Jump to content

1/32 Trumpeter A-10C Hog- "Putting Lipstick on a Pig of a Kit"


Recommended Posts

Fantastic work Chuck I'm new on here so would love some advice .This is my favorite aircraft and want to do this 1/32 kit .I have been looking at the 1 and 2 seater versions can you or anyone else tell me are the 2 models identical other than the cockpit difference, are the trumpeter models the same age as I wondered why the 2 seater is always a bit cheaper than the 1 seater when it obviously uses more parts .Your help would be greatfully appreciated and I can't wait to see your finished A-10 ...many thanks Gary (PackersMan)

Hi Gary- and welcome to membership here at ARC!

I can't tell you what the difference is between the two kits, because I've never seen the 2-seater. I suspect it's just the fuselage halves and a different cockpit, with everything else identical. Also, since I believe there was only one 2-seater ever made, I'm guessing that the demand is not as high for a "one-off" Hog.

Since you didn't indicate your skill level, here's my advice. Unless you're at least an intermediate builder, don't even think of doing this kit. I'm fairly advanced and it almost killed me! Even if I just went with the basics and didn't modify any parts, the fit of ALL the parts is terrible and it's a real workout to make things look just OK. "Brewer", who is a fantastic modeler here at ARC, actually quit this kit about half way through and gave it away. After 18 months working on this model, I don't blame him!

Anyway, if you choose to go forward with this kit anyway, it's the only A-10 in 1/32 scale and from what I've seen of the 1/48 offerings, they aren't much better. Good Luck!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi all the way from the UK and many thanks for the info Chuck .I have completed quite a few models in my 44 years. I have not done much for the past couple of years but want to get back in the saddle in a big way, I have tried most things and a 1/32 war bird is one of the few left to do and as the A-10 is my favourite by far this just had to be the one .I will probably try the two seater as I prefer the cockpit lines of this and you don't see many so think it would be different and you never know the nose end may fit better if its a completely different mould ...fingers crossed ...... thanks again for the reply and will look forward for your next installment.Gary

Link to post
Share on other sites

Chuck,

Sorry that I haven't stopped by in a while but Her Nibs and I just got back from our European river cruise vacation. Not sure if you'll see this before you leave. If you do, I hope you and Mrs. 540z3 have a wonderful vacation. Your progress with the ordnance and the sway braces is extremely impressive. Although I can be very patient, I can't hold a candle to the level of dedication to detail that you have devoted to this kit. As usual, you leave me slack jawed with your precision.

Excellent work, sir.

Mike

Link to post
Share on other sites
Hi Buddy. I thought of using those little brass screws you mentioned a few months ago, but there's two issues with this particular model:

1) The pad is very thin in real life, but the screw heads are too thick.

2) You can't see the screw threads of the pins on the real deal from, say, 16 feet away, so there's no use worrying about seeing any threads at 6" on this 1/32 model. If you can see them clearly, they are too thick for scale.

Anyway, I need to move on with this model and there's not much left to do that's a major step. It will just take a lot of time to get all the little bits put on properly and finalize the weathering, which will be relatively subtle (for a change!).

Truly fine surgery you are doing here!

On those brass screws... I still like the look at them but I think I will adopt your method on the F-4J. As you mentioned, those screw heads are too thick so I end up cutting them off, which is of course a total pain to do.

:cheers:/>

Marcel

Edited by Marcel111
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

Chuck, Gary, I have build the 2 seater and Chuck you are right it's just the different forward fuselage. Since the family model came out after the A-10A kit Trumpeter did fix the nose little and the front wind shield. Is it perfect...heck no, but much better than the first kit. Gary, have fun building it. Just make sure you have a lot of room once it's finished cause it's big :woot.gif:

I can share a link about my photos and it will show you the nose and wind shield clearly. Just let me know.

Mike

Link to post
Share on other sites

Chuck, Gary, I have build the 2 seater and Chuck you are right it's just the different forward fuselage. Since the family model came out after the A-10A kit Trumpeter did fix the nose little and the front wind shield. Is it perfect...heck no, but much better than the first kit. Gary, have fun building it. Just make sure you have a lot of room once it's finished cause it's big :woot.gif:

I can share a link about my photos and it will show you the nose and wind shield clearly. Just let me know.

Mike

Yeah, bring it Mike! The more we learn about this kit the better for anyone interested. Post all the pics you want in this thread.

Now the HOME STRETCH! Like the rest of this build so far, I'm taking my time with the completion. Stuff I've learned along the way about this final stage are as follows:

1. DON'T rush the ending! You will make a mess that will detract from all your efforts before.

2. After a Dull Coat, you WILL find some silvered decals, no matter how hard you tried to avoid them. Fix them now.

3. Landing Gear alignment must be PERFECT- or at least as good as you can possibly get it. I HATE this part because it's so hard to begin with and on this model it's very, very tricky to accomplish. I've already made a few attempts without glue and walked away. I need a clear head before I go for real glue or I'll regret it later.

4. Fix all those tiny flaws that you thought were "good enough" before. They aren't.

Between taking my time and other duties getting in the way, I'm targeting about 2 weeks to have this Hog put to bed and ready to photograph. I do have a small surprise I'll post in the next few days that I'm pretty happy with, so stay tuned!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Chuck,

Just two more weeks and the party is over. Looking forward to your finish set of pictures. Should be amazing.

And you have a little surprise for us in the coming days. So much the better.

Will you be taking a break before starting the P-38 build?

Joel

Link to post
Share on other sites

Chuck, I appreciate you allowing me to post photos of my build to show you guys the nose of the 2seater hog, but out of the respect I figure I post a link :rolleyes:

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=223746&st=0&p=2132056&hl=youngtiger1&fromsearch=1entry2132056

Link to post
Share on other sites

Chuck, I appreciate you allowing me to post photos of my build to show you guys the nose of the 2seater hog, but out of the respect I figure I post a link

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=223746&st=0&p=2132056&hl=youngtiger1&fromsearch=1entry2132056

Mike,

For the past 19 months while putting together this Hog, I have checked for builds of this kit on the 'net to see how others dealt with the many issues I was facing. Overall, there aren't that many builds, especially when compared to other popular kits. Of the ones I have reviewed, only about 2 or 3 are of interest to me, because the kit is so tough and the results are predictably so-so. Your build here is one of the top 2 I have ever seen. Notwithstanding the kit errors (eg. the nose is still too fat), your execution of a super interesting paint scheme combined with excellent modelling skills are outstanding! I just love it. Bravo- and I'm really glad this build won't likely compete with mine at a future modelling contest! :whistle:

Edited by chuck540z3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh brother, your to kind. My main focus was to fix few errors but above all just do good job painting it. It was first complete build after being a window shopper for 10 years. Will I build another, heck yeah. I have couple more ofthese kits. Yes, it's not the best in the market but then again it's the only option :(/> I have a good friend that was 11th pilot to get checked out in the Hog when it came into service. So, he wants one with his markings. I'm saving everything your doing on yours so I can use it for future Hog builds. Your doing the hard work fir me brother ;)/> I'll just have an easer road following your lead :rolleyes:

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hello Chuck,

Amazing attention to detail as always. The work you did on all those sway braces brings back painful memories of similar work I did on my current build. I'd like to offer a suggestion if I may for your future builds. I noticed you decided to keep the molded-on hex nuts on the sway braces but if those nuts are anything like the nuts I've seen on other kits, they leave a lot to be desired. Quite often they are molded without equal sides or will exhibit some other anomaly. These days a lot of AM companies are making photo-etch nuts in various diameters that might work for 32nd scale. Lion Roar and Detail Master are just two of many out there. From looking at your builds It's obvious the little things mean a lot to you so I figured if you weren't aware of these already you can look into them as they might come in handy for you one day.

Elmo

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hello Chuck,

Amazing attention to detail as always. The work you did on all those sway braces brings back painful memories of similar work I did on my current build. I'd like to offer a suggestion if I may for your future builds. I noticed you decided to keep the molded-on hex nuts on the sway braces but if those nuts are anything like the nuts I've seen on other kits, they leave a lot to be desired. Quite often they are molded without equal sides or will exhibit some other anomaly. These days a lot of AM companies are making photo-etch nuts in various diameters that might work for 32nd scale. Lion Roar and Detail Master are just two of many out there. From looking at your builds It's obvious the little things mean a lot to you so I figured if you weren't aware of these already you can look into them as they might come in handy for you one day.

Elmo

Thanks Elmo for the kind words and tip! I thought of what you suggested, because Marcel has been using some of the same brass tiny parts on his F-4 projects. He got his through railroad modelling sites, so I'd like to do the same- on FUTURE builds, as you suggested. After 19 months on this project, I am totally done with this kit and anything A-10 or Warthog. Maybe on my next project, the P-38 Lightning which, I'm afraid to say, is also made by Trumpeter! I'm a gluten for punishment. :crying2:

Edited by chuck540z3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks once again for the Info Chuck and Mike (Youngtiger1). I have not been on for a couple of weeks as works been busy but have received my two seater now so preparing myself for the task ahead.I have noticed from the build sheets that the colours to be used are a bit vague so can any body suggest what paints they prefer to use and where I can sort out the list I would need to use for this kit. All info would be greatly appreciated and have checked out your link now Mike and realised its one I've been admiring for ages and one of the reasons I decided on the two seater ...Fantastic work I hope mine turns out half as good.

Cheers all Gary

Edited by PackersMan
Link to post
Share on other sites

Can't wait to see what the whole Hog looks like now.

Also since you'll be moving onto the P-38 next have you seen this Japanese builders current Lightning build? It's 1/48 but he goes into good detail you may find interesting. Just passing it along in case you haven't seen it yet:

http://www.geocities.jp/yoyuso/p38/p38-1.html

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you Mr. Pancake. I'll have to check that link out.

I’m getting close now!

Every model should have some little thing that’s unique and maybe a bit of a focus point. These dull grey jets almost always have a brightly painted inner stair door, with art that is unique for the squadron or jet. My jet, 78-0707, used to fly with the Connecticut ANG until 2008, when the Fighter Wing was converted to an Airlift Wing, so this A-10 was reassigned to the Idaho ANG. Also, according to pics I’ve found on the ‘net, this jet was converted from an A-10A to A-10C, sometime after 2006.

I could not find what the door art looked like after the jet was reassigned to Idaho, but I did find a pic in Jake’s book of what the door looked like in Connecticut. All I really know is that the door has been painted over recently and has no art on it as of May of this year, but that would be boring, so I decided to try and get the old door art on the door as it may have still looked in 2008.

A request to Jake resulted in the pic you see below, which I have watermarked to protect Jake’s work. Pretty cool- and just HAD to get the “Thank Heaven for 707!” somewhere on the kit door. Thank you Jake! It's also fairly timely with A-10's going over to Iraq to fight ISIS right now, although I would agree that it's not exactly politically correct. Oh well, looking at the door art on other A-10's, they rarely are!

707DoorCopyright.jpg

I’ve tried to make decals on an inkjet printer before, but my results so far are fairly crappy and I now limit them to very simple ones where detail isn’t a priority. A modeling friend of mine has a very good printer and he’s a whiz at decals, so I commissioned him to see what he could do with Jake’s pic and the kit door. Here are his results, which are pretty darn good for a decal the width of a dime. He made me two decals of the door as it appears above and two with the caption a bit larger so that you can read it properly. You can thank Photobucket for the pixelated look to the ground under the tank. It really looks a lot smoother in real life.

Doordecals-1600.jpg

I went with the modified version on the right, especially since you can’t see a lot of the fine detail anyway. The decal fit the door PERFECTLY, thanks to my Buddy who has requested that he remains anonymous, or I'd thank him here. Here’s what it looks like on the nearly completed model. I added a door hinge and cut off the kit connector, which is all wrong and makes the door fit too far to the left and remain slightly open. The door should sit flat or nearly flat to the fuselage side instead.

Doordecal1.jpg

You can also see from these pics what my weathering style will be for this Hog: “Well Used but not Filthy” is the theme, because that’s what this jet really looks like in every pic I have found. I have used pastels to smudge the various panels that usually look that way and for realism, I also added some subtle circular dirt patterns around the AOA vane. If you review pics of the A-10, you will find that this wear pattern is very common on A-10's due to the “Remove Before Flight” flags blowing in the wind around the AOA cover when the jet is parked. On this particular jet, I see this pattern in every pic I’ve found.

Doordecal2.jpg

You may recall that just about every panel line and rivet was filled and moved over a year ago. Here’s how it looked way back then that shows the old markings (filled with CA glue) and new. I have never seen that 4 screw tab at the front of the windscreen corrected on any other build of this kit, even though it is dead wrong.

Panelline3-1.jpg

Wear and scratch marks around the refueling door on the nose were also kept at a minimum, which are tough to see in this pic. After all the work I’ve done getting this Pig to look good, I just didn’t have the heart to mess it up, even if that would be realistic. The vacu-formed windscreen came out really nice if I do say myself. It was crystal clear underneath all that masking tape, which was a huge relief when I pulled it all off. The window gasket on the front looks about right and the Archer rivets really make this look like the real deal. This pic also shows a new way of accenting panel lines that I have just adopted. Rather than make all the panels lines darker so that they all show up, I just darkened the ones that show up on the real deal. The nose panel lines are real, but you rarely see them from 6 or more feet away, so I left them alone.

Doordecal3.jpg

Another close-up of the door. It’s hard to see, but I’ve also added some brass along the hinge and made a metal clip at the main hinge join which I think helps to keep the door open. Also, and this is a big detail that is ALWAYS missed, the front landing gear door behind the wheel should parallel the gear leg and not be vertical, as it is using the kit parts as is. I got this tip from Erik (phasephantomphixer) a few months ago, so I thought I would point it out now. I cut the door control arms and used the Eduard detail parts on the door to achieve this corrected look, even though the control arms are still a bit too fat. Thank you Erik! I also think the Eduard scissor link looks killer and WAY better than the unmodified one.

Doordecal5.jpg

This is what the kit leg parts look like OOB....

Gear14.jpg

That’s about it for now boys. I continue to sweat all the tiny details and I have had to re-paint and tweak many items on the top of the model before I start attaching any ordnance to the bottom. I’ll be happy and sad to see this project finally completed over the next week or so. Stay tuned!- and thanks for your continued interest in this project.

Edited by chuck540z3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Chuck,

what a masterful touch with that inner door panel art. It certainly is the focal point as one's eye is drawn right to it.

Getting close to the end of the ride. Looking forward to you putting this one in the finished column.

Joel

Link to post
Share on other sites

Completely ridiculous in its awesomeness. I love watching your builds. I eagerly await more (maybe final?) progress!

Thank you sir!

For those interested in this specific A-10C, there are quite a few pics of this Hog at this site which I have used for reference:

A-10C Warthog, 78-0707

Edited by chuck540z3
Link to post
Share on other sites

You can also see from these pics what my weathering style will be for this Hog: “Well Used but not Filthy” is the theme, because that’s what this jet really looks like in every pic I have found. I have used pastels to smudge the various panels that usually look that way and for realism, I also added some subtle circular dirt patterns around the AOA vane. {........} Rather than make all the panels lines darker so that they all show up, I just darkened the ones that show up on the real deal. The nose panel lines are real, but you rarely see them from 6 or more feet away, so I left them alone.

Superb Chuck. The circular swirls are a great touch and that's the first time I've seen anyone model them. Good stuff.

Also, you have my utmost respect for your restraint on the panel lines. Details like that make a model in my eyes.

I can't wait to see the final unveiling.

Cheers.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey Chuck - I had the same problem trying to replicate my door art with a decal. In the end - I just printed it out on photo paper - kept all the resolution - and I was much happier with it. Not the greatest photo - but it shows what I'm saying.

49.jpg

Hitch

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...