fox1_BE Posted June 2, 2022 Share Posted June 2, 2022 These are the nice Fujimi Skyhawks, recently reboxed by Hobby2000. I added a bit of sidewall detail to the pretty good cockpit interiors, spare PE seatbelts in the A-4E and a couple of Pavla resin seats in the TA-4F. The aft canopy bulkhead of the TA-4F was scratched, as were the straight IFR probes. Armament consists of Verlinden Mk.82 bombs and a couple of Eduard Zuni's: although the rocket heads on Fujimi's Zuni's are actually quite nicely molded, dimensions and detail of the launchers are way off, so I used resin types instead. Paints are Gunze/Tamiya acrylics mainly. Weathering consists of a bit of pre- and postshading as well as oil washes. As reference pictures from Chu Lai AB showed particularly weary aircraft, I went a bit heavier on the A-4E. Decals are from two very old Microscale sheets, with the red/yellow bands on fuselage and tail fins painted on. The A-4E portrays an aircraft operating at Chu Lai AB: in 1965, the USMC constructed a SATS (Short Airfield for Tactical Support) on the shores of the Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam. Both the runway and flightline were built from interlocking metal AM-2 matting, with revetments constructed from oil drums. Interestingly, this runway was equipped with catapult and carrier deck type arresting gear. A-4's also used JATO (Jet-Assisted Takeoff) rockets, providing a short extra thrust on takeoff thus shortening the takeoff distance. As of 1966, a paved runway was constructed, followed by hardened shelters and related buildings. When looking for reference material on Chu Lai AB, I came across a blog by fellow Britmodeller Gary @Oldsarge : https://oldsargesaircraft.blogspot.com/search/label/Chu Lai RVN A lot of interesting pictures on this subject/era can be found here (but also on other aircraft-related topics) and Gary was kind enough to grant me permission to use one of his pictures. The aircraft shown in this photo are A-4C type Skyhawks, but it's a good example of the typical Chu Lai flightline layout. Thanks again mate!! Credits background picture: designed by Freepik, photo by jannoon028: https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/clouds-sunset-mountains_986559.htm The second build shows a TA-4F operating from Da Nang AB in a Forward Air Controller (FAC) role, using rocket pods to mark targets for incoming strike aircraft. I had as much fun building up the accessories as I did constructing both aircraft: revetment consists of Brengun oil drums and putty sandbags. Access ladder, loose PSP plates and nitrogen cart are also Brengun items. The bomb lorry, fire extinghuisher and generator set are from Hasegawa, with some spare PE added. I also used some Valuegear blobs and the tie-down chains are from Infini models. For the fun of it, here is a final pic with Hasegawa's 1/48 A-4E that I built a few years ago. Hope you enjoy the pictures, thanks for looking!! Patrick 59 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted June 2, 2022 Share Posted June 2, 2022 Great work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maginot Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 Outstanding work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldsarge Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 (edited) Great models. You made the Marines ,Proud. Edited June 3, 2022 by Oldsarge 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantherhawk27263 Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 What a pair of beauties!!! Great job!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sohoppy Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 Great work - and research. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Robin Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 Lovely work. Regards Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in a shed Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 Beautiful job on both of them, great bases too. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James G Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 Lovely work, really nice presentation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vultures1 Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 Excellent pair of Skyhawks and a great presentation too - well done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robertone139 Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 Fabulous work! Is the pilot climbing the ladder from Reedoak? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 Fantastic pair of Skyhawks there Patrick, esp` the FAC two seater. Love `em both 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fox1_BE Posted June 4, 2022 Author Share Posted June 4, 2022 Good afternoon all - many thanks for the kind words, much appreciated! @Robertone139 actually all figures are Hasegawa, except the chap on the left in the Chu Lai scene (Fujimi). Cheers, Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cifenet Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 You did a fantastic job on this. Love the diorama as well and thanks for supplying the actual photo to go with it. I personally thought A4 is somewhat short and fat, but I do like how you present them here. They good quite good. Great efforts, thanks for sharing this. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 A great pair of hot rods 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteR Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 Hello everyone. Thank you to Fox 1 for your efforts here. I'd like to share with you all some personnel information regarding H&M 11 and it's C.O. during the time of the model ,1969. His name was Lt. Col. Richard F. Hebert , and a close friend of mine for 25 years. He did 3 tours in Vietnam , first one 1965 , March, and over his 30 years in USMC would log over 5,000 hours and fly 27 A/C , He was fast FAC/TAC of the " Playboys" and his call sign would be "PLayboy One" We both Had attended pilot re-union in Washington DC about 20 years ago, the description by his squadron pilots was nothing but pride in the " skipper" as he was referred to. You can see more of actual information , Google / records of war.com vietnam. and A4 skyhawk Assoc. He passed December , '2020 at the age of 89 . He was a great friend of mine, instilled with me sense of "mission" and confidence to overcome anything in life . Be well everyone. PeteR 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
112 Squadron Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 An excellent pair of Scooters! Your dioramas look outstanding. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toniosky Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 I like both of them and the attention to details for the two scenes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basket Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 Hello . Very nice work , but your choice to build an A-4M early to depict an A-4E is somehow bizarre . 🤔 Can you explain ? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fox1_BE Posted June 12, 2022 Author Share Posted June 12, 2022 Hi all, thank you for your comments! Well @basket, it’s actually quite simple: I really wanted to build the A-4E from a Fujimi kit, which was not that easy to find at the time. So, when Hobby2000 released their first kits, I bought the (O)A-4M boxes immediately and started backdating from there. …. typically, last year Hobby2000 released an A-4E, even with the VMA-311 markings I wanted to use! But by then I was already well underway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRMRL Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 Two immaculate aircraft and stunning displays, very nice work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basket Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 1 hour ago, fox1_BE said: Hi all, thank you for your comments! Well @basket, it’s actually quite simple: I really wanted to build the A-4E from a Fujimi kit, which was not that easy to find at the time. So, when Hobby2000 released their first kits, I bought the (O)A-4M boxes immediately and started backdating from there. …. typically, last year Hobby2000 released an A-4E, even with the VMA-311 markings I wanted to use! But by then I was already well underway. Thanks for your reply , and bad luck about the fujimi kit ! 🙄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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