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Monogram A-6E TRAM 1/48


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Incredible as usual - I still don't have the slightest idea how you obtain such incredibly neat results. Stunning!

My opinion regarding the pre-printed Eduard parts - just put them in the dustbin where they belong (the printed stuff at least!) - they just look crap. To my understanding, the only real 'detail' you need from that part is the white lettering anyway - you are probably to add 3-dimensional knobs, aren't you? In this case, I would either paint the lettering by hand or simly cut very thin stripes from a plain white decal sheet and apply them to the IP. If you'd want to print a 'copy' of the Eduard part (which you'd need to draw first, of course), you need an ALPS printer or somebody who owns on, but the paint coverage of the white ink is pretty bad in general and I don't think that would match your standards. You could of course have the decal silk printed by a company, but in this case, the word 'overkill' comes to mind... as already mentioned before, I think thin white decal stripes cut from a plain white decal sheet would be the easiest solution IMO.

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Thank you all for your feedback, and for sticking around all these years as I slowly put this beast together.

Starfighter,

Thanks for looking and the positive feedback as well. You're absolutely right about the printed stuff, that is, if you're looking for the 3D effect. Even if I had access to an ALPS printer, I would first have to load the image of the bombardier panel onto some computer program to adjust the black color as it is more of a bluish black right now and does not match the shade of black I used elsewhere. That said, It's too much trouble for me to deal with. Your suggestion to use small decals is probably the best way to go. That's what I used to represent the white lettering on some of the small panels on the L/S of the IP and what I'll use for the bombardier panel. I used decals for the small panel under the VDI screen and I think they look good enough. Here are a few pics of that panel as I built it up and the decals look pretty much like the printed stuff.

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Thanks for looking

Elmo

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So very realistic!

I know you're not lacking for references, but here's a nice picture of the b/n's hood that dominates the right hand side of the instrument panel.

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Edited by RichB63
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I am speachless. I can't believe I've missed this thread. This is probably the best build I've seen and most certainly the best wiring I've seen in 1/48 scale, with all those connectors. It takes a lot of patients, and even more skill, to bend all those wires and position them in place.

The engine looks great also. A part of the engine definitely reminds me on German WWII Junker Jumo 004B - did you use it as base for a part of the engine?

Also, all those connectors that can be seen through out of your build - are they all scratch, or you used some aftermarket bits - I know that car modelers have pretty wide aftermarket options for such things - Hiroboy etc..., but mostly out of scale for the 1/48 planes

Thanks, regards,

P.s. sorry if already answered

Edited by skuki
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Hello skuki,

Thanks for looking and the positive feedback. The wiring was definitely challenging and a PITA! It took many attempts to get some of the wiring to mate up with connection points and I'm really glad that part of the build is over.

You guessed correctly on the engine as far as I can remember. I used a resin Jumo engine from Aires as a base to save time and because at the time I felt I didn't have the skills to scratch build my own. It also fit very well so it was a no brainer for me.

The connectors are both aftermarket car detail items and scratch built from hex shaped styrene. The smallest car detail connectors are too big for 48th scale as you mentioned but I used them anyway.

I'm glad you like the build and thanks again for your comments.

Elmo

Edited by wardog
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Thanks Elmo,

as a matter a fact I somehow hoped you'll say you used car details, among other, because it doesn't look out of scale on your pictures. So I'll go and buy some for myself, these connectors are the most difficult part for me when speaking of wiring. Great job on the engine, it look great, I too often use various engine parts from a different subjects as a base, if they fit the diameter.

I hope to see some new progress pictures soon :)

Regards, Marko

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  • 3 months later...

Time for another small update. As always, thanks to everyone that has left feedback...always appreciated. The IP is complete now except for the bombardiers pedestal which I will install at a later date. I also decided to scratch build the bombardiers hood as I wasn't too happy with the one from the Blackbox kit. Although I'm not 100% complete with the cockpit, finishing the IP was a major milestone and I can now move on to other parts of the build.

Here is the template I made for the bombardiers side. All the holes on the template are match drilled into the IP so I can insert styrene rod for the buttons/switches.

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A few more pics, painted and decaled.

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Template installed with some buttons/switches added.

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The bombardiers hood...build-up, and painted. First pic shows my scratch built hood on the left with a new face pad made more to scale and the BB hood on the right with the Wolfpack face pad.

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I have a confession to make. I have never opened your thread and should be hanged. I've never seen anything like it and you are an unbelievably gifted fellow. I feel like a dude in a magic show scratching my head over how you did all those tricks. I do have some questions and hope you could shed some light on them. By the way, the bars above the CRT screen - if they are like the ones on the A-4 photos I've seen, they might be the hinges for those translucent night-viewing filter plates/covers that are either removed for daytime flights or considered extraneous and detached altogether?

I hope you don't mind an itemized list of my questions, sorry: (1) The progress shots of the empty instrument panels with just holes and panel lines -- are those panel lines scribed? I'm thinking you used either a pinhead or the xacto blade to scribe them but those tools and too wide and wouldn't create such fine lines. Also the panels look so thin to be scribed successfully -- how is it done? (2) what material are the buttons and switches -- they look like white styrene but the thinnest I've come across is 0.5mm (.020 in.) and these look way thinner. (3) How did you trim down the buttons and switches -- the ends are perfectly square. (4) The ridges around the bomb sight knob -- how are those created; If it were a bigger knob maybe a round file can produce those -- but this is a micro-miniature knob and still those ridges are so fine and even -- I'm just shaking my head in disbelief. I can only surmise you got ahold of Wayne Szalinsky's shrinking ray machine and zapped a real A-6E down to 1/48 scale. Again, sorry for all the questions -- I'm just dumbfounded and really would like to learn from you.

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