wardog

Hello, RichB63, excellent choice for your next build. Perhaps the Tamiya F-4B is not the best kit to convert to a "C" model but you certainly have all the skills necessary to make the modifications. What you've done so far is nothing short of perfection; I can't wait to see how this build progresses. -Elmo

Wow, is all I can say! I hadn't checked on this build in a while and am pleasantly surprised with everything you've done. Last I checked I believe you were just beginning to work on the wings. For a second, I considered suggesting that you make sure you wanted to go down the path of ripping the wings apart as the Monogram A-6 kit can literally turn into a bucket of worms if you're not careful and could potentially end up on your shelf of doom. However, looks like you're doing just fine. What you've done so far kind of makes me wish I would have went with extended wings on my build;

Coming along nicely. A word of caution as you progress. The windscreen does not have the best fit; however, with some filling and blending where it joins the fuselage, you can get decent results. Also, watch out for that big refueling probe sticking out, it's just waiting to get broken off by an errant swipe of the hand. I'm using a resin probe and decided to split it where the base and upper section meet, and only glued the base to the fuselage so I can blend it in. I'll attach the upper probe section to its base at the end of the build.

crackerjazz, as mentioned before, great job you're doing here. This kit has many shortcomings, as we all know; however, considering its age, it builds up into a very nice representation of an Intruder. Best of all, it actually looks like an Intruder when finished. Back in the day, Monogram was known for producing very nice models; they'd get the shape correct most of the time and I always considered them to be a notch above Revell kits. As a young kid, I remember sitting in my Junior High classrooms, lost in my own little world as I carefully reviewed the colorful pamphlets that came with thei

crackerjazz, your build is coming along great! Now that you've spent considerable time scribing, it isn't as bad as one would think. Still a daunting task, but at least you're now able to approach it with a lot more confidence and skill. And I know what you mean about drilling those big mounting tubes into an otherwise fine model, never a good feeling. Although not the same, I struggled a lot with the fact that applying the non-skid to the tops of the wings and spine will cover a lot of the scribing work I've done in that area, especially along the forward, wing root sections. All

Nice job, crackerjazz! Breaking sections off a template is what you have to do sometimes to get into tight spaces, I've done it many a time. The one tip I forgot to mention is that when scribing for the first time, as was the case with my A-6, I started with all the bottom sections as they won't normally be seen. The learning curve is short so by the time I was done with the undersides I was kinda ready for the upper surfaces. The smart thing to do is practice on scrap plastic but I'm not that smart so I used my model as the test mule. Good luck with the rest of the build. -Elmo

MRF, thanks for the info. Not sure what happened to the pics but it seems to only affect those between 2018-2020. Not much I can do about it, I suppose.

Hello, crackerjazz, my apologies, I must have focused on the last post prior to mine and believed this was Kike's build. Again, great job you're doing on this old kit. Scribing requires all that you mentioned, and more. I too, tend to hold my breath at times when scribing difficult areas as even the slightest motion of your beathing can be disruptive. With practice, you'll eventually figure out what tools work best for you to achieve the desired results. Everyone is different but the following seems to work best for me: 1.) There's a plethora of scribing tools available on the mark

Hello, Kike, just ran across your A-6 build; you're off to a great start! I'm glad my build was able to inspire you, this old kit is by no means an easy build. However, I'm confident you'll be able to pull off an outstanding build. Scribing is difficult at first, but if you keep at it, you'll get good really quick. Like anything else, it takes practice. I look forward to seeing more updates soon, good luck.

Hello, anyone out there have this decal set available for sale? Thanks, E

utley, thanks for the kind words. I don't know about 10K as no one would pay that but at this stage of the game It's actually worth more than that to me because of all the work I've done. As far as image hosting sites, I've been using imgur as recommended by RichB63 for the last few years and love it. Incaroad, I appreciate your comments. My painting skills do in fact need a lot of help, but I know enough to fix mistakes and pull off something half-fool decent; we'll see what happens. Take care, Larry.

Hello Gwen Phoenix, most of the connectors and other bits you see are either made from rod or hex shaped styrene that you can purchase either from Evergreen or Plastruct. I use very small diameter drills to try and drill somewhat concentric holes on rod that is sometimes as small as .010 thick. Again, multiple attempts to get one hole started that doesn't run off the edge of rod that is that small or is way off center. BTW, the bits I use are made of carbide so they're very brittle and break easy, especially when lateral forces are applied. And last but not least, strong reading glasses (+250)

Thanks guys! Yes, the build is still progressing, just a slow pace which is normal for me. At this stage It's too late for the "shelf of doom"; I think for once I'm actually closer, than not to the finish line so it will get done. Gunny Dan, my biggest weakness in model building is definitely painting/weathering. I've only finished 2 models since getting back into this hobby, so I have a lot to learn. However, just like anything else, the more you do it the better you get, simply by learning what works, but more importantly, what doesn't. Thanks again for your comments

Hey Larry, how you been, been a long time. Update should be coming soon. She's in the paint barn as we speak. It's taking me a while to paint because of my lack of skill in that area. I'm making progress, and some mistakes, but I'm moving forward. Currently finishing the topcoat so she doesn't look like much right now; matter of fact you can't really even see the subtle shades under the topcoat due to the lighting. Hopefully I'll be able to pull off a half-fool decent paint job. That's all for now; I hope to have something a bit more meaningful in the comi

Thank you all for leaving your feedback and for sticking around for so many years while I try and finish this build. Once I install the seats the only major thing left is detailing the wingfolds! Once those are complete It's off to the paint shop and finishing her up......so maybe by 2023 if I'm lucky. Wow, only like 25 years to finish a model.....not too bad! -Elmo

Nice job sir, especially when coming from figures. The A-6/EA-6B family of model aircraft are said to be rather difficult builds so you did exceptionally well. Most manufacturers, with perhaps the exception of the HB A-6, suffer from either incorrect shape or fit issues on these airplanes. If I remember correctly, Kinetic designed the canopies in 2-pieces to try and get the shape correct. However, most people believe that decision turned out to be a horrible idea.

crackerjazz, the stripes on the pull rings were created by winding a thin strip of yellow decal around black wire. There's no way I'd ever be able to paint lines of that size and achieve acceptable results. And for those of you sharp-eyed modelers out there, you'll notice the yellow stripes are angled in the wrong direction; they actually angle in the opposite direction on the real thing. I did them this way because it was easier for me to handle the wire while wrapping the decal and I figured in the grand scheme of things, it didn't really matter too much. The decal stripes were made by spray

More pics. Aires ejection seats. Here you can see a seat with the sides sanded off and the scratch-built sides. I purposely kept adding details to a minimum to ensure they'd fit in the narrow Blackbox tub. Black rivets on the sides are from Archer. Plastic coated wire (.015) used for the pull rings with yellow decal strips wrapped around. Amazing how much trial and error I went through to accomplish this seemingly simple task. But even after figuring out a suitable process, wrapping the decal around the wire and trying to maintain a constant angle and width between

The last pic was loaded to confirm the issues I was having loading pics was resolved. Below are the rest of the pics. MK20s attached. The bombs have a bit more weathering than what shows up in the pics. I also used different shades of white for contrast. Fuel tank showing the black basing technique. Used various shades of gray, white and even brown on top of the black. Quite satisfied with the results considering it was my first time trying it. You just have to take it slow and be careful not to cover too much of the mottling. The topcoat also consists of various shades

Eduard MK20

It's that time once again. As always, thanks to all that have left some feedback. A big thanks also to YF65_CH53E; always nice to receive feedback from those who've served and know the equipment well. On to the update. Finally completed a few more chapters in this never-ending saga. The ejection seats that for so long had me up against a wall are finally complete. Rather than scratch building seats, which at one time I believed was my only option, I ended up modifying a set by Aires and got them to just barely fit the Blackbox cockpit tub by sanding off the seat-sides completely an

I'm having the same exact problem trying to update my WIP.

Thank you all for the generous feedback! Should have the seats done in the next couple of weeks. Like I mentioned earlier, not very happy with the belts I've completed so far as they lack realism. Hoping the lead foil method yields better results. Cheers, Elmo

Than you all for your replies, much appreciated. In the next few weeks I'll post something a bit more meaningful as I've made some good progress over the past few months. Ejection seats should be done soon although I'm not diggin the seat belts I've made so far and may have to come off. Been using Tamiya tape for the belts but it does not play friendly. May switch up to lead foil at the suggestion of my friend Cyrus who has had good results with it. Cheers, Elmo