Revell A-10C Thunderbolt II 1/72 Revell (03857)

[Julien]

A-10C Thunderbolt II

1/72 Revell (03857)

 

 

The A-10 Thunderbolt II, or more commonly The Warthog is an aircraft specifically designed for ground support.  Post war the USAF all but ignored the need for close air support (CAS) aircraft and found itself reliant on older propeller based aircraft such as the A-1 Skyraider. While this was an excellent aircraft in this role a 1966 study identified the need for a modern aircraft which needed to be at least as capable as the A-1.  The A-X CAS would be the first US Aircraft specifically designed for CAS and the threat from large numbers of Soviet tanks. As such the specification called a 30mm rotary cannon armed aircraft capable of a short field performance and the ability to carry at least 16,000 lbs of external stores.  6 companies submitted proposals with Northrop & Fairchild being selected to build prototypes The YA-9 & YA-10.  Fairchild won the fly off in 1973 and thus the Warthog was born. Over the years the aircraft has had a few upgrades. 2005 brought the A-10C and with it a new fire control system, ECM suite and the ability to use smart weapons. Despite the aircraft not being a sleek sexy fast jet it has proven and continues to prove its worth in modern combat roles. Despite many attempts to pension of the jet the aircraft is now scheduled to be in service to 2028 and maybe beyond.

 

 

The Kit

Here Revell have re-boxed the Italeri kit. While probably the best 1/72 now available it does reflect the the latest A-10C, and in modelling the trend for engraved panel lines over everything else. While the A-10 has some of these it is also festooned with large dome head rivets over the rear fuselage and tail, none of which are on this kit. The kit does provide the large fuel tanks seen on the A-10 and some weapons. There are Sidewinder, cluster bombs, other bombs, and a pair of mavericks. The rendering of the famous GAU-8 muzzle is very soft. 

 

 

Construction starts with the cockpit. The seat goes together and then fits into the tub, followed by the instrument panel. Details for the panel and the side consoles are provided as decals. Next up the front nose wheel recess needs to be mad up. Once this and the cockpit are complete they can be paced into the fuselage, and the main fuselage closed up. Revell recommend adding 30g of nose weight.  Next up the main wing needs to be constructed. This is a single part lower with left/right uppers. Inserts need to be fitted into the airbrake recesses. The wing can then be joined to the fuselage. The engines are now made up into there podded unit and these can be added to the fuselage. On the wings separate parts are provided for open or closed airbrakes,  The twin tail section is the next to be constructed. The tails fit the the cross member and this to the underside of the rear fuselage. The nose cone is fitted and along with it the muzzle for the GAU-8. The landing gear and its doors are next to go on. The fuselage is finished off with a few aerials and the under fuselage strakes. Moving to the wings the pylons and any armament options can be built up and attached. Lastly the canopy can go on, and if wanted the pilots boarding ladder can be in the deployed position.

 

 

Decals

Here the decal sheet is printed in Italy and features one option only for the Demo jet from 354th Fighter Sqn, 355th Wing, Davis Monthan AFB, 2019/2020

 

 

Conclusion

While it maybe the better of the A-10 kits out there in this scale it does have a few issues, and you will be well prepared to get your own weapons and decals if you dont fancy making the demo bird.

 

 

 

 

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

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[alex]

Thanks for the review. Just checked, some shops (like hannants) sell the original A-10 kit from italeri which includes 4 decal versions (2 of them Desert Storm) at a lower price than the new revell kit. So, if you just need the plastic, there are some cheaper options than the new revell kit. Bit disappointed that revell only provides a small choice of variants, I thought level 4 contains 2 versions.

 

Alex

 

 

 

[RobL]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but everything I've read indicates that no-one produces an actual A-10C in 1/72?  They're all A-10A's and are missing many of the lumps/bumps (and stuff like LASTE) and the cockpit is always that of an A (i.e, no LCD screens), including Italeri's effort (which is what this kit is).

Edited November 28, 2020 by RobL

[Julien]

Some of the later bumps etc are in this kit, but an original cockpit yes.

[Andy Mac]

Thanks for the review. 👍

I'm about to build this kit, but as per usual Revell give their awkward 'mixing' of their own colours with no FS numbers.

With it being a one off scheme I'm a bit confused on the colours used.

I assume the grey would be either Light Ghost Gray FS 36375 or Dark Ghost Gray FS 36320.

And what is that green?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[Supersonic26]

Light Ghost Gray certainly looks correct for the grey when looking at pictures of the real thing. (Some pretty cool ones too!) Given that the camo is meant to evoke an older, possibly WW2 look the green might be some version of US Medium Green, doesn't look like anything resembling Olive Drab.

 

Revell's newish policy of only including decals for one single option is very annoying, especially in cases like this where the camo is fairly special (same thing for their various colorful "special occasion" jets). The Italeri kit does indeed include the same plastic with four decals versions, so this boxing feels like a ripoff unless you want this particular demo plane.