1/72 HobbyBoss TA-7C as EA-7L 'Spoofin Sluf' - DONE

[Dermo245]

Hi all and decided to take the plunge with this one.

 

HobbyBoss_TA-7C_Corsair_Box by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Will be mostly out of box with a wing fold add-on by Wolfpack

 

HobbyBoss_TA-7C_Corsair_bits by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Hope to finish as a "Spoofin Sluff" from the mid-1980s with a patchy paintwork

 

HobbyBoss_TA-7C_Corsair_VAQ-34 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr 

 

Thanks for looking, good luck with your builds!

All the best,

Dermot

Edited May 5, 2023 by Dermo245
Completed!

[modelling minion]

Great to see a two seater in the GB Dermot, nice choice of scheme too with plenty of scope for weathering.

 

🇺🇦

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Welcome aboard 

[Hook]

Great choice of subject. 

 

One thing to look out for, HB missed the brake parachute housing above the exhaust. 

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[heloman1]

Nice choice and a little different.

 

Colin

[Dermo245]

Thanks all and made a start on this one.

 

The cockpit (without seats), u/c bays and intake have been added and fuselage closed up. The fit around the intake and nose u/c bay was very troublesome - I ended up gluing in the u/c bay side pieces separately, cutting the four mounting tabs off the intake (part C16) and installing that along with the cockpit. Dry-fitting revealed the intake wasn't straight & level when using the mounting tabs...weird.

 

HobbyBoss_TA-7C_Corsair_Wip_1 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Unfortunately, the pressure to hold this all together has popped the intake trunking so iI'll have to go in and fixt that.

 

HobbyBoss_TA-7C_Corsair_Wip_2 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

The cockpit is a bit generic but does the job. Considering all the beautiful rivet and panel detail on the kit, it's a pity they didn't extend detail that to the office.

 

HobbyBoss_TA-7C_Corsair_Wip_3 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Some seams to tidy up but nothing too worrying!

 

Thanks for looking, take care and happy modelling.

Cheers,

Dermot

 

 

[Dermo245]

Hi all and latest progress on this one. The kit came with a set of resin wing-fold from Wolpack - here is one side compared to the kit wing. I managed to chip the corner of the resin bit but found it and glued it back on.

 

HobbyBoss_TA-7C_Corsair_Wip_4 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

And then glued on which needed some  filler here and there.

 

HobbyBoss_TA-7C_Corsair_Wip_5 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Then hit with some primer and my attempt at a pre-shading.

 

HobbyBoss_TA-7C_Corsair_Wip_6 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

And then a patchy coat of Mr Hobby 308 which is their FS36375 Grey. It's hard to make out from the photos but I tried to keep it random and well-used.

 

HobbyBoss_TA-7C_Corsair_Wip_7 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Then followed that up with a lighter coat of the base colour in the centre of panels and here and there. Again, it looks better to the naked eye and might be a little too-worn but I've never tried this before so learning as I go!

 

HobbyBoss_TA-7C_Corsair_Wip_8 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

All the best,
Dermot

 

[modelling minion]

Very nice work Dermot, the paining is very effective.

 

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[Wings unlevel]

Nice work Dermot, can really see the variation in the paint work. I have this kit so watching keenly

[Dermo245]

Thanks all and decal time. These were gifted to me by a friend in the hobby and I think they're from the RHVP resin conversion.

 

HobbyBoss_TA-7C_Corsair_Wip_9 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

They went on beautifully and I  love how the colour 'pops' against the grey.

 

HobbyBoss_TA-7C_Corsair_Wip_10 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Gloss coat next before weathering.

Cheers,

Dermot

[Wings unlevel]

3 hours ago, Dermo245 said:

I  love how the colour 'pops' against the grey.

It does, looks fantastic!

[modelling minion]

Very nice Dermot, the decals look great against the grey camouflage.

 

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[Hook]

Lovely! 

 

What will you use for underslung ECM pods?

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Wow that is looking good. 

[Dermo245]

5 hours ago, Hook said:

Lovely! 

 

What will you use for underslung ECM pods?

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

 

Thanks Andre - I'm making an AST-4 pod and an ALQ-167 pod from some spare drop tanks and other bits - they won't be 100% accurate but close enough for me!

 

Cheers,

Dermot

[Hewy]

Thats looking ace dermot , great choice of scheme too

[Dermo245]

So home stretch with this one now. The drop tanks are from the kit while the pods are made from spares - I think the AST-4 is a little skinny but I'm not stressing.

 

HobbyBoss_TA-7C_Corsair_Wip_11 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Fitting the u/c was very fiddly, not helped by the instructions being very unclear on exact placement - a lot of test-fitting and head-scratching involved.  She just about sits ok but care needed! The gear doors were also fiddly - again, I found it hard to work out exact placement of the actuating parts. 

 

I know there are some seam issues underneath but I don't look at my models like this so happy enough!

Thanks for looking.

Cheers,

Dermot

[modelling minion]

Excellent work on the pods Dermot, they look very convincing.

She's coming together very nicely and will soon be finished by the looks of things.

 

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[Dermo245]

And now right side up!

 

HobbyBoss_TA-7C_Corsair_Wip_12 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Finish weathering and then add the remaining panel doors and she'll be done.

Cheers,

Dermot

[Wings unlevel]

2 hours ago, Dermo245 said:

Finish weathering and then add the remaining panel doors and she'll be done.

Lookin good! I hope to pick up the baton and get going on mine soon!

 

Re the undercarriage, the kit instructions would have you fit the nose gear before joining the fuselage sides, but it looks like you don’t need to?

[Dermo245]

31 minutes ago, Wings unlevel said:

Lookin good! I hope to pick up the baton and get going on mine soon!

 

Re the undercarriage, the kit instructions would have you fit the nose gear before joining the fuselage sides, but it looks like you don’t need to?

 

Thanks and look forward to seeing it!

 

For the undercarriage, I noticed that in the instructions too; I'm always worried about fitting u/c so early in a build.

I fitted everything apart from parts E26 & E25 - I think they were used for catapult take-offs to hook the aircraft up to the shuttle track? They might have been removed from EA-7's as I don't think they were carrier-based? I also couldn't see them in any reference photos of this aircraft.

 

I probably said this before but I also nipped back the locating tabs on part C16; they seemed to stop the intake trunk fitting correctly. Or that could have been my mistake in the cockpit assembly.

 

TA-7 instruction_snip by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Hope that helps!
Cheers,

Dermot

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Nice work on the pods/ordnance, looking forward to the finish. 

[stevehnz]

Nice one Dermot, you've shown that grey planes don't need to be boring, beautifully so in this case. 👍

Steve.

[Wings unlevel]

22 hours ago, Dermo245 said:

E25 - I think they were used for catapult take-offs to hook the aircraft up to the shuttle track? They might have been removed from EA-7's as I don't think they were carrier-based? I also couldn't see them in any reference photos of this aircraft.

Good spot, Dermot. I had a look at a few images I’d saved and you’re right, the EA-7Cs appear to have the catapult launch bar removed, but it’s definitely in place on the one photo I have of my subject TA-7C.

 

Thanks for the tip on the intake trunk tabs, I’ll watch for that on mine. Still trying to finish a Draken and a Mirage first, both of which have had minor setbacks at the paint stage, before I really get going on my Corsair…

[heloman1]

Speedy progress and a fine looking scheme. As SteveNZ , said grey planes don't have to be boring.

 

Colin