1/48 A-10C, 74th Fighter Squadron, Operation Inherent Resolve, 2017. Finished 08/10.

[DaveJL]

Hello all,

 

Here is my first of possibly two entries for this GB - Academy's recent 1/48 A-10C, in the markings of the 74th Fighter Squadron, during an Operation Inherent Resolve deployment to Incirlik, Turkey in 2017.

 

Admittedly, this was left over from the A-10 GB, but luckily falls nicely into this one.. "I've started so I shall finish"

 

Kit:

 

 

Extras:

 

 

I'll be using Phase Hangar Resin's engine set, MCC ejection seat, Quinta cockpit set, New Ware mask, Brassin cannon barrel and Speed Hunter Graphics decals. 

 

Markings:

 

 

Essential reference:

 

 

Should end up something like this:

 

 

The GBU-12 beside the Litening pod will be replaced with an AGM-65

 

This is as far as I got with it:

 

 

From left to right; AIM-9M, Litening pod, GBU-12, GBU-54, GBU-31, GBU-54, GBU-38, AGM-65, LAU-131, GBU-12. The GBU-31 is from a Tamiya F-14 and the GBU-38 is from the spares (not sure of its originator ). The detail on the kit weapons is very good indeed, I think it's the only time I've seen the rocket motor on the the AGM-65 replicated

 

Think that should fall below the 25% rule

 

Dave

[modelling minion]

Welcome to the GB Dave, I think we can safely say that you are well below the 25% threshold.

The A-10 is such an awesome looking aircraft and I will be very sorry to see them leave the USAF inventory, the only thing that can make an A-10 look better is a shark mouth and you have chosen one of them so that makes it perfect in my book. The kits weapons really do look superb, especially the motor on the Maverick.

Very much looking forward to this one mate.

[81-er]

Welcome to the GB, Dave, and with a great subject choice. I know you'll make a very fine model out of this one

 

James

[DaveJL]

22 hours ago, modelling minion said:

Welcome to the GB Dave, I think we can safely say that you are well below the 25% threshold.

The A-10 is such an awesome looking aircraft and I will be very sorry to see them leave the USAF inventory, the only thing that can make an A-10 look better is a shark mouth and you have chosen one of them so that makes it perfect in my book. The kits weapons really do look superb, especially the motor on the Maverick.

Very much looking forward to this one mate.

 

7 hours ago, 81-er said:

Welcome to the GB, Dave, and with a great subject choice. I know you'll make a very fine model out of this one

 

James

Thanks Chaps! I will get it done this time round .

 

Wasn't my original plan for this GB, I think I just over committed with other builds 🫣

[modelling minion]

44 minutes ago, DaveJL said:

I just over committed with other builds 

Been there, done that!  

[81-er]

12 hours ago, DaveJL said:

Wasn't my original plan for this GB, I think I just over committed with other builds 🫣

Welcome to the GB over-committment support group, Dave 

 

James

[DaveJL]

Thanks chaps! I gave myself a shake and after hastily photographing the tiny B-1B, I cracked on with this one. Firstly, the front undercarriage bay. I added some details here and there with references from the Reid Air book.

 

 

A relatively complex affair, but it all goes together nicely. Next then, to the cockpit. All the raised detail was removed in preparation for the Quinta set. A quick squirt of primer and paint followed, followed by some light weathering.

 

 

Again, with  help from the Reid Air book, I added some detail to the rear of the cockpit. The wiring bundle to the right and rear of where the ejection seat will go, wiring from the DTU (Data Transfer Unit) to the left and rear of where the seat will go (prior to the DTU being fitted in 1999, this was a thermos storage area followed on some jets by a helmet bag storage tube. I like the idea of a quick coffee then a BBBRRRTTT ). On the left instrument panel, the G suit hose was added as was the oxygen hose on the right side.

 

 

Hopefully you can see the bits I'm talking about .

 

IP and coaming fitted:

 

 

Cockpit sidewalls:

 

 

Doesn't look much but that's nearly a two days' worth of painting and detailing 🙃. 

 

More soon.

 

Dave

[modelling minion]

That looks superb Dave, really nice work on the nose undercarriage bay and the cockpit is fantastic, the Quinta set is very nice but the extras you have added take it to another level.

[DaveJL]

29 minutes ago, modelling minion said:

That looks superb Dave, really nice work on the nose undercarriage bay and the cockpit is fantastic, the Quinta set is very nice but the extras you have added take it to another level.

Thanks Craig! The cockpit is quite visible, so wanted to add a little without going overboard, though the seat will probably hide most of it now that I think of it

[Luke1199]

That's a glorious looking cockpit, Dave! 

[DaveJL]

On 25/08/2025 at 07:03, Luke1199 said:

That's a glorious looking cockpit, Dave! 

Cheers mate! Credit must go to the Quinta decals .

 

Moving along then, I managed to get the majority of the fuselage assembled. I found the nose section a little tricky to line everything up, needing 3 hands to do so in the process 😶. I found that adding the nose itself whilst manipulating both fuselage sides resulted in the best fit. Once that was dry, I was able to fit it to the main fuselage section, which had the tail cone and horizontal stabilisers fitted.

 

 

Pretty good fit overall, with just a little PPP needed here and there to tidy up some joins. It looks like Academy have made join lines on actual panel lines, going by my research from the Reid Air book, so that's a thumbs up from me!  The surface detail is excellent, but unfortunately there is a seam line running down the middle of the one piece fuselage and removing this, inevitably, removes some of the lovely raised rivet detail:

 

 

Thankfully, Quinta have a 3D rivet set which is on the way to me as I type. So hopefully that'll sort the missing rivets out .

 

Vertical stabilisers were built up, again lovely detail, and will be left off and painted separately as these are FS36320 both front and back as opposed to the FS36375 of the horizontal stabs. Anything for an easy life (in modelling terms 🙃).

 

 

The wings also go together very well.

 

 

The trickiest bit of the kit so far is tidying up the joins on the underside of the wings:

 

 

Other than that, no issues to report. Enjoying this kit!

 

More soon.

 

Dave

[modelling minion]

That really is superb work Dave, she certainly seems to be going together very nicely indeed.

[DaveJL]

48 minutes ago, modelling minion said:

That really is superb work Dave, she certainly seems to be going together very nicely indeed.

Cheers Craig, it's proving to be a nice kit!

[81-er]

Really lovely work on this one since I last checked in, Dave  It looks to be a very nice kit indeed and sounds like Academy have made some great enginieering choices with this one too. It was already on my interest list, now it's moving to my very interested list

 

James

[DaveJL]

On 27/08/2025 at 13:58, 81-er said:

Really lovely work on this one since I last checked in, Dave  It looks to be a very nice kit indeed and sounds like Academy have made some great enginieering choices with this one too. It was already on my interest list, now it's moving to my very interested list

 

James

Thanks James. It's not badly priced for a modern tooled 1/48 kit really, especially if you can get one of the Hobby 2000 boxings with Cartograf decals.

 

Progress then, and fairly good progress at that! I did as much as I could with those seams on the wing joins. Hopefully a coat of primer and some creative weathering in the later stages will hide any dodgy bits .  Wings then went on and, once set, I added all the pylons. Generally the fit was fine, some pylons did need a little bead of PPP just to blend them in a little. 

 

 

I'm leaving off the shackles until after painting. Next was the big job really, adding the Phase Hanger engine set. The one piece engine cowlings are very nice, but as with the other one piece moulds, a thin seam line is evident:

 

 

Easily sorted but more requirement for the Quinta rivets then they arrive! So, to the resin then. Quite a comprehensive set.

 

 

All very nicely 3D printed. Painting the exhausts and fitting them to the internal jig was the first stage:

 

 

Perfect fit into the kit cowlings:

 

 

The fan blades were next. The shallow kit parts are well documented and these resin replacements look great.

 

 

Again, a perfect fit to the kit parts:

 

 

There is a little light pitting on the outer part of the resin intakes but a little sanding and primer should cure that. While that was drying, I fitted the HUD. Some tedious painting required for the frame. My new-ish magnifying specs were also essential

 

 

I also added some dust/dirt to the coaming from a Tamiya weathering set. Next, I sprayed the side windows of the windshield with a light coat of Tamiya clear yellow - on the real thing, these windows tinted with age and are not replaced unless they become a safety issue. The centre window in front of the HUD was replaced as part of the NVG upgrade across the fleet and thus is still clear.

 

 

The excellent MCC ACES II ejection seat:

 

 

Finally, the engines were fitted to the fuselage:

 

 

A little filling and sanding will be needed at the rear as a join line is evident which is not on the real thing. Quinta Rivets are looking like a good buy 😀.

 

I also hope there's enough weight in the nose to prevent me having a tail sitter....that resin is heavy enough!

 

More soon.

 

Dave

[modelling minion]

Superb work Dave, those engines look fantastic and definitely worth the investment. She is certainly looking very A-10 like now mate.

[81-er]

Really, really nice work there, Dave! The engines were worth the money, particularly with the mesh detail inside the intakes. The aged side windows are a nice touch too

 

James

[DaveJL]

23 hours ago, modelling minion said:

Superb work Dave, those engines look fantastic and definitely worth the investment. She is certainly looking very A-10 like now mate.

Cheers Craig, it’s coming together nicely!
 

11 hours ago, 81-er said:

Really, really nice work there, Dave! The engines were worth the money, particularly with the mesh detail inside the intakes. The aged side windows are a nice touch too

 

James

 

Cheers James. Unfortunately I think an engine replacement in some shape or form is a necessity for this kit. Shame really as it is a very nice kit to build.  It’s a surprisingly big model too 😆

[Keeff]

I've just had a read through this build .... superb work and detailing!  The cockpit is great and the replacement engine parts really do make a difference .... lovely! 

 

Keith ☺️ 

[DaveJL]

On 02/09/2025 at 21:30, Keeff said:

I've just had a read through this build .... superb work and detailing!  The cockpit is great and the replacement engine parts really do make a difference .... lovely! 

 

Keith ☺️ 

Thanks Keith! It’s been an enjoyable build so far. Lots of painting ahead though

[DaveJL]

More progress, though it doesn't seem like it! First off, the 3D rivets arrived.

 

 

Before adding these, I had to do a little re-scribing around the engines. Once done, I set about adding the rivets. I was a bit apprehensive about adding these to bare plastic but pleased to report they went on pretty well with the help of drop of Micro Sol, a lot of patience and a couple of paracetamol to rid myself of the resultant headache. Anyway, they look decent, hopefully more so under a coat of primer .

 

 

There's a few rows on the engines too but I forgot to photograph them. I'm too comfortable now in the lounge to go up to the bench and do so 🤫. The rivets and re-scribing took the best part of 4 hours, so to feel like I achieved something over the weekend, aside from attending a wine tasting event, which went splendidly I might add, I painted up the ejection seat. A bit of weathering added to replicate some wear and tear as seen in some of my reference photos.

 

 

The stencils on the side are from the Speedhunter decal sheet. Each seat has the serial number of the jet on it which is nice inclusion! Finally, I sprayed the framing of the windscreen and popped that on. A little persuasion was required.

 

 

That's hopefully the fiddly bits finished. My plan is to solely focus on the ordnance next as there's quite a bit to do on the 11 pieces 🤪.

 

More soon,

 

Dave

[Col.]

That's tidy work again Dave

[DaveJL]

49 minutes ago, Col. said:

That's tidy work again Dave

Thanks Col. Slowly getting there!

[modelling minion]

Very neat work Dave, those rivets look very good indeed and seat is superb.

[81-er]

Very nice, Dave. The seat really looks the part now

 

James