Italeri 1/72 A-10A Thunderbolt

[Vultures1]

This is the Italeri A-10A, depicting an aircraft of the 81st FS from Spangdahlem deployed to Aviano for Op ALLIED FORCE in 1999.

 

A few mods were required to the base kit to fix some errors and to bring it up to spec for a later A-10A. These included:

 

·       Reduce the width of the LAU-114 Dual Rail Adapter for the LAU-105 missile rails

·       Fill hole at the front of the engine fan boss

·       Reshape the rear of the wheel pods

·       Add the LASTE modifications

·       Remove AN/ALR-46 RHAW antenna at the tail and nose, replace with AN/ALR-69 fit

·       Reshape nose for a less angular shape

·       Drill holes under rear fuselage for various vents

·       Remove stub antenna from top of starboard fin

·       Relocate/modify antenna fit appropriate to the period

 

Other mistakes (eg wing tip lights on the wrong way round, and one of the grilles under the fuselage vanished into another dimension) are all my own.

 

I used Eduard details and masks, Astra decals, Brengun LAU-131 rocket pods, Master gun barrels and pitot, and ResKit wheels. Hasegawa weapons sets provided the AN/ALQ-131 ECM pod and Mk 82s (modified to look like they are fitted with proximity fuses), while AIM-9Ls came from an old Italeri USA/NATO weapons set. Main camo colours are Vallejo and weathering is with Flory washes and Tamiya powders. The lightning bolt on the access ladder door is a bit of artistic licence; I don’t know what artwork if any this aircraft had on the door but it is a common place for decoration on the A-10 and it picks up on the contemporary 81st TFS markings.

 

I found the Reid Air Publications “Modern Hog Guide” absolutely indispensable in trying to get the equipment and antenna fit appropriate to an aircraft from this period because the A-10 has gone through a lot of changes over the years.

 

Chris

 

 

[Robertone139]

Looks nice but is it me or the main landing gear of the Italeri kit has a weird splayed stance? 

[Drakendk]

Great work! Your efford really paid of.

Thanks for sharing 🙂

 

[Vultures1]

1 hour ago, Robertone139 said:

Looks nice but is it me or the main landing gear of the Italeri kit has a weird splayed stance? 

Hmmm, now you mention it...

 

I hadn't really noticed that but I do see what you mean in some of the photos. Could be lens distortion or maybe another one to add to my list of errors?!

[Vultures1]

26 minutes ago, Drakendk said:

Great work! Your efford really paid of.

Thanks for sharing 🙂

 

Thanks @Drakendk! Not always a straightforward build but I enjoyed it 

[fox1_BE]

Very nice work, great paint job👍

[eng]

Having a couple of these Italeri kits I know this isn't the easiest of kits to get together, but this is a superb build! 

 

Beautifully turned out and if you hadn't said it could easily pass for a larger scale kit.

 

Superb!

 

Eng

[Vultures1]

59 minutes ago, fox1_BE said:

Very nice work, great paint job👍

 

Thank you! I've recently changed some of my varnish and weathering media and am still learning to work with them but am reasonably happy with how this turned out 

 

48 minutes ago, eng said:

Having a couple of these Italeri kits I know this isn't the easiest of kits to get together, but this is a superb build! 

 

Beautifully turned out and if you hadn't said it could easily pass for a larger scale kit.

 

Superb!

 

Eng

Thank you for your kind comments! It isn't the easiest kit to build and definitely needs some planning to put together 

[dimaADA]

Great job!

Many years ago I also made this set. And I also used PE from Eduard and a set from AstraDecal.

[Vultures1]

45 minutes ago, dimaADA said:

Great job!

Many years ago I also made this set. And I also used PE from Eduard and a set from AstraDecal.

Thanks @dimaADA! The kit and all that aftermarket had been in the stash for quite a while 😄

[Zoran Srb]

Good job, but I prefer this one 

[cpoud117]

That's a fine looking Hog, nice work!

[Vultures1]

1 hour ago, cpoud117 said:

That's a fine looking Hog, nice work!

Thanks mate! I think that all of the current 1/72 Hogs on the market have their "issues", so it would be interesting if GWH followed up their 1/48 release with the smaller scale

[Robertone139]

In my opinion the Italeri 1/72 A-10 is the one that best lends itself to super detailing and being displayed with control surfaces extended in live action (split ailerons and extended flaps) and other than the weird look of the landing gear (that I'll have to correct in my upcoming builds) Vultures1 did a heck of a job in finishing it.

[Vultures1]

8 hours ago, Robertone139 said:

In my opinion the Italeri 1/72 A-10 is the one that best lends itself to super detailing and being displayed with control surfaces extended in live action (split ailerons and extended flaps) and other than the weird look of the landing gear (that I'll have to correct in my upcoming builds) Vultures1 did a heck of a job in finishing it.

Thanks @Robertone139!

 

One of the challenges with the Italeri kit is that the ailerons are designed to be open, which is great for an 'in action' pose but tricky to close for 'at rest'. I didn't try extending the flaps.

 

Splayed undercarriage may well be my fault but definitely one I would watch out for if I built it again. Getting the wing angles right could be another factor (I think one wingtip is a couple of mil higher than the other) and it's also a heavy model with all the weight that's needed in the nose. 

 

Good luck with your upcoming builds 

 

Chris 

[Sky Keg]

Nice Hog Chris.  I built it as well and I like how your`s here turned out.  

 

Mike