A-10A "Warthog" of the Wisconsin Air National Guard

[billn53]

I'm now very nearly finished with the wing work.

 

My Warthog will only have a couple pylons on each wing, as that's what is most frequently seen in photos of Wisconsin ANG A-10s:

 

This:

 

 

Instead of this (PR photo of Wisconsin ANG A-10 armed for bear) :

 

 

The kit, however, is designed for a full load-out and has bulges under the wings for the pylons, which should not be present when the pylons are missing:

    

 

I used a rotary tool, scraper, and sanding stick to remove the bulges, and stretched sprue to fill the holes. I also filled the holes for the pylons that would go on the fuselage:

    

 

I decided to go ahead and install the pylons I will be using. If I had waited until after the wings were mounted to the fuselage, it would have been difficult to do the fettling and puttying I found necessary for good fit of the pylons:

 

 

I'm even thinking I about finishing and painting the wings now, separate from the fuselage, and assembling them together later.

 

I admit, an A-10 looks pretty naked with just a couple pylons...

 

 

I also spent some time drafting up art for the decals I'll need to make this a Wisconsin ANG bird:

 

 

That's it for now, I've a few errands to run today, but after those are done I'll be back at the bench.

[Jackson Duvalier]

That colour scheme is the classic A-10 look, IMHO.

 

11 hours ago, billn53 said:

 

 

The bluish darker green is almost the same value as the grey.  The lighter and darker olives almost look like variations on Interior Green.  A variation on micro-macro camouflage theory or just a cool paint scheme?

 

The non-present pylons are an interesting variation.  Their grease shadows will be an interesting modelling challenge.  Will that be a mask-and-airbrush effort?

 

 

(I just realised I used the word "variation" in three consecutive sentences, with no irony to leaven the mix.  My apologies.)

Edited August 14, 2021 by Jackson Duvalier
Ironically enough, Elegant Variation fail. 🤨 What would the Fowlers say?

[Alan P]

Just caught up with this excellent build Bill, you're really writing the book on this kit. With the effort you're putting in 👍

[billn53]

5 hours ago, Alan P said:

Just caught up with this excellent build Bill, you're really writing the book on this kit. With the effort you're putting in 👍

Welcome Alan. Thanks for the kind words, but compared to Giemme’s build (link posted earlier in this thread), I’m only writing a short story. His is more like War and Peace!

[billn53]

6 hours ago, Jackson Duvalier said:

That colour scheme is the classic A-10 look, IMHO.

 

The bluish darker green is almost the same value as the grey.  The lighter and darker olives almost look like variations on Interior Green.  A variation on micro-macro camouflage theory or just a cool paint scheme?

 

The non-present pylons are an interesting variation.  Their grease shadows will be an interesting modelling challenge.  Will that be a mask-and-airbrush effort?

 

I noticed the grease outlines, too, and thought about how to replicate them. But I wonder how visible they might be on the green wraparound camo? 

[billn53]

This morning's work consisted of various little tasks leading up to painting.

 

The kit has a circular depression beneath the gun, which doesn't appear in photos, so I punched a styrene disk to fill it in:

    

 

I also refined the holes I had made in the after fuselage. I had to make my screened-in rectangle narrower, and I added a few more circular holes to match a photo I have:

    

 

I re-scribed panel lines that had been lost when I dressed the seam on top of the fuselage, then sprayed Mr Surfacer 1200 (thinned with leveling thinner) to check for flaws. I found only a couple such items, which were easily fixed:

 

 

I've decided to go ahead and paint the wings separate from the fuselage. At first, I planned on black-basing, but as I was spraying the black undercoat I changed course and, on a whim, decided to try something new. Best I can describe it, it is a a hybrid between black basing and pre-shading. This pic should give you a better idea of what I'm doing:

 

 

If it doesn't work out, I can always strip the wing and go back to my original plan.

[Slater]

The munitions don't look too bad with the exception of what looks to be SUU-30 series cluster bombs. They're really bad, and may represent very early Vietnam variants, but were long gone by the time the A-10 appeared.

[Jackson Duvalier]

17 hours ago, billn53 said:

I noticed the grease outlines, too, and thought about how to replicate them.

 

 

Do gravestone rubbings of the top of the relevant pylon castings; make masks from them?

Edited August 15, 2021 by Jackson Duvalier
I still haven't quite gotten the hang of the English language.

[billn53]

6 hours ago, Jackson Duvalier said:

 

 

Do gravestone rubbings of the top of the relevant pylon castings; make masks from them?

Good idea!

[billn53]

I began painting the wing in earnest today!

 

I'm using Mr Color paints for the camo colors, and a set of masks by J's Work.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not exactly using the masks as designed. If I were to do so, I would end up with sharp edges for the camo pattern. What I want are slightly feathered edges. I made paper copies of the masks and cut out the individual pieces. After painting the first color, I taped the appropriate paper masks to the wing using two-sided servo tape (about 1-mm thick) to raise the masks off the wing surface.

 

 

 

 

 

The servo tape is very sticky. To protect the painted surface I applied Tamiya tape to the side that would contact the wings:

 

 

This is my first time using servo tape, and I must give credit where credit is due. @TheRealMrEd tipped me off about servo tape when I was doing my OA-37 Dragonfly build. Let's see how this experiment turns out!

 

Second color done:

 

 

More masks applied for the third, and last, color:

 

 

The Grand Reveal:

 

 

Very, very nice! I have only one area needing touch-up, where the gray didn't fully extend to the darker green:

 

 

That should be easy to fix.

 

Compared with what I've done previously (using Blue Tack to hold the paper masks), this is gives much more consistent feathered edges, and no underspray issues (so far 🤞).

 

I do think the Mr Color greens may be too saturated, compared to photos I have. I'm thinking maybe a Flory wash, or a neutral gray filter, might help tone them down. If I go the filter route, I'll have to be careful as it's easy to go too overboard. 

 

 

 

 

[TheRealMrEd]

Good job Bill!

 

Glad the servo tape is working out great for you also.  Sure wish I could remember the guy that posted the video that I learned it from!

 

Ed

[giemme]

You're doing a heck of a job with this kit, Bill!  I remember I had quite a few fit issues when I built it, but it's an Italeri kit so....   

 

Keep up the good work

 

Ciao

[billn53]

2 hours ago, giemme said:

I remember I had quite a few fit issues when I built it, but it's an Italeri kit so....   

 

 

 

Yes, in that respect it reminds me of the Italeri B-58 Hustler I built a couple of years ago. 

[billn53]

Painting continues. I now have the base camo done on the lower wing and horizontal & vertical stabs. I’m glad I started painting before assembling the wings to the fuselage. There’s a lot of masking going on which would be much more difficult with the fuselage in the way. 
 

 

 

[JJ2016]

Great stuff Bill ! You've shown some real patience with the fix ups and that paint scheme is going to turn out great !! 

 

Can't wait to see the final product.

 

Cheers

 

JJ

[billn53]

15 minutes ago, JJ2016 said:

Great stuff Bill ! You've shown some real patience with the fix ups and that paint scheme is going to turn out great !! 

 

Can't wait to see the final product.

 

 

Thanks JJ!

 

Here's a tease:

 

 

I wasn't happy with the lighter green, it seemed to bright and yellow-ish to me. The darker green also appeared to be a bit too saturated. To correct the colors, I mixed up a very thin filter using the dark gray color (thinned 50:1 with Mr Color thinner) and sprayed everything with a couple of quick passes. 

 

Here's a comparison, left is before the wash, right is after. The photo exaggerates the "before" colors, and doesn't really capture how the "after" looks to the naked eye, unfortunately... but you get the idea. (The photo above is after applying the filter).

 

And, look what the post lady delivered today:

 

 

With the QuickBoost inlets and fans in hand, I can now start work on the Hog's engine pods...

 

 

[Alan P]

Very nice work! The filter has really done the trick with the paintwork, spot on 👍

[giemme]

I say the filter is very effective,  Bill

 

And wise move getting the Quickboost fan blades

 

Ciao 

[billn53]

5 hours ago, Alan P said:

Very nice work! The filter has really done the trick with the paintwork, spot on 👍

 

4 hours ago, giemme said:

I say the filter is very effective,  Bill

 

Filters are a great tool to have in your toolset, but like I said, can easily be overdone. 
 

They worked great for me with this war-weary Black Widow:

 

 

But, this beat-up Barracuda ended up looking, well, dusty 🤔

 

 

 

[Cookenbacher]

It's looking great Bill! Your filter technique intrigues me, wonderful results on the P-61 and Barracuda, I will have to pay homage (steal it) in the future.

 

[2lefthands]

Strange, i like the Barracuda

 

I, personally, think that most weathering is way too regular because we`r so attracted by symmetry

 

And i`m impressed by the progress and speed of your build!

[billn53]

Just now, 2lefthands said:

Strange, i like the Barracuda

 

I, personally, think that most weathering is way too regular because we`r so attracted by symmetry

I like the Barracuda, too. But whenever I look at it, I feel like I need to bring out the feather duster 

[2lefthands]

10 minutes ago, billn53 said:

I like the Barracuda, too. But whenever I look at it, I feel like I need to bring out the feather duster 

 

[Solvent Parrot]

Lovely thread and great choice of subject. Watching carefully as I feel I need to do one at some point having grown up near the 81st tfw at Bentwaters. 

 

[Cookenbacher]

3 hours ago, billn53 said:

I like the Barracuda, too. But whenever I look at it, I feel like I need to bring out the feather duster 

It doesn't look dusty to me, it looks like you've really captured the effects of saltwater and sun!

Which kit is it by the way?