1/48 Hobbyboss A-6E Intruder

[Wings unlevel]

13 hours ago, arfa1983 said:

How many can it carry I wonder..

We’ll if recent form is any guide… 

[Jasper dog]

Your A6 looks tremendous,  something about the shape of the Intruder that just appeals.

 

Good luck

Darry

[desert falcon]

Nice work @arfa1983 👍

[arfa1983]

I guess the benefit of building everything open is that steps in the panels and parts do not rear their ugly head! 

 

This front end with the step with the radome is going to be the hardest thing to get right, but I will need to get at least this right to make the model look good! Let's see how it looks after tidying this mess up tomorrow. Any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated! 😅

 

Untitled by Arthur Filippis, on Flickr

[Col.]

Applying filler is always one of those 'looks worse before it gets better' stages but a gentle rub down using a sanding block will see you right I'm sure  

[Hewy]

 that's Looking good Arthur , these are complex aren't they, have you tried the front screen  yet, I was sure I got the coaming on mine fitted correctly, but it fouled the screen and wouldn't sit right, getting that nose to fit nicley is difficult, and a bit of filler is the norm, be vigilant .I only lasted a bit after this part, mine sits on the shelf in part built with the rest in its box

[arfa1983]

1 hour ago, Hewy said:

 that's Looking good Arthur , these are complex aren't they, have you tried the front screen  yet, I was sure I got the coaming on mine fitted correctly, but it fouled the screen and wouldn't sit right, getting that nose to fit nicley is difficult, and a bit of filler is the norm, be vigilant .I only lasted a bit after this part, mine sits on the shelf in part built with the rest in its box

I did a dry fit and it seemed to fit reasonably well but it’s gonna be some work to make sure it all looks proper 

[Alan P]

You've been busy again! Regarding the nose, I wouldn't offer any advice more than you've already done. What filler are you using, I find Mr White Putty is an excellent solution for poorly-fitting radomes, tailcones and other circumferentially-challenged model parts!

[arfa1983]

4 hours ago, Alan P said:

You've been busy again! Regarding the nose, I wouldn't offer any advice more than you've already done. What filler are you using, I find Mr White Putty is an excellent solution for poorly-fitting radomes, tailcones and other circumferentially-challenged model parts!

Exactly that!

[arfa1983]

I actually found I've got both Tamiya white and Mr White putty. Both seem to behave similarly. 

 

I've also used nail polish remover to smooth it out. I think it's just going to be a case of fill, smooth, sand, repeat. Until it looks fine then prime it and repeat it all again. In any case, I will spend as much time as I can on this step. There will also be some other filling required, such as wing roots but that looks quite simple and I'll do it once I'm happy with the nose. 

 

Untitled by Arthur Filippis, on Flickr

[Col.]

Time spent on the filling and smoothing is always time well spent Arthur  

[Wings unlevel]

On 09/03/2022 at 19:40, Col. said:

Time spent on the filling and smoothing is always time well spent

Oh I thought it was time you never got back! 🤣

[arfa1983]

3 hours ago, Wings unlevel said:

Oh I thought it was time you never got back! 🤣

I tend to agree. Somehow there is some satisfaction once it is done but until then... 

[Bertie McBoatface]

Ew! The nose looks awful. I'm no longer regretting selling mine!

[Jasper dog]

Funny, years ago filler jobs like yours were the norm, these days take one look at it and we grimace!

I'm absolutely sure it won't take too much work to get it all sanded back into shape.

 

Good luck!

Darryl 

[arfa1983]

Ewwwww

 

Untitled by Arthur, on Flickr

 

But, after a bit of sanding and smoothing with nail polish remover  (sanding stick was a great idea)

 

Untitled by Arthur, on Flickr

 

Untitled by Arthur, on Flickr

 

Looks a lot better. Primer will probably tell another story... But that's a weekend job!

 

Also got 12 rockeyes together.

 

Untitled by Arthur, on Flickr

 

And, wings assembled (inner and outer) then a cheeky little dry fit 

 

Untitled by Arthur, on Flickr

 

I hope it's all downhill from here! 

[Col.]

Good work getting the nose blended in Arthur All that work will be worthwhile at the painting stages.

[Jasper dog]

Really taking shape now, good work getting the nose blended in.

 

Atb

[Jens]

I know it is too late for this build, but such large areas of filler can usually be avoided if other measures are used.

What worked for me on my HB Intruder was to add the nose halves to their respective fuselage sides before joining the fuselage halves. This way the seam work is moved to the centre line, thus making it much easier to work with. In fact, I usually use this method instead of following the instructions.

 

HTH,

 

Jens

[arfa1983]

4 hours ago, Jens said:

I know it is too late for this build, but such large areas of filler can usually be avoided if other measures are used.

What worked for me on my HB Intruder was to add the nose halves to their respective fuselage sides before joining the fuselage halves. This way the seam work is moved to the centre line, thus making it much easier to work with. In fact, I usually use this method instead of following the instructions.

 

HTH,

 

Jens

Damn it you are right Jens... I'll keep that in mind next time for sure. 

 

Thanks for the tip even if it was a little late. 

[Jens]

20 hours ago, arfa1983 said:

Damn it you are right Jens... I'll keep that in mind next time for sure. 

 

Thanks for the tip even if it was a little late. 

 

You're welcome. I guess it's the ever present issue of not being able to foresee how people are going to approach their models.
I hope you enjoy the reast of your build as much as I enjoyed mine. 

 

Jens

[Longbow]

On 3/17/2022 at 4:07 AM, Jens said:

I know it is too late for this build, but such large areas of filler can usually be avoided if other measures are used.

What worked for me on my HB Intruder was to add the nose halves to their respective fuselage sides before joining the fuselage halves. This way the seam work is moved to the centre line, thus making it much easier to work with. In fact, I usually use this method instead of following the instructions.

 

HTH,

 

Jens

Does the nose cone come in two parts on the HB 1/48 kit ?

[Longbow]

On 3/1/2022 at 1:16 PM, arfa1983 said:

 

I should do the Rockeyes soon though... 

 

How many can it carry I wonder..

 

 

 

 

 

Quote….
 

Without any modifications, the A-6 could carry 28 MK-82 500-pound bombs. If the gear doors were removed, it was an even 30. That was 15,000 pounds of ordnance on a plane that only weighed 27,000 pounds empty. Fill her up with gas and we were launching off the deck in 300 feet, zero to 160 knots, at 60,000 pounds of gross weight. 

Edited March 20, 2022 by Longbow

[arfa1983]

2 hours ago, Longbow said:

Does the nose cone come in two parts on the HB 1/48 kit ?

Yes it does. So my idea was to glue it nicely together to create a single part but I think it would have been better to glue each side to the fuselage half as Jens mentioned. 

[arfa1983]

2 hours ago, Longbow said:

Quote….
 

Without any modifications, the A-6 could carry 28 MK-82 500-pound bombs. If the gear doors were removed, it was an even 30. That was 15,000 pounds of ordnance on a plane that only weighed 27,000 pounds empty. Fill her up with gas and we were launching off the deck in 300 feet, zero to 160 knots, at 60,000 pounds of gross weight. 

Hmmm. So a Rockeye weighs the same as a Mk82... that's a lotta bombs.  

 

Unfortunately I only have one extra MER... So I think it's gonna be 3xFuel tanks + 12 rockeyes. Though I do have some mk83s and mk84s (i think) that might also look nice.