Kentavros76 Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 (edited) Hello everyone! First topic on WiP and hope it goes well! The kit is the Academy 1/72 A-10A Thunderbolt II. When I bought it I thought it was a real bargain! Only 12Euros, nice engraved panel lines with some rivets on, plenty of weapons, nice plastic, what could possibly go wrong? Well, when the built started I realised that the kit has very poor fit in almost all the important parts (upper and lower wing parts, engine base with rear fuselage, wings with fuselage, etc). I have heard (but it was too late) that the decals are trouble as well... Anyway, I don't like being grouchy so I will continue with positive thoughts and energy to my built! I started with the landing gear bays and struts. At this point I need to mention that I had decided to do this strictly out of the box, without any improvements and aftermarkets. But when I started with the front landing gear bay I realised that it looked seriously wrong comparing to reference photos. So I changed my mind and proceeded to some limited improvements with what I have on my bench. Aftermarkets are still banned due to severe budget restrictions... So the inner structure of front bay was enriched with some plastic strips and cables just to look busy enough. Weight was added at the front in order to avoid tail sitting when everything will be in place. Some work was done to the landing gear bays on the wings. They were painted black and then white. Some wiring was also added to the rear struts. The cockpit was kept as it was from the kit. Only the side panels were scribed to outline the panels of switches and buttons when the decals would go on them but didn't do any difference. The cockpit was painted with Humbrol 140. The seat on the other hand received more love from me. I added the cushion at the back of the seat made from metal foil, wiring and few details at the sides, few details on the headrest, harnesses and ejection handle. Here is the cockpit before the decals... ...and here after the decals. The engraved lines were not necessary but it was not much trouble anyway! Here is the seat, painted awaiting an oil wash... ... and after the wash. I didn't want to over do it. It's only an advanced and super expensive chair after all! That is all for now. I will come back to you soon with an update as the built has proceeded a bit. Hope you find it interesting. Fire at will if there is something that you think goes wrong with the built! Take care everyone and stay safe! Edited January 21, 2021 by Kentavros76 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackson Duvalier Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 The extra detail in the wheel well looks great, as does the seat. Looking forward to your next installment. Do you have any plans to enhance the gun? It's a focal point on the A-10 and doesn't seem to lend itself to replication via injection mould. I seem to be constitutionally incapable of doing a strictly OOTB build, so I've created a mental category of "OOTB+" wherein I'll perform no major modifications or corrections but will add a few enhancements like resin wheels and gun barrels of metal tubing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentavros76 Posted January 22, 2021 Author Share Posted January 22, 2021 On 21/01/2021 at 21:10, Jackson Duvalier said: The extra detail in the wheel well looks great, as does the seat. Looking forward to your next installment. Do you have any plans to enhance the gun? It's a focal point on the A-10 and doesn't seem to lend itself to replication via injection mould. I seem to be constitutionally incapable of doing a strictly OOTB build, so I've created a mental category of "OOTB+" wherein I'll perform no major modifications or corrections but will add a few enhancements like resin wheels and gun barrels of metal tubing. Thank you very much! I really like this OOTB+ category, believe it suits me fine. Now regarding the gun, I have replaced the front part (the one with the holes) with a new one made from sprue where I drilled seven rows of holes (3 in each row). I also drilled the gun barrels. There is still some work to be done but I think I am getting there! I will post some images as soon as possible. Have a nice weekend!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentavros76 Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 (edited) Hi everyone! I thought to give an update on the Thunderbolt progress. Weapons load was one of the first things that I dealt with. The weapons in the kit were 12xMk82, 6xAGM65, 2xMk84, 2xGBU10. To those I added 2xAIM-9L and one AL/ANQ-184 ECM pod. Unfortunately the kit did not provide the rails for the Sidewinders so I made an effort to make them myself. The ECM pod came from the Hasegawa weapons set VIII. Regarding the ECM pod I have a question. The version of the plane will date back to 2003. Is it ok to carry an AL/ANQ-184? Anyway, I have alternatives if it is not! All Mk82s had two deep pinmarks each. The same with the AGM 65s. To be honest that made things easier as I cut small round pieces of plastic, glued it on the pin marks, some sanding and ready. I painted them black and then white for the Mavericks and the pod and green for the bombs. The Sidewinders were painted with HU127 and black+gun metal at the tip. Wheels are also out of the way! Here are some pictures of the weapons. The twin rails for the AIM-9s were made from wat was available on my bench. The first thing was to make some measurements and calculations on 1/72. My material were a part of the kit's sprue... ...and a spare AIM-9 launcher of an old Italeri F-4G! It's not that bad! Not much will be seen anyway! Bombs are placed on the MERs and the ECM pod is completed with decals and a very light oil wash. There are supposed to be some exhaust holes on the rear lower surface of the plane. The kit was not that accurate at that point so I drilled them and at the inner side glued something like a mesh from veiling and then painted black. The gun was also prepared. The part with the holes for cooling the barrels was replaced with one made from sprue of appropriate diameter and the holes were drilled. That's all for the moment! Thanks for looking at my built and I look forward to reading some comments from you. Take care!!! Edited January 25, 2021 by Kentavros76 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentavros76 Posted February 28, 2021 Author Share Posted February 28, 2021 Hi everyone! After a while of silence I am back again with the progress I made on the A-10. The assembly of the airframe, wings, engines, etc was completed and a significant amount of putty and sanding was required to achieve a dissent fit. The chaff/flare dispensers at the wingtips were completely removed as they didn't look any good and new were made. Some work at the rear of the cockpit was also made. I used adhesive aluminium foil and plastic strips and rods to add some detail and not look so empty... I think it looks a bit better now but still needs some work. More is coming so please bear with me... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentavros76 Posted February 28, 2021 Author Share Posted February 28, 2021 The nose and gun part also needed al lot of putty, sanding and love... Now that the basic construction was over it was time to look at some details that are missing from the kit... Ready to apply the primer and check for gaps and other unpleasant surprises... 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentavros76 Posted February 28, 2021 Author Share Posted February 28, 2021 The kit was primered with the Grey Primer by Model Master. Then I tried to airbrush some presiding lines on the panel lines. The two greys of the paint scheme were the FS36375 Light Ghost Gray and the FS36320 Dark Ghost Gray. I used Humbrol 127 and Humbrol 128 for those two greys. The paint went on without any problem. There is not a great difference between those two shades but I have seen a few reference pictures that actually look like this. Anyway, the basic painting is over and its time to paint some details! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hook Posted February 28, 2021 Share Posted February 28, 2021 Lovely work, especially the scratchbuilt gun! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentavros76 Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 Hello everyone! Back with you again with one more update of the A-10 built. After main paint job was completed I gave some thought on my options regarding the shark mouth I wanted to make on the nose and how I would proceed. I could go on with the kit's decals or go ahead and paint it. I chose the second option as it was almost certain that the decals would fail (I think the nose decals are the harder to apply). So I went on with it! First step was to prepare the masks. I scared the actual kit's decal sheet with the shark mouth and printed 3 pairs of sharkmouths on common adhesive paper. Then I put modelling masking tape between the sticker and the silicon paper (like a sandwich) and cut the outline on the first couple, the teeth on the second and the tongue shape on the third. First I applied the aline masks and airbrushed Citadel white, then I put the teeth mask and applied the AK black and finally the tongue mask and red color. The result was not perfect but definitely better than if I would use the decals! The edges of the fins were painted with a mixture of blues (Humbrol + Model Master) that looked similar to the decal blue. I made some corrections and I painted most details (fake canopy, sensors, antennas, etc) and ready for the gloss varnish! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VT Red Sox Fan Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 Coming along nicely! Best Erwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentavros76 Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 2 minutes ago, VT Red Sox Fan said: Coming along nicely! Best Erwin Thanks Erwin! Back with you again with the last update before the completion of the built. I airbrushed some smoke paint mainly at the vents of the lower surfaces and then Tamiya X-22 gloss varnish to prepare the surface for the decals. The decals were nicely printed but the decal material itself was thick and problematic in its application. I was warned about this so I tried to use only the small decals that were easier to comply with the help of Mr Mark Softer. The sharkmouth decal was out of the way and from the fin decal I kept only the white thunder. When I started placing the decals I realised that I hadn't painted the refuelling point at the nose. I painted it with some aluminium, gun metal and smoke. Next step is the oil wash, the mat varnish and the final assembly! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentavros76 Posted September 11, 2022 Author Share Posted September 11, 2022 Hi everyone! It took me 17 months to post that final step of the construction of the A-10 . Of course the projects is over since ages but I decided to close my old accounts if I may say! Some oil wash was applied (mixture of black and brown in various ratios) and mat varnish (GUNZE) was airbrushed. The canopy was placed in open position, weapon load was glued in place and THE END!!! More pictures of the finished model will be posted in the RFI topic. I hope you like it and thank you for watching!!! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hook Posted September 11, 2022 Share Posted September 11, 2022 Looking suitably brutish! Thanks for posting. Cheers, Andre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smudge Posted September 11, 2022 Share Posted September 11, 2022 That looks great. Nice work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentavros76 Posted September 11, 2022 Author Share Posted September 11, 2022 2 hours ago, Hook said: Looking suitably brutish! Thanks for posting. Cheers, Andre Thank you very much Andre! 2 hours ago, Smudge said: That looks great. Nice work. Thank you for your kind comment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now