Douglas EKA-3B Skywarrior aka "Whale"***FINISHED***

[PeterB]

So, after the almost inevitable fight with the carpet monster all the bits are on, from the tiny pitot in front of the windscreen through the various aerials and fuel jettison pipes to the ruddy big refuelling probe.

The final decs are on and when they are dry I will check for any last minute touching up, and then give it a coat of varnish. It went together very well except for the arrestor hook, and that was down to me being clever - you will recall I filled in the hole at the back of the hook bay - well that was a mistake, so I had to open it up again as the hook was hanging below the fuselage slightly! According to a review shortly after the first version of this kit was released, the canopy is a bit too big and the shape of the "cut -off" nose is not quite right, but it looks fine to me. 

 

It will be interesting to see it alongside the EB-66E and/or EB-66C I am hoping to build as my final entry!

 

Cheers

 

Pete

Edited October 9, 2020 by PeterB

[modelling minion]

Glad to hear that you beat the carpet monster into submission and got all the last bits onto your A-3 Pete, and very nice she looks too mate. She will look great next to your EB-66, a very interesting comparison.

[trickyrich]

she does look good!

 

Careful the carpet monster does seek some sort of retribution!!!!

[PeterB]

Hi Guys,

 

Thanks for that but looking at the pic I realised that the IFR probe was not correctly aligned with the stub on the forward side pod. As it was stuck on with CA I was not hopeful, but with great trepidation I managed to work it loose, cut off the locating pin and re-align it - Phew! A touch of PPP and some paint on the joint and it should be rather better. I know I could have got away with it but I would have known it was wrong and it would have bugged me something rotten!

 

Pete

[stevej60]

That's gone together beautifully Pete.Great job!

[PeterB]

Finally managed to get the varnish on.

Now all I need is some halfway decent weather to get some pics for the gallery!. It is a nice kit, easy to build and I think it has come out quite well. The nose and canopy may or may not be entirely accurate but I can live with that.

 

Thanks to all involved in this GB for giving me an incentive to get this out of its box. It might just get joined by another USN plane, depending on how my Heller GB builds go.

 

Cheers

 

Pete

[modelling minion]

I hope you get some sun soon Pete as she is looking great.

You really are putting us all to shame with your build rate for the GB, if you could squeeze another one in that would be great but having already contributed so much you are definitely under no obligation to build any more.

[PeterB]

The sun finally came out so I will post in the gallery. However, here is one to be going on with.

The gray changes colour quite dramatically depending on the light level.

 

I have enjoyed this build and can recommend the kit or any of the other versions. Incidentally, we have spoken before on another build thread about the lack of political correctness in the armed forces back in those days, and the EKA-3B was another victim. As with the Prowler it was nicknamed "Queer" so it became a "Queer Whale" whilst I believe the tanker version became a "Fat Whale".

 

Thanks for watching.

 

Pete

[modelling minion]

Great use of our limited natural daylight Pete, makes a real difference to the grey and both your builds look great in it.

Your Whale is a great build and another of the less usual but equally important aircraft involved in the conflict.

Very well done mate.

[reini]

Great looking builds as usual @PeterB  That is an awesome looking pair - and makes it clear that while they are very similar, they are still quite different looking airplanes.