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1:72 Airfix Douglas A4D-2 (A-4B) Skyhawk


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There are few things I like better than a proper USN jet in Light Gull Gray and colourful markings. This kit was on top of the pile (literally), so here goes! I'm sure everyone is familiar with the recent Airfix kit, although it's hard to believe that it's already a decade old. How did it get to the top of the pile? It should be on the bottom! Here is Der Boxtoppen:

 

Der Boxtoppen

 

The styrene looks reasonably nice, although I seem to remember that there are some portions of the fuselage (scoops or reinforcing plates maybe?) that should be removed or added or otherwise fixed. But I don't recall for sure because I'm old. Somebody remind me.

 

IMG_6726

 

IMG_6727

 

IMG_6728

 

IMG_6729

 

So, not a lot of parts. I think the detail could use some help here and there, so I bought all of this stuff. Note that I was apparently unsure which set of control surfaces I should use (CMK or Aires) so I bought them both - another highlight of being old:

 

IMG_6718

 

IMG_6719

 

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The Airfix kit has a rather unimaginative set of USN markings (I mean, a lizard? Crockigator? )...

 

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...but this sheet should spruce things up. My recent Meteor build had some pretty red and yellow checkers, so why not do it again?

 

IMG_6730

 

IMG_6732

 

So there it is. I haven't started working on it yet as I'm digging out all of my Skyhawk references. I have all five of the Ginter Skyhawk volumes plus a bunch of Squadron/Signal, Detail & Scale, Aircam, Profile, and the assorted oddballs. Funny I should have all that reference material as I haven't built a Skyhawk since I was a kid.

 

I had a look at the aftermarket stuff, and the CMK main undercarriage bays require you to remove a portion of the upper wing. That's a little scary but honestly I don't think it could have been done differently due to the way Airfix engineered the kit. Whilst the CMK set has more detail, it's not that much more, so I may not use those bits thereby preventing the upper wings from being disfigured by the happy Razor Saw Man. We'll see.

 

Cheers,

Bill (shooting for the Biblical seven builds in 2023!)

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5 minutes ago, David H said:

I know Tommy Thomason has a Tailhook Topics blog posting about recognition features of early A4Ds...

 

-d-

 

Sweet! Tommy always has the answer - I'll head over there now. Thanks.

 

EDIT: Found it!

 

Cheers,

Bill

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I'll follow along too can't miss a Navy Bird build I learn so much from them!

Beer and popcorn ordered please carry on

 

    Stay safe          Roger

 

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On 14/01/2023 at 04:10, giemme said:

Cool  I have one of these in my stash, albeit in Hasegawa plastic and under the Hobby 2000 box livery.

 

Thank goodness for Hobby 2000 - a wonderful way to acquire Hasegawa and Fujimi kits at a (somewhat) reasonable price.

 

23 hours ago, Tailspin Turtle said:

Just in case you didn't find the one that lists (most?) of my posts on the A4D: https://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2013/03/a4d-4-skyhawk-collector.html

 

Thanks Tommy, that's the one I've been using. I also followed the link you included to the lengthy thread over on the Airfix Tribute Forum. For sure, @FAAMAN knows his stuff. Since he also appears to be a member of Britmodeller, hopefully he can drop by and keep me honest. To be brutally honest, though, I won't be going to the extent that he highlights in his thread. All of those modifications would be a big job in 1:32 let alone 1:72! I'll try to address the big ones and hope nobody notices the little stuff! My first concern is the curvature on the underside of the nose. I know the rudder is also not correct, as it extends down too close to the tailplanes. However, the Xtradecal checkerboard markings for VC-5 are designed to fit the rudder as it is, so if I fix the rudder and then trim the decal at the bottom, the checks won't look right. I'm afraid the rudder needs to stay the way it is. :)

 

On 14/01/2023 at 04:22, Hamden said:

I'll follow along too can't miss a Navy Bird build I learn so much from them!

Beer and popcorn ordered please carry on

 

Thanks - the most important thing to learn from my builds is what not to do! Here's your refreshments, be sure to drink responsibly (no more than four pints per hour):   :beer:    🍿

 

23 hours ago, Brandy said:

Not a subject I'm particularly interested in, but it's a Navy Bird build so I'll be following along.

Beer and peanuts to hand.

 

I hope I can pique your interest in the Scooter! Here's your refreshment order - the peanuts are already salted, although I have no idea how that is done when they're still in the shell:     :beer:    🥜

 

*****

 

I've commenced on the cockpit. My 2023 build season has officially begun.

 

Cheers,

Bill

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20 hours ago, giemme said:

Cool  I have one of these in my stash, albeit in Hasegawa plastic and under the Hobby 2000 box livery.

 

Following.... 🍿  :beer:

 

Ciao 


I think you meant Fujimi being reboxed by Hobby 2000 :)
I have one of those on the shelf (of doom?) and the modular nature of the Fujimi kit meant that a lot of sprues are common with other boxings.

The issue is that Fujimi started by doing an A-4M and kept the same fuselage sprue for the A-4B. You may find yourself in need of some panel rescribing around the engine access panels, I wish I had realized that prior to priming etc. 

I have an issue with Airfix's panel lines being rather deep. Also, something off about the shape of the nose of the Airfix kit.

 

@Navy Bird There's a few minor issues with the Xtradecal sheet (the VA-12 bird missing its VA-12 marking bellow the "NAVY" airbrake markings being the one I can remember). You have plenty of references on your end so you should be golden.
Have fun, I'm sure she's going to be a beauty!

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1 hour ago, cpoud117 said:

I have an issue with Airfix's panel lines being rather deep. Also, something off about the shape of the nose of the Airfix kit.

 

The panel lines aren't as bad as some of the early Hornby-era Airfix kits. We'll tone them down with 8 or 10 coats of paint.   :)   The bottom profile of the nose is too flat, and once you know about it, it's quite obvious. Before I start sanding I need to prepare some good drawings, starting with the info from Tommy's site and my reference books.

 

Cheers,

Bill

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  • Navy Bird changed the title to 1:72 Airfix Douglas A4D-2 (A-4B) Skyhawk
5 hours ago, cpoud117 said:

I think you meant Fujimi being reboxed by Hobby 2000 :)

You are indeed correct, it's  actually Fujimi - thanks for pointing that out :thumbsup:

 

Ciao 

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18 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

 

The panel lines aren't as bad as some of the early Hornby-era Airfix kits. We'll tone them down with 8 or 10 coats of paint.   :)   The bottom profile of the nose is too flat, and once you know about it, it's quite obvious. Before I start sanding I need to prepare some good drawings, starting with the info from Tommy's site and my reference books.

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

I guess I need to give Airfix a second chance. I remember buying their Harrier FA.2, 10 years ago. I openened the box, looked at the panel lines said "Nope" to myself and promptly sold it. 

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Look at that !!

Scooters !! 

May I take a seat Sir ??

I was pondering about starting one or some A-4 or restarting my yellow wings birds....

Who shouted "start both 2 " 

Is that you Giorgio ??

Beer at hand, cheese cubes too !!:cheers:

Okay proceed at your pace my friend !!

Sincerely.

CC

 

 

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5 hours ago, cpoud117 said:

I remember buying their Harrier FA.2, 10 years ago. I openened the box, looked at the panel lines said "Nope" to myself and promptly sold it. 

 

Ha! I did the same thing, only I bought both the FRS.1 and the FA.2 at the same time. In addition to the Matchbox-like panel lines, the forward fuselage was too wide, giving an unnatural squashed look to the canopy. Yup, sold them right away. Then, since I didn't know any better, I kitbashed the Fujimi and Hasegawa kits to make my FRS.1:

 

 

Should have just bought the ESCI kit...

 

4 hours ago, corsaircorp said:

Okay proceed at your pace my friend !!

 

Welcome aboard CC. The pace will likely be glacial. Although some of those are melting pretty fast so maybe that translates into my building the Scooter in a reasonable time frame.    :)

 

Cheers,

Bill

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Well aren't these just loverly...

 

IMG_6735

 

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I would recommend that the tooling design engineers be sacked.    😠

 

(Not really. These may look nasty, but due to the softness of the plastic used on this kit they're actually pretty easy to remove. Oh, here's a comparison of the kit's gear bays and the CMK resin (sorry for the bad photo):

 

IMG_6736

 

As you can see, there is not a lot of difference. The detail in the resin is a bit deeper, but Airfix actually comes closer to the real thing (at least in the photos I looked at). I think the kit bay will look fine under a wash. Also, the CMK resin omits the small wing fence that Airfix included in this area. I guess the question should be who's right? Back to my references...

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

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obviously a UMM razor saw and a few quick swipes with a #10 blade will make quick work of those lumpy things....

 

If it were me, i too would call the kit wheel wells good enough and just slop a Sutherland wash on them.

 

-d-

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6 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

Well aren't these just loverly...

 

IMG_6735

 

IMG_6733

 

I would recommend that the tooling design engineers be sacked.    😠

 

(Not really. These may look nasty, but due to the softness of the plastic used on this kit they're actually pretty easy to remove. Oh, here's a comparison of the kit's gear bays and the CMK resin (sorry for the bad photo):

 

IMG_6736

 

As you can see, there is not a lot of difference. The detail in the resin is a bit deeper, but Airfix actually comes closer to the real thing (at least in the photos I looked at). I think the kit bay will look fine under a wash. Also, the CMK resin omits the small wing fence that Airfix included in this area. I guess the question should be who's right? Back to my references...

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

 

G'day Bill,

 

I would have to agree that the bite in this case is definitely not worth the chew! A fe minutes work with some lead wire would easily surpass what is on offer in either the kit or the resin for  a fraction of the cost and far greater satisfaction without compromising the kit engineering or the penalty filling and sanding,

 

I have this kit in the stash (unstarted), I am looking forward to seeing what you can do with it,

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

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14 hours ago, busnproplinerfan said:

Just wondering about the main wheels you have, when did they go to the later wheel types?

 

Not sure, but I have two photos of 142874 in 1968 (these are the colour photos referenced in the Xtradecal instructions) and the aircraft has the late wheels, as depicted in the Aires aftermarket set.

 

13 hours ago, kev67 said:

Another great build in the making I see

 

Where? Send me a link so I can follow too!     :)   Just kidding - thanks for the compliment in advance.

 

Cheers,

Bill

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On 1/15/2023 at 6:32 PM, Navy Bird said:

(Not really. These may look nasty, but due to the softness of the plastic used on this kit they're actually pretty easy to remove. Oh, here's a comparison of the kit's gear bays and the CMK resin (sorry for the bad photo):

 

IMG_6736

 

As you can see, there is not a lot of difference. The detail in the resin is a bit deeper, but Airfix actually comes closer to the real thing (at least in the photos I looked at). I think the kit bay will look fine under a wash. Also, the CMK resin omits the small wing fence that Airfix included in this area. I guess the question should be who's right? Back to my references...

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

The Airfix representation is correct, within the limits of the tooling used.

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