toadwbg Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 (edited) Building this for a client. Originally I was going to build this with the classic Revel A-6 kit, which I had just finished a few months back (second time I built that). But after reading some in-box reviews and looking at the parts breakdown of the Kinetic kit I had suggested it as an alternative. Magic presto, it showed up at my door and after my own in-box review concluded that the Kinetic would be a better build. The Kinetic kit is technically an A-6E TRAM boxing, but seems I can back-date it to an A-6A with little trouble. I really like the Engineering and parts breakdown of the Kinetic kit over the Revell. I figured modern tooling has to be a better fit as my last Revell kit was pretty ugly in that department. Decals- found this sheet from Impact Decals with VMA-225. With most kits, the cockpit is first. However I've found with A-6 Intruder kits due to it's wide pit it's best to just insert the tub and come back to it later. So I really start with the (bolted shut) speed brakes than fuselage. Speed brake panels weren't a perfect fit but better than the Revel: Also seen above is the removal of the slime lights for an earlier A-6. Fuselage halves went together pretty well. The alignment of the cockpit trapped in between was a little fiddly: Now that the kids are going back to school, I should have more time to work on this! More to come. The bottom fuselage panel is a very nice fit- again superior to the Revell. I had to trim one of the alignment tabs along the side (not shown) but than it was fine. Edited August 17, 2012 by toadwbg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aggressor01 Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Benner Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 (edited) speaking with lack of A-6 expertise ... do you have to do any work to back date the composite wing that the Kinetic kit modeled? ... being they represented a post Desert Storm jet. Edited August 17, 2012 by Benner Quote Link to post Share on other sites
toadwbg Posted August 17, 2012 Author Share Posted August 17, 2012 speaking with lack of A-6 expertise ... do you have to do any work to back date the composite wing that the Kinetic kit modeled? ... being they represented a post Desert Storm jet. I am aware of some differences and plan to do some backdating. I'm more familiar with the older wing than the composite wing however. I was going to start by comparing the Revell and Kinetic plastic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Neo Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Nice i was looking for a WIP of the Kinetic A-6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Finn Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Has the client specified a weapon load, if not here is an interesting one the squadron did in Feb 71: http://mooremilitaria.com/Dick%20G%20VN%202.jpg Jari Quote Link to post Share on other sites
toadwbg Posted August 18, 2012 Author Share Posted August 18, 2012 Has the client specified a weapon load, if not here is an interesting one the squadron did in Feb 71: http://mooremilitaria.com/Dick%20G%20VN%202.jpg Jari Sweet pic. However, yes- the client has specified a bomb load- a LOT of iron! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Finn Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 How about 15 Mk-83s: http://www.jamercer.com/jsrvn/vma225/CE-06_15-1000lbs.jpg Jari Quote Link to post Share on other sites
toadwbg Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 How about 15 Mk-83s: http://www.jamercer.com/jsrvn/vma225/CE-06_15-1000lbs.jpg Jari Nice pic, client specified the Mk 82s. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
toadwbg Posted August 24, 2012 Author Share Posted August 24, 2012 Minor updates: Bodywork Fuselage halves went together well, better than the Revell. Minor clean-up required. You can also see where I filled in and sanded the Slime lights: Inner wing upper and lower- Very thick trailing edges sorta suck as the exhaust tube halves. I might cut this out and replace with Brass tube. Intakes are OK- better than Revell but too shallow compared to the deeper ducting of the real thing. I brush coated a primer of white and will follow-up with an airbrushed topcoat than go back and carefully paint the compressor blades: I had originally planned to do covered intakes but the Kinetic ones by AMS were out of stock. I have a set of resin covered intakes for the Revell but they are not a fit here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wardog Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Looking good. I know what you mean about the wing trailing edges, I noticed that when the test shots first appeared on-line. It also looks as though the wing fences are too short in height and at least in the case of the inboard fence, it appears to be too far outboard just like the Monogram A-6. I.m amazed that after everything that's been said on-line about this issue they still get it wrong. I guess it still has some advantages somewhere. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
toadwbg Posted August 27, 2012 Author Share Posted August 27, 2012 (edited) More bodywork- Special attention to the exhausts. Much like the Revell kit you get 2 halves to each exhaust pipe. Obviously whomever engineered this part not a modeler! This could have been done as a cylindrical insert piece and been full of win. Exhaust plugs are only a partial solution and you would still have to sand and smooth these out. Additionally Kinetic does include a nice duct inside of this and it would be a shame not to show it off. My solution- cut them out and replace with Brass Tube. I did the same thing on my Revell kit: Edited August 27, 2012 by toadwbg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
toadwbg Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 Sorta like when Indiana Jones said "Snakes...why did it have to be snakes!" I feel the same way about those long slithering air intakes on Modern Jet Aircraft. So the Kinetic kit makes the same mistake the Revell kit does of "short ducting" the Engine compressor blades, or rather they just aren't nearly deep enough. They did go together better than the Revell kit's and the seam wasn't bad to clean up. I originally wanted to do covered intakes but only had the AMS covered intakes for the Revell kit (note on this later). So in talking with my client we decided to go open intakes. Challenge- paint the compressor blades first and white sides than try to clean up the internal seam -or- glue it all together, clean and figure it out? I went the second route and it turned out pretty good. I had an initial fail trying to pour in white paint and roll method, turned out sorta ugly. So I stripped that paint with Simple Green and restarted. I first brush painted in Floquil Reefer White Enamel. This worked as a good primer for airbrushing in some Tamiya White with a bit of Future added to the mix. After that dried, I brushed in another layer of Future and everything was a nice smooth gloss white. Now I just used a pointy brush to paint the compressor blades with some Citadel Chainmail than applied a nice dark wash. Turned out pretty nice: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
toadwbg Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 I did some dry fitting of the intakes with a piece of Verlinden's PE boarding ladder sidewall here. The Verlinden Cockpit set is intended for the Revell kit but I will use several of the PE pieces for added detail of the canopy frame and boarding ladders. Kinetics Boarding ladders aren't bad, much better than Revells and they make provision for dropping them on both sides. The Verlinden set will make the ladders even better: Had a little trouble fitting up the intake pieces at first, dry fitting revealed an interference on the inner round portion bumping into the bottom of the cockpit tub. I just trimmed a little off and everything fits well now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Benjaminht99 Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Off to a great start Toad, I will be keeping an eye on this one! Keep um coming... Ben Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jward Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Great progress thus far and thanks for taking time to share your work! I'm building the same kit - also for a client. I'm using the Wolfpack cockpit set and so far so good. I started the intakes last night and thankfully have not glued anything yet. I will try the method you explained as I can see how that might be the easiest solution. My A-6E will be a high-viz bird from VA-52 Knightriders. I'm going to create the decals myself as they do not exist in the after-market world. Thanks again for the thread and I look forward to future updates as I'll be watching this very closely! Jim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JMan Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Very nice, always liked the way this bird looked! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fly-n-hi Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Interesting WIP. Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
toadwbg Posted September 17, 2012 Author Share Posted September 17, 2012 Been away from the workbench for a bit due to a bad side-effect from some surgery. Was very painful to sit or stand too long but is getting a little better now I can spend 20-min at the workbench. I'm waiting on some replacement parts before I start my back-conversion from the composite wing to the old style wing, so I decided to start on the ordinance. There's a lot of work to be done here so it pays not to save it all until last. Airbrushed the nose of the Mk 82s Yellow using Tamiya acrylic Yellow thinned with lacquer. This lacquer application has lots of tooth and sprays on well- opaque. I left the resin Mk 82 bodies on their casting block as this made painting them easier: That went well but I did a head count and noticed that's only 24 Mk 82s and I need more! I raided the spare's box and found some leftover kit ones on the sprue. These will have to do. Problem here is assembling each half and cleaning up the seam. Turns out the Verlinden Resin ones are a PITA to cut off the casting bock and superglue on the fins. So either one is a lot of work :[ Minor issue- the leftover kit ones are about 5% larger in size. I don't know which one is accurate but I think selective placement on the MER will hide the difference. 2 down, about 26 more to go... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JMan Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 looking good toad, cant wait to see more! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
toadwbg Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 I finally bit the bullet and started on putting together the inner/outer wings. It is fairly obvious Kinetic intended for the wings to be folded up and not displayed down. The joint does not fit well and is weak. Furthermore since I am converting this backwards to the original production wing from the composite wing, I had some work in store for me. first step- remove some of the plastic and gear teeth no the underside of the wing. You can also see the Revel Pylon I will be using as it is correct for the original A-6A wing. second step, re-inforce joint with brass square tubing- much like wing spars. Superglue the inner and outer halves together. I'll let these set up over night and than fill in the gaps. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JMan Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Nice way of doing that. I agree with the way Kinetic intended for these to be. The Prowler is the same way. Nice job! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
toadwbg Posted September 29, 2012 Author Share Posted September 29, 2012 (edited) Some more images of the wing rework. Cutting off portion with razor blade: City off teeth on outer wing (left side) for better fit Slow going but I've got them bonded, filled and sanded. More pics coming. Edited September 29, 2012 by toadwbg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
toadwbg Posted September 30, 2012 Author Share Posted September 30, 2012 (edited) Wings filled and sanded: I need to scribe the hinge joint on top. The shape/profile of the composite wing hinge bulge from the composite wing is a bit off for the older style wing but my philosophy is that this is still more accurate than a Hollywood movie: Edited September 30, 2012 by toadwbg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
toadwbg Posted September 30, 2012 Author Share Posted September 30, 2012 Bombs. Got them all assembled at last. The resin ones actually went pretty well and I prefer them over the old parts bin plastic ones in halves: So would these 500 lb mk 82's have a single yellow stripe, 2 yellow stripes or simply a yellow nose? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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