**** DONE: GB-35 1/72 A-4B Skyhawk - Vietnam French/American War 1950-1975

[Crimea_River]

Username: Crimea River
First name: Andy
Category: Judge – Non-competing
Scale: 1/72
Manufacturer: Airfix
Model Type: Douglas A-4B/A-4P Skyhawk
Aftermarket addons: None

Given the dwindling GB participation, I decided to depart from my usual WW2 1/48 subjects and enter a model into this GB. Not only will I be expanding my subject area but this will be the first 1/72nd scale model that I've done since I was a kid. I will be using the new tool Airfix kit and will make this a straight OOB build which will hopefully take very little time. From what I hear, the kit goes together well with minimal filling so that should help.

The model will depict a USN A-4B s/n 142833 of VA-95 "Green Lizards" operating off the USS Intrepid in 1966/67.

 

[Airframes]

Nice one Andy. Coincidentally, I've been 'watching' a 1/48th scale Skyhawk, and might get it if it doesn't reach silly money, and, if I have time, make a late entry to the GB.

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks Terry. I was hoping to find an F-100 but all I could find locally was the crappy PM Model F-100C. It's cheap and looks it so I opted for this one instead though it was a little pricey for a 1/72 scale kit at 26 bucks.

I see that the picture I attached shrank again.

 

[Airframes]

Quite a few 1/48th scale F-100 kits on e-bay UK. Thought about doing one myself, but would prefer it in NMF, in service in the UK.
Just checked that A-4 kit, and it's jumped steeply in price, so now watching a Classic Airframes F-5a, with a south Vietnamese subject in mind.
Got a F-5E in the stash, but they apparently didn't see service, so that'll be done as a Swiss AF machine - eventually !

 

[Wurger]

I see that the picture I attached shrank again.

Edited...

 

[fubar57]

Looking forward to this

 

[parsifal]

Me too.

I have a Tamiya A4 E or F which I am saving for another crack at an RAN bird. it will be interesting I think from a comparison POV to see what you do with this andy.

should be good I think.

 

[parsifal]

How will you apply the off white camo?

 

[Wayne Little]

Good on ya Andy....look forward to you down sizing...

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks all. Bit of a newbie to the jets and I may get stuff wrong so chime in if you see anything.

How will you apply the off white camo?

Nothing special. Airbrush with lots of thin passes. Not sure why you're asking - maybe I'm missing something significant?

 

[Crimea_River]

Work has started on the cockpit as usual. The ejection seat comes in 2 halves that leave a hefty seam down the middle. Fortunately mouch of the seam will be hidden under the separate cushions. Here we have the seat installed in the tub with the nice, delicate stick and the IP, ready for paint.

The seat cushions are separate and have moulded in belts that will be filed off and replaced with belts made of tape. This is an allowable addition for an OOB category.

Airfix calls up Humbrol colours which mean nothing to me so I used a cross reference from IPMS Stockholm to find the equivalent Tamiya colour for the cocpkit. Unfortunately they didn't give one but provided an FS equivalent which, with my Federal Standard fan, I was able to match up very well with Tamiya XF-82 Ocean Grey. I hope this is the right colour as I've seen lots of varioations on th enet from light grey to almost black.

I gave this finish a light silver drybrush to highlight the details.

 

[Wurger]

 

[parsifal]

Its just that ive had difficulty getting the RAN off white colouration right in the past. our FAA colours are different to the US colour scheme, but would you not agree that if the shade of white is not right, it stands outs really badly ?

 

[Airframes]

Good start Andy. Seems to be a nice kit - I sent one to Evan when it was first released, and was impressed with the mouldings and detail for the scale.

 

[Crimea_River]

It is indeed Terry, though the sprue gates are among the biggest I've ever seen, despite the small scale. I'll show this later.

Michael, to be honest, I was just going to shoot straight Tamiya white and never thought that it might be different than that. I'll take a look at the FS equivalent now that you brought it up.

 

[fubar57]

Good start Andy. Camp internet sucks as usual so I'm late with this: I had Dark Gull Grey as the innards colors but hey, scale effect. I know you are building out of the box but if you need any shots I amassed quite a bit when I did mine in a past GB

 

[turbo]

Good start, looking forward to it Andy.

 

[Wayne Little]

Bring it on...

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks guys. Geo, I'll be fine with references but thanks anyway.

On we go. I mentioned the very large sprue gates earlier. Here's the one attaching the fuselage at the tail fillet.

This one is at the nose. The other side has been dealt with already.

Notwithstanding that one small criticism, I'm quite impressed with the quality of this little kit. The pic below shows the wings being assembled and was intended to show the subtle panel lines but I was using a different camera for this shot while my other battery was charging so it's not easily seen. I'll show the details a bit later. After drilling the holes required for the center and inner wing pylons, the wings have been glued together and set aside.

Here's the fuselage half before assembly. The engine is represented in parts on both the intake and exhaust side with turbines visible deep in both.

Here's the intake side with the turbine painted grey and the intake duct white before attaching the rest of the duct. I didn't take a pic of the exhaust as it's tiny and you need a flashlight to see inside.

The cockpit panel decals are OK and will pass for this build. I'll keep the canopy closed anyway. Note that the bottom seat cushion had been painted prior to insertion into the seat but the fit was so tight that I scratched the paint trying to force the part in place. Needless to say, there's no glue holding it there.

Belts were made of Tamiya tape that was painted olive and stuck in place. The buckles were picked out with silver on a very fine brush.

With that done, the fuselage halves were glued together and clamped. The fit is excellent and what appears here as a step in the seam is actually the melted plastic oozing form the joint - a good sign for achieving a smooth seam.

Thanks for looking in guys. More to come soon.

 

[Crimea_River]

Oh shit. I just realized I forgot to add nose weight.

May look at drilling a hole in the wheel well and pushing them in there.