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JR's Book of Resurrections. Opus 2: A-4B Skyhawk, Airfix, 1/72 ***FINISHED***


jean

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Hi everyone,

 

the A-4 Skyhawk GB is looming ever so close, and I have stupidly decided to finish this A-4B started eons ago.

That is the plan no matter how silly it sounds. Silly because I am trying to finish my Etendard IV M from the Heller GB, and because I am entering another A-4B from Airfix in the A-4 GB...

This one is being built almost OOB. I am using a Pavla Escapac seat. As the airframe I am modelling has the new type of rims, I have stolen the wheels from an Esci A-4E. And the underwing tanks a well, as they are better than the Airfix items.

I jazzed up the cockpit slightly by representing the padding with adhesive aluminium foil marked with the back of a scalpel blade. Nobody will ever see it once the canopy has been glued shut!

Here is a photo of the progress to date:

 

A-4B Photo 1

 

Xtradecal will supply the markings.

 

Thanks for watching.

JR

Edited by jean
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Good evening all,

 

small progress on the Skyhawk.

I drilled the oil vent on the port side of the fuselage and inserted a small piece of Albion tubing inside. Once that was done I could add the wings and the stabilisers.

 

A-4B Photo 3

 

 

A-4B Photo 2

 

Then I drilled the avionics cooling inlet at the tip of the nose, only because I had a drill nearby.

 

A-4B Photo 4

 

So a bit of putty, micromesh, the seat to paint and the canopy to glue, and then I can move on to the primer/paint job.

It is going much faster than  thought. May it last.

 

Have fun!

 

JR

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  • 1 month later...

Hi everyone,

 

Some progress has taken place on the side.

 

The seams have all been taken care of, and the cockpit is declared finished. I don't think I will bother with the HUD. In such a tight place, it si not worth taking the risk to do untold amount of damage. And I don't feel like it...

So next the canopy sections will be subjected t some Tamiya polish compounf, glued and masqued.

 

A-4B Photo 5

 

Then the really fun part will take place. I can't wait.

Have fun!

 

JR

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Canopies have been polished and glued. I started with Clearfix, and because the main canopy was not touching the coaming in a few places, I had to add some Tamiya green top and keep up the pressure for several minutes.

It worked but the fit is not Japanese. The canopy is slightly raised at the back and some sanding is the next little job needed.

It's got to be me stuffing up somewhere upstream, considering the very tight fits of this kit.

Oh well.

Here is a photo of the canopy in place, showing the terrible fit at the back!

 

A-4B Photo 7

 

Have fun.

 

JR

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Hi everyone,

 

sorted out the back of the canopy and masked it. Painted a coat of dark gull grey on the canopy framing prior to some primer.

Painfully slow some days...

Just for fun, the front canopy came off... So I re-glued it using black gloss enamel paint. Hopefully that will d the trick.

 

A-4B Photo 8

 

Cheers and have fun.

 

JR

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Hello everyone,

today I gave the A-4 a scrub with micromesh and a good brushing with methylated spirit, and then a spray with Tamiya grey primer.

I love that stuff.

Anyway, it looks good AFAIAC. That's what matters. I realized that I forgot to add a small protection plate at the base of the rudder, but I may just give it a miss. OK, I will see how I feel tomorrow morning... Damn!

A quick photo:

 

A-4B Photo 9

 

Tomorrow I will get on with the white... I may even use the Tamiya white primer for that.

Cheers all.

 

JR

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9 minutes ago, Sturmovik said:

Which scheme are you planning to use on the Hot Rod?

Hi Sturmovik,

 

I am going for the VC-5 scheme (the Checkertails).

It is the top scheme on the photo below, the one with the checkered rudder.

 

A-4B GB Photo 4

 

I hope the tail markings behave!

Cheers

 

JR

Edited by jean
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Hi everyone,

 

today I decided to get on with the white paint on the A-4.

I used a Tamiya mat white rattle can, which I left in hot water for five-odd minutes, on account of a cold front turning sub-tropical Africa into the Arctic.

The paint behaved beautifully and I am actually very happy with the result.

Over the last couple of nights I have brush painted all the little thingies to hang under the model. So light gull grey next!

 

A-4B Photo 10

 

Thanks for watching.

Have a lot of fun!

 

JR

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Hi,

while masking the airframe for the light gull grey, I started decalling the fuel tanks.

The latter are not perfect shape-wise, but they will do.

Here is a photo of the result:

 

A-4B Photo 11

 

I suspect sun glasses will be required to look at the finished model!!!

 

Have fun!

 

JR

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Hi everyone,

 

well both tanks are now decalled and the model is almost completely masked for the light gull grey.

I decided to paint the insignia red on the slats' recess before the grey. For my pain, I snapped the refueling probe, which along with a slat's guide rail will give me something to worry about somewhere down the road. I am not fixing anything until the very last second! 

Clumsiness can be a curse.

 

A-4B Photo 12

 

Keep having fun.

JR

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On 25/02/2021 at 18:48, jean said:

Esci A-4E. And the underwing tanks a well, as they are better than the Airfix items.

Not exactly hard. The only Airfix A-4 store that even might be right is the bomb for the A4-Q centreline pylon in Argentinian colours (and then the paint scheme is "as preserved" rather than as flown in the Falklands war).

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5 minutes ago, Paws4thot said:

Not exactly hard. The only Airfix A-4 store that even might be right is the bomb for the A4-Q centreline pylon in Argentinian colours (and then the paint scheme is "as preserved" rather than as flown in the Falklands war).

Hi,

you are absolutely right. But I am facing a problem: I am building two A-4Bs... the other one is in the A-4 GB. 

So I decided to go the heretic road: on this A-4B I am using the underwing tanks from the kit, with the inaccuracies this entails... I have confessed this sin already.

The ESCI underwing drop tanks will go on the GB Skyhawk... I wish I had the possibility to get the right stuff, but I have t make do with what is available in these crazy times.

 

Cheers

 

JR

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6 minutes ago, jean said:

A-4B I am using the underwing tanks from the kit, with the inaccuracies this entails

I feel your pain. Other issues I have with the Airfix kit (aside from the tank mishapes) would include the lack of fuses on the mk-81s, and the outer pylons and wing flash-overs for a 5-pylon wing underside. The nose and intakes mean you can only build the kit as an A4B/P or Q, which all have 3 pylon wings, so I'd rather the effort had gone on accurate stores.

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1 minute ago, Paws4thot said:

I feel your pain. Other issues I have with the Airfix kit (aside from the tank mishapes) would include the lack of fuses on the mk-81s, and the outer pylons and wing flash-overs for a 5-pylon wing underside. The nose and intakes mean you can only build the kit as an A4B/P or Q, which all have 3 pylon wings, so I'd rather the effort had gone on accurate stores.

I am fully behind you, and I often wish we were living in a perfect world where drop tanks had the right shape!

I saw on the Hannant's site that there are some pretty good after market drop tanks for the A-4, but they might as well be on Orion. 

Plus, where I live I can promise you that there are not too many people who would notice the errors... or be interested in my models for that matter. As I said before, in addition to having taken confession, I have had counselling about these tanks, and I am pretty cool now.

 

Cheers

JR

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Good progress Jean, I've looked in because I may have a crack at one of these myself & it truly will be OOB with whatever improvement I can make with a little skill & bits & pieces.

Steve.

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21 minutes ago, stevehnz said:

Good progress Jean, I've looked in because I may have a crack at one of these myself & it truly will be OOB with whatever improvement I can make with a little skill & bits & pieces.

Steve.

Hi Steve,

 

this kit is nowhere near perfect, but it is pleasant to build and to look at. What more does one want?

Nitpicking is fun for a little while, until one realizes that life is indeed too short and building is more fun than finding faults.

Like you, I tend to correct what is glaringly wrong and won't take too long. 

 

You will have a lot of fun with this kit.

JR

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Hi all,

 

at long last the masking is finished and I am pretty much ready for the LGG on the upper surfaces.

When I have finished the painting I will switch in earnest to my GB A-4B and try to finish that one in time. I will slow down on this one as there will be mainly the decals to add. The dangly bits are all pretty much  done too.

Here is a shot of the masked lower surfaces: ridiculously time consuming, but necessary.

 

A-4B Photo 13

 

Have fun.

 

JR

Edited by jean
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Hi everyone,

 

just finished brush painting the light gull grey: 3 coats of Humbrol 129 diluted at 20%.

Very smooth finish. Tomorrow removal of the masking and tidying up before a first coat of gloss varnish.

Here is a photo of the progress.

 

A-4B Photo 14

 

Keep having fun!

 

JR

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2 minutes ago, Sturmovik said:

Don't forget to paint the ailerons white and the slat bays in red.

Already done, hiding under the masking tape!

Thanks

 

JR

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Hi,

 

masking tape removed and I am quite happy with the result.

There is some tidying up to do, where the paint has bled under the tape, but all in all I have done worse with a paint brush...

The broken bits will have to be glued, which is a bit painful... no choice there.

 

A-4B Photo 15

 

Enjoy your builds!

 

JR

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  • 4 months later...

Hi everyone,

 

My Bf 109 E-4 being finished, it is now the turn of this Airfix A-4B to reach completion ASAP.

The painting is almost completed, and then some paint tidying up will be required before the gloss varnish.

I will keep the repair jobs for near the end, as my fingers have a propensity to knock freshly glued parts...

 

Here is a photo of the progress at this moment:

 

A-4B GB Photo 19 bis

 

Have fun!

 

JR

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