Silenoz Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 (edited) After a log hiatus (at least for me, a few months of not building seems long for me) and a bunch of unfinished projects, but not really in the mood to tackle the last steps on these, I took a new kit from the stash, in the hope to finish it and see some result finally... I've chosen the nimble A-4 Skyhawk in the even more nimble scale of 1/144... The skyhawk was a 50's design for a small carrier based attack aircraft. Aircraft carriers then were a lot smaller, and this aircraft didn't need folding wings to save space, which also saved a lot of weight in the end. In later versions a steerable frontwheel was added so that the landing sequence could be shortened. In all, the aircraft was small and crude, but very effective (it took an equal load of bombs with it as a B-17 bomber). It's nicknames were: scooter, bantam bomber, Tinker toy bomber and Kiddiecar... It also had the "honour" to be the first and last aircraft to drop bombs in Vietnam, playing a role in the Falkland war as a bomber, it took also part in the Israeli wars, where it bore the brunt of the fight while trying to evade the Egyptian AA-umbrella (it wasn't really a fair fight, and it was redirected to the second line duty, to be written of no later then 2015!!!). It also served with the Topgun academy as an adversary Mig-17 and with the blue angels... today it still serves with Draken international for training role and electronic warfare... On to the box.... euh bag in which it comes: and what's in it (I've added a little PE-set too...) and a very "large" decalsheet: so the construction. I've seen some pictures with the slots extende, so I wanted to try that to: So a few cuts with a scalpel results in: and with the halves assembled: next was to cut some recesses for the chaff/flare launchers and the cockpit (not really fond of these prepainted things, but in this scale, it has it's charm: and the assembled with the aid off the fuselage halves for the position: next up some detail in the main landing bay: and some work on the bangseat: start with removing some material and add some replacements: and that's one of the reasons why I don't like prepainted parts: but some paint later it was installed: maybe not the smartest move to install this one allready, but... hey you know this for the next build... then the canopy became canopies: just some careful cutting and a "lot" of filler between the wingroot and cockpit section next up was the landing gear: added some hydraulics and some paint: followed by a wash next up is waiting for the paint to arrive... Edited August 8, 2020 by Silenoz 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenoz Posted August 11, 2020 Author Share Posted August 11, 2020 Last step before paint: the inflight refueling probe. The original kitpart is solid plastic of 0.5mm... very solid and presumably gone under 60 seconds... thought of replacing it with brass, a little stiffer than copper. Eduard was so nice to provide a template, unfortunately a little to big, and as it seems projected under a different angle than looking from directly above or below.... So the Middle piece was remover, a 0.4mm drilled to accept the brass part (plastic is 0.6mm, I need to have some body...) The brass was thinner at both sides and bent according to the (wrong) template: And all was glued in place ... Nice... Then you check the references... The tip doesn't get past the nose and should be further away from the aircraft.... So a second time around: Not perfect, but acceptable... Now waiting for some descent temperature... 31°C in the shadow... And believe it, a lot more outside of it.... Luckily we have a moderate climate here... 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenoz Posted August 13, 2020 Author Share Posted August 13, 2020 Well, somebody pointer me to the fact that the IFR still wasn't good, too long, bends too small I reworked it. The brass broke with these angles but some hearing made it soft like butter. Maybe a few hours outside have the same result... That original stiffness is gone completely now On another forum somebody asked for the size: Almost 85mm ... The canopy... I've done a dryfit before, and all could be closed up... Not anymore... So I had to break it out, and you guessed it, a lot broke off along with the seat. (IFR, ejection handle, side of the seat, you name it... And while fitting the front canopy, the mechanism for the front windscreen wiper was also launched and gone... Ah, you know what's said about that, now you know what to do all afternoon... Bit soft on the detail it seems... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim R-T-C Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 Lovely work on the kit. Look forward to seeing the final result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 SUPER work. I think it look good. please post more updates soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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