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Monogram A-6E TRAM 1/48


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  • 3 weeks later...

This is ab-so-lutely terrific! So clean, so neat and well detailed - I can't wait to see more!

Thanks Starfighter............Haven't spent much time on the build lately cause life just keeps getting in the way. Although I don't believe I've mentioned it before, I actually have a lot more built than I've shown and planned on showing that stuff when I got to that portion of the build. That said, and since i build so slow, maybe I'll post those items sooner than later just to keep the WIP going.

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Great job!

I'm interesting what kind of wires do u use? Especially the silver one.

Svetoslav Dimov,

If you can be a little more specific I can give you an exact answer. I realize you said silver but I say specific because some of the wire I use comes in different colors and I'll paint it silver once bent. For the most part though I use speaker wire which often comes silver color already but I've also bought spools of wire on ebay in gauges all the way down to 40.

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I'm talking about (for example) this wires :)/>/>

Svetoslav Dimov,

Here is a pic of the speaker wire I used for the pic you referenced. As you can see It's already silver and some even comes in a copper color. At one point I just collected as much different coated wire as I could find and then stripped the coating to see what diameter was within.

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So to keep this thread going here are a few more pics showing some stuff I built long ago. I often feel as though I'm never going to finish this project due to time constraints. This build has been going on for many years so I do want to say thanks to all those that have kept interest and offered words of encouragement along the way. Truth is I'm probably not even close to finishing but I guess It's like that sometimes.

Before a few more pics, thanks to B777_Nihad, KR176, Starfighter and anyone else I might have missed.

First a few pics of the TRAM Turret. Here you can see it was carefully re-scribed, a lens added and a gizmo added to the inside to represent whatever gizmo might be in the real thing. It's only primered at this stage and the lens might get a shot of Tamiya Smoke to darken it just a bit.

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Here are a few pics of the only ordnance I plan on hanging on this bird. The GBU had its forward fins replaced with .005 plastic and located to four individual shafts that run in a cross or X pattern. Since the shafts aren't glued into the body, I simply glued the fins to the shaft ends are are now actually movable. It also got a shot of some textured Rust-oleum paint to represent the ablative coating. Lastly, the seeker head was replaced with a resin head given to me by my good friend Cyrus.

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Here are some pics of the exhaust ducting, tailpipe and a few other items. I did borrow the idea of using the exhaust ring from the Hasegawa A-4 from Cliff C who used it on his awesome A-6 build found on Z5. The tailpipes were worked extensively to reduce the wall thickness and accept the A-4 ring appropriately. The exhaust ducts were a true nightmare to get them to be mirror opposites of each other. As you can see they are made up of segments which were cut at angles to create the semi "S" shape of the ducts. Before resorting to this method I had tried practically every method I could think of including filling the white tube with sand/dirt or heavy gauge wire before heating it. Regardless of what I tried, the tube would always collapse once heat was applied and the bends were started. My last resort was to segment the ducts. Sure wish the Kinetic/HB kit were out back then so I could have somehow acquired a set of their ducts.

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Awesome work wardog, simply awesome !! I know how you feel about "the never ending project", I'm experiencing the same thing on my 1/18th scale Tomcat re-build. In a few days it will mark one year since I started her and I still have a ways to go.

Patience is the key to turning out a good job. Just stay focused and soldier on. There are ALOT of people out there following this amazing build, I'm one of them and, and we all look forward to seeing more. When this is all finished you'll be able to look at her with such pride that all the hard work will have been worth it. This A-6E is definately a one of a kind.

Steve

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That is just incredible Elmo!!!!

Every little detail is just...GREAT!!!

How did you get those panel lines on such a small detail like the turret??? I have trouble rescribing wings and you're doing such a wonderful job on that tiny piece.

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When making a model such as this one, it's not entirely about completing the model... Every piece and part completed is a milestone, especially when they turn out as great as yours do! That GBU-12 is amazing! The texture for the retardant is the best I've seen for the 48th scale and the paintwork/weathering is top notch! The turret is a masterpiece in itself, I can't imagine scribing panel lines on a round surface and the lens just blows my mind! I could go on and on... No one cares how long this build takes, all we care about is feasting our eyes on some amazing detail work every now and then!

/Jesse

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Thanks a lot for showing us more of your progress! Believe me, I know that time issue very well. I wasn't even able to touch any of my tools since early December - life goes on. Just take your time and keep up the excellent work!

Starfighter,

I hear ya, the days of coming home and jumping on the work bench are long gone. Miss those days sometimes.

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Awesome work wardog, simply awesome !! I know how you feel about "the never ending project", I'm experiencing the same thing on my 1/18th scale Tomcat re-build. In a few days it will mark one year since I started her and I still have a ways to go.

Patience is the key to turning out a good job. Just stay focused and soldier on. There are ALOT of people out there following this amazing build, I'm one of them and, and we all look forward to seeing more. When this is all finished you'll be able to look at her with such pride that all the hard work will have been worth it. This A-6E is definately a one of a kind.

Steve

Steve,

Guess we both have something in common. I must admit I am a little jealous at how fast and often some of the members finish projects. Thanks for following my build all this time. I follow most peoples builds as well even though I don't post that often. Good luck on that cat, I'm sure she's a monster.

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That is just incredible Elmo!!!!

Every little detail is just...GREAT!!!

How did you get those panel lines on such a small detail like the turret??? I have trouble rescribing wings and you're doing such a wonderful job on that tiny piece.

Hello Alex,

Good to hear from you as always. The scribing on the turret was not as bad as it seems. The round surface did make it challenging but nothing thin strips of Dymo tape and my small needle in a pin vise couldn't handle. Yes, it wasn't necessarily easy but what it really required was a lot of patience which I unfortunately have tons of for this hobby. The turret probably took me 3-4 hours to get right.... or maybe even longer. Scribing is really a pain because the process involves a lot of cleaning and going over the same lines over and over till they are smooth. Thanks again for looking.

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Your sway bars and pylon detail are incredible- just like the rest of this build. Really, really great modeling all around! :thumbsup:/>

Thank you Chuck. I know 48th ain't your gig but It's always nice to hear from the pros. Glad you like it.

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When making a model such as this one, it's not entirely about completing the model... Every piece and part completed is a milestone, especially when they turn out as great as yours do! That GBU-12 is amazing! The texture for the retardant is the best I've seen for the 48th scale and the paintwork/weathering is top notch! The turret is a masterpiece in itself, I can't imagine scribing panel lines on a round surface and the lens just blows my mind! I could go on and on... No one cares how long this build takes, all we care about is feasting our eyes on some amazing detail work every now and then!

/Jesse

Jesse,

You are absolutely right, almost every piece becomes a model in itself which of course draws out the build time. Your modeling knowledge and skill which is evident in your builds is key to understanding detailing models. Thank you for pointing out the difficult aspects of our hobby and of course the more than generous comments you always leave behind.

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