Ian Cooper Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 OK - I've made a start. I'm using the Hasegawa A-7D (P13) kit and there will be no aftermarket parts except Eduard RBF tags and decals from AirDOC (ADM 48016 - US ANG A-7D). I wanted to do a little detailing on wheel bays and cockpit just using some wire and some evergreen. Here are the first few pictures. This is my first group build so I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's builds, especially Yoxford who is also build an Ohio ANG A-7D using the same kit (but with aftermarket items). So ... here we go .... Kit wheel bay ... Cleaned out .... And rebuild (with a little work still to do) .... And a couple of shots of the cockpit - detailing underway ... Cheers Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nubaba Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 Nice work so far. I am about to start my A-7D and will be following your build with interest :lol:. It will be my second build, but, I still have paint drying on the first one and haven't quite crossed the finish line. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Cooper Posted December 17, 2009 Author Share Posted December 17, 2009 A little more work done. A slow start but I aim to make some good progress with this over the festive season. So here's the other main gear bay having been detailed. And here's the progress with the cockpit. More to do on this but this is the current situation. Thanks for looking! Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Cooper Posted December 17, 2009 Author Share Posted December 17, 2009 A little more done on the cockpit tonight and some dry fitting into the fuselage to see what detailing needs to be done inside the fuselage sides. Need to start some painting next, me thinks .... Thanks for looking Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nubaba Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Awesome work on the wheelbays and cockpit I must admit that I am glad that your build is ahead of mine. I am getting some great steers on how to approach mine. I would not have opened up my wheelbay as much as did or built the tank thingy (must find out what it is), if I had not seen your build. Great to have a lot of sluf builds to follow along with :D My wife had me building a raised garden and fence, so nothing done yesterday. Hoping to finish building the wheelwell tonight though and will post a photo. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Cooper Posted December 19, 2009 Author Share Posted December 19, 2009 Awesome work on the wheelbays and cockpit I must admit that I am glad that your build is ahead of mine. I am getting some great steers on how to approach mine. I would not have opened up my wheelbay as much as did or built the tank thingy (must find out what it is), if I had not seen your build. Great to have a lot of sluf builds to follow along with :D My wife had me building a raised garden and fence, so nothing done yesterday. Hoping to finish building the wheelwell tonight though and will post a photo. Hi Nubaba The fact that it's mid-winter here with snow on the ground means there's no work to do in the garden!!! :blink: So you're paying the price for being mid-summer down under! Hopefully a little more modelling can be done this evening, possibly some painting in the cockpit. If so, I'll post some more pictures then. I'm looking forward to seeing your finished wheel wells. I managed to find some pictures of 1/32 A-7 detailed wheel wells on the 'net and that's what I'm using as reference. I've got pictures of the real thing but there's so much in there that my interpretation skills aren't sufficient to pick out what should be included for good 1/48 representation. I may yet put a little more detail in using so waste electrical wire just to finish off. The tank in the port-side wheel well, I know, is a hydaulic reservoir. I'm guessing the bigger tank on the starboard side is the same (but that IS a guess - my reference material doesn't say what it is). All the best. Keep up the pace, mate! Don't let your wife distract you too much. :wacko: Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Cooper Posted December 19, 2009 Author Share Posted December 19, 2009 Painting started on the cockpit. Loads more to do to bring this to life but I've made a start .... Cheers Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nubaba Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Painting started on the cockpit. Loads more to do to bring this to life but I've made a start .... Cheers Ian Nice paint job so far and great detail on the seat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JMan Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 WOW, Superb job on your SLUF. Cant wait to see more! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Cooper Posted December 20, 2009 Author Share Posted December 20, 2009 WOW, Superb job on your SLUF. Cant wait to see more! Thanks JMan! Nice paint job so far and great detail on the seat. Cheers Nubaba! Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Cooper Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 A little more done on the cockpit ..... Cheers Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Ian Your cockpit is looking stunning. Keep it up! ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nubaba Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Agree with Alf, what a stunning paint job on the cockpit. Particularly like the detail on the instrument panel. Is that all done with dry brushing or do you have a special technique. I am toying with the idea using a few home-made decals for the larger dials. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Cooper Posted December 22, 2009 Author Share Posted December 22, 2009 Agree with Alf, what a stunning paint job on the cockpit. Particularly like the detail on the instrument panel. Is that all done with dry brushing or do you have a special technique. I am toying with the idea using a few home-made decals for the larger dials. Thanks Nubaba. The panel is mostly wet brush painting with a little dry brush and a little weathering powder. I've found that the weathering powder I bought to use on an armour kit works well on cockpits to break up the colour and give a used appearance. The floor has received some dark rust powder. The seat received some light dust powder. I've never done home made decals and wouldn't know where to start. Good luck with that if you try it. All the best, Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Cooper Posted December 22, 2009 Author Share Posted December 22, 2009 IanYour cockpit is looking stunning. Keep it up! ALF Cheers Alf! :( Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Cooper Posted December 27, 2009 Author Share Posted December 27, 2009 Managed to get some work done on the A-7 today. Cockpit is almost finished (with a little left to do on the seat and some painting around the ledges), fuselage halves are joined together and I've been preparing the wings for joining to the body. I've cut away the ailerons so these can be rejoined other than at 0 degrees as you can just about make out in my banner picture. I've also attached some of the panel doors. As I'm modelling "Scrappy" as seen at Mildenhall Air Show in the 1980s, all panel doors will be closed. Oh, and I've put a little more plastic in the nose gear bay (but not a lot). I did forget to drill out the holes in the underside of the wings where the pylons will attach but I can get round that. As I'll probably be modelling the rudder at an angle too, I should have cut it away before joining the fuselage sides. Oh well, it wouldn't be fun if it was easy. All the best Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nubaba Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Great work with the doors. I closed the doors on one side and it took ages to get them to sit flat and square in the gaps. Hmmm...seeing where your at makes me want to move a bit faster. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Cooper Posted December 28, 2009 Author Share Posted December 28, 2009 Great work with the doors. I closed the doors on one side and it took ages to get them to sit flat and square in the gaps. Hmmm...seeing where your at makes me want to move a bit faster. Don't rush it Nubaba. You've got plenty of time. Another 4 months until deadline day! Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Cooper Posted December 29, 2009 Author Share Posted December 29, 2009 Another little update. This is a good week for me. Time off work, etc. :) I've detached the rudder so I can reattach at an angle. The wings have been put together and I've had to attach some Evergreen to the front edge to avoid a big gap. This will be easier than filling a gap after the wings have been attached. I've glued some scrap to the rear of the area where the wings join to help that line up nicely when the wings go on. The dry fit seems pretty good. Panel doors have been attached to the starboard side now. Before I attach the wings, I'll cut out the areas at the end of the wings where the red/green lights go and I'll replace these with clear plastic. Thanks for looking! Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Cooper Posted December 29, 2009 Author Share Posted December 29, 2009 Starting to look like an A-7 :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nubaba Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 Starting to look like an A-7 :) Yes, looks like an A-7 to me. Very nice work, I was thinking of doing the rudder as well and will now that I have seen your post. Will you be leaving the outer wing flap up? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Cooper Posted December 30, 2009 Author Share Posted December 30, 2009 (edited) Yes, looks like an A-7 to me. Very nice work, I was thinking of doing the rudder as well and will now that I have seen your post. Will you be leaving the outer wing flap up? The ailerons aren't attached properly yet. I'm planning to have one slightly up (but not as much as it is in the 'dry fit' picture) and the other slightly down with the rudder slightly to one side. None of the angles will be too severe, just a little off 0 degrees to make it a little more interesting. I'll probably take the front wheels off too and reattach at a slight angle. It'll all detract a little from my paint job! Ian Edited December 30, 2009 by Ian Cooper Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Cooper Posted December 31, 2009 Author Share Posted December 31, 2009 So here's the work on the navigation lights on the wing tips. I've also started fiddling with the nose gear (so the wheels appear turned) and the GBU-16s which will hang under the wings have been built and filled rady for painting. I'm planning to paint the GBUs in training round colours of olive green and mid-blue. Does anyone have good reference for this scheme, please? Cheers Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Neo Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 NIce progress Ian there 1 thing i really need to know !! How do you do those wing tip lights??? i know it a clear piece sanded down but how do you make it clear after sanding it ??? Keep up the good work Cheers Neo Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Cooper Posted January 3, 2010 Author Share Posted January 3, 2010 NIce progress Ian there 1 thing i really need to know !! How do you do those wing tip lights??? i know it a clear piece sanded down but how do you make it clear after sanding it ??? Keep up the good work Cheers Neo Hi Neo Just keep using finder grade sandpaper until you get to a buffing stick. On these, I've just used a metal file, then some pretty fine wet and dry, then a Squadron extra fine sanding stick, then a Squadron super finishing stick, then a buffing stick. Same process as for taking raised lines out of cockpit 'glass'. Good luck! Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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