nimrod54 Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 After having a look through the stash for a suitable subject for this GB I decided to select this Hasegawa boxing of the A-7E. I have ordered some decals for the Blue Hawks aircraft. I have also ordered some pre coloured etch to detail the cockpit, but I still need to source some weapons to hang underneath. More information about the Corsairs deployment and hence the idea for my choosing this as a subject for the group build can be found in the link below. https://www.historynet.com/gulf-war-the-corsairs-last-hurrah.htm And here are the box and contents shots. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr John 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 A cracking choice John, if slightly bigger than your other builds of late! Despite it's age the Hasegawa A-7 is still a good kit, but you just wish that they would give you some whizz bangery with them, an unarmed Corsair just doesn't look right. Looking forward to this one mate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted February 6, 2021 Author Share Posted February 6, 2021 14 hours ago, modelling minion said: A cracking choice John, if slightly bigger than your other builds of late! Despite it's age the Hasegawa A-7 is still a good kit, but you just wish that they would give you some whizz bangery with them, an unarmed Corsair just doesn't look right. Looking forward to this one mate. Good to have you tagging along Craig. I don't have many 1/48 kits in my collection and only a few of those are jet aircraft, this being one of them. It will make a change for me not to have to use the special glasses for this build. Cheers John 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 A great choice of another aircraft in the twilights of its career going to war. Good lock with the build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyboy76 Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 All your good work with the new desk tidy will go out the window when you start building this monster 48 Corsair. Its absolutely crazy times if Johns venturing into this scale. Good luck dude. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 I have been steadily plugging away at some of the interior bits for this over the past week or so. The intake/nose bay has been assembled and the tricky interior seam was filled, sanded and repainted, it needs a bit more work yet before I fit it in the fuselage. The instrument panel and HUD have been replaced with etch parts, and I still have to fit a small amount of etch to the sidewalls and canopy rails though. There are a couple of seat options but I still haven't determined which option is the correct one for a Gulf War US Navy A-7E. The cockpit, intake and exhaust parts by John L, on Flickr Etch instrument panel by John L, on Flickr The remaining etch parts like sidewall details, canopy rails etc still need to be added. by John L, on Flickr 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benner Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 48 minutes ago, nimrod54 said: There are a couple of seat options but I still haven't determined which option is the correct one for a Gulf War US Navy A-7E. The cockpit, intake and exhaust parts by John L, on Flickr look'n good. Use the seat on the left of your picture. that is the SJU-8 ejection seat that replaced the seat on the right. Aires does make a very nice set of it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 1 hour ago, Benner said: look'n good. Use the seat on the left of your picture. that is the SJU-8 ejection seat that replaced the seat on the right. Aires does make a very nice set of it. Thanks for the info Benner, I'll start looking round for a replacement. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert falcon Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 That instrument panel is looking so nice !! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 9 hours ago, nimrod54 said: Thanks for the info Benner, I'll start looking round for a replacement. John Benner is correct, at this point in time the USN had replaced original ESCAPAC seats with the SJU-8, so if you want to replace the seat, look for an SJU-8. he SJU-8 seat was black overall, unlike the previous seat which was the same grey as the cockpit (FS36231 DGG), the new seat still used the old guide rails cheers, Pappy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyboy76 Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 Nice start dude. The etch on the IP looks great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted February 22, 2021 Author Share Posted February 22, 2021 On 20/02/2021 at 22:02, desert falcon said: That instrument panel is looking so nice !! Cheers DF. It looks quite a busy area and being a larger scale than the one I usually work in, it is a lot easier to work with. On 21/02/2021 at 05:09, Pappy said: Benner is correct, at this point in time the USN had replaced original ESCAPAC seats with the SJU-8, so if you want to replace the seat, look for an SJU-8. he SJU-8 seat was black overall, unlike the previous seat which was the same grey as the cockpit (FS36231 DGG), the new seat still used the old guide rails cheers, Pappy Thanks for your input Pappy. I have sourced a seat, and decided to splash out on some wheels too. I am now in the process of deciding on what I am going to hang off the pylons, so that I can sort those out before I place the order. On 21/02/2021 at 09:50, Hockeyboy76 said: Nice start dude. The etch on the IP looks great. Cheers matey, It's not bad for one of Eduard's earlier sets. I was working away yesterday and remembered that 12 months ago we met up for the first time in Nantwich for the model show, before Mrs. N and I headed off to North Yorkshire for a 5 day break the following day. I dropped the spare scraper in the post yesterday so it should be with you this week. UPDATE TIME I picked out a few of the details on the side consoles and lightly dry brushed other areas before fixing the assembly in position on top of the intake. I should be able to fit the bang seat in later once I have everything buttoned up. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 Cockpit looking very good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 Very nice work on the cockpit John, it looks very convincing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted February 23, 2021 Author Share Posted February 23, 2021 18 hours ago, Jabba said: Cockpit looking very good. 15 hours ago, modelling minion said: Very nice work on the cockpit John, it looks very convincing. Thanks for your comments guys. I have added the etch parts to the side walls and the inside of the canopy rails, then I decided to fix the intake/cockpit assembly into one of the fuselage halves. Things were going so well up to that point, it was a couple of minutes into holding things together that I realised that the glue had seeped under my finger leaving the the dreaded gluey print. I have sanded and polished that out and now just have to reinstate the fastenings, a small drill will sort that out. Cheers John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted February 23, 2021 Author Share Posted February 23, 2021 Here are a few photos of todays progress, in the first shot you can make out some of the etch detail added to the sidewall and the inside face of the canopy rail, there are similar details on the port side by John L, on Flickr The following images show the fuselage with the cockpit fitted and everything closed up. I'll leave things harden up for a couple of days, then start to clean up the join before adding the rest of the fuselage details. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Cheers John 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 Taking shape very nicely John, didn't take you long to get the fuselage closed up at all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted February 24, 2021 Author Share Posted February 24, 2021 14 hours ago, modelling minion said: Taking shape very nicely John, didn't take you long to get the fuselage closed up at all. Thanks Craig, it went together very well, but on closer inspection there is still a bit of work to do on my gluey print. It's behind the canopy opening and you can just make it out in the first of the photos. I have been looking at a few pics of A-7's in the Gulf and they look pretty well worn as would be expected for an aircraft coming to the end of its service life. I am scratching my head as to how I am going to recreate the very patchy paintwork, it's not something that I would be too bothered about in 1/144 scale, but I think that I will have to make some sort of attempt at creating a similar look in this scale. @Hockeyboy76's technique of a dark base colour with lightly brushed on topcoats has produced a nice effect on his Bedford Tanker for this GB, maybe something similar would work here. I think that it could soon be time to try a few things out before committing them to the model. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyboy76 Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 1 hour ago, nimrod54 said: Thanks Craig, it went together very well, but on closer inspection there is still a bit of work to do on my gluey print. It's behind the canopy opening and you can just make it out in the first of the photos. I have been looking at a few pics of A-7's in the Gulf and they look pretty well worn as would be expected for an aircraft coming to the end of its service life. I am scratching my head as to how I am going to recreate the very patchy paintwork, it's not something that I would be too bothered about in 1/144 scale, but I think that I will have to make some sort of attempt at creating a similar look in this scale. @Hockeyboy76's technique of a dark base colour with lightly brushed on topcoats has produced a nice effect on his Bedford Tanker for this GB, maybe something similar would work here. I think that it could soon be time to try a few things out before committing them to the model. Your far tooo kind Sir, as for my technique it’s purely along the lines of those famous decorators “Bodge it & Scarper” 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted April 9, 2021 Author Share Posted April 9, 2021 It has been a while since my last update, but in between other projects, I have been slowly plugging away at the A-7, and after priming I made a start on the painting last night. I airbrushed on a thin coat of paint using Xtracolor X135 FS16320, and whilst it is not easily seen in the bright sunshine, I allowed a hint of the grey primer layer to show through in a few places. The decal instructions state that the overall colour was FS36320 but that this has faded to be closer to FS36375, so I may add another thin layer of a lighter shade to the upper surfaces (maybe a mix of 6320 and 6375) to enhance the patchy appearance further. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 Nice to see this one altogether and with paint on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted April 10, 2021 Author Share Posted April 10, 2021 Thanks Jabba, not quite together yet though - the wing is just placed in position for now, I thought that it might help when it comes to fixing the undercarriage doors etc in position. I added a lighter shade on the model today, I am not sure how successful it was, it's my first attempt at trying to attain a patchy appearance and I think that the paint mix wasn't light enough, I hope some weathering might help me to achieve the look I am aiming for though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 Coming along very nicely John. Showing subtle variations in colour is something that I struggle to show with photography, it can be a matter of having to get the lighting just right, and then trying to repeat it again later! I think your plan to add the second colour sounds like a good one, should work a treat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyboy76 Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 Looking good dude, nice paintwork. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted April 11, 2021 Author Share Posted April 11, 2021 On 10/04/2021 at 21:42, modelling minion said: Coming along very nicely John. Showing subtle variations in colour is something that I struggle to show with photography, it can be a matter of having to get the lighting just right, and then trying to repeat it again later! I think your plan to add the second colour sounds like a good one, should work a treat. 22 hours ago, Hockeyboy76 said: Looking good dude, nice paintwork. Cheers guys. I had a second look at the paint earlier today and have decided that I need to add a paler colour. I used a 50-50 mix of 6320 and 6375 but it is still too close in tone to the base colour. I think I will have another try with 6375 on its own, then some weathering with white oil over that should get me somewhere close. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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