.

 

 

[Nigel Bunker]

Might be interesting to try this with the new Airfix Skyhawk - but it is a great model you made.

[Neil.C]

Hey Ed, its Scots not Scotch, although at this time of year.....

[TheRealMrEd]

Thanks to all, for the kind comments.

 

John R., I researched this also, and for a very long time. I have photos to prove about 95% of how this one is painted.  If you need some pics, PM me.

 

Eric Mc, it also has the only non-framed prototype canopy that I'm aware of. I think the kit was supposed to be a very early A4A or AD4-1, not actually the prototype.

Turning it into a "G" must have been a hoot!

 

Nigel, I have actually had a Fujimi A-4B in the stash thinking that very thing, but it's such a great little kit, I hate to chop it up! However, Quickboost (or someone) has come out with an early (non-sugarscoop) rear end for the Airfix, so that should be a great head start.

 

Neil C., I stand corrected. Being Americanized, I confess that I prefer Royal Salute. However, I've often felt that after a sip or two of the 20 or 30-year-old Mither's Milk, most any kind of Irish or Scotch works fine. I can even overlook what my Irish kin used to say about the Scots -- that they were simply poor, misguided Irishmen who ran off so that they could wear their kilts, without being ribbed about it. I think they were only foolin', but who knows?

 

In any event, Up THE SCOTS, and the Scotch!

 

Edward Carlyle Ellickson, hisself!

 

[Eric Mc]

As I'm Irish, I feel I should stand up for my fellow countrymen - but I won't as I don't drink whiskey or Guinness (or whisky, for that matter). I much prefer traditional English ales.

[TheRealMrEd]

Eric, you should aware -- for some of us of Irish descent, our best work is done lying on the floor...

 

By the bye, I'm also quite partial to Tullamore Dew, just to be fair!

 

Ed