crackerjazz Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 (edited) This sat in the basement for 5 years. For the first few weeks every weekend I'd open up the box, then become overwhelmed by the number of pieces, and promptly close it up. I did get the Zacto parts back then. I'm glad I did. And glad, too, that I remembered where I stowed them away. Then last week I bit the bullet and bought the Aires tub and was blown away by the detail - right down to the toggle switches! It's my very first time to hold an Aires in my hands. All I can say is -- wow!!! So maybe I'll give it a try. I plan to build an early high-viz A-7E. The brighter the colors the better! The 2 vacuum-formed canopies are in some box somewhere (the spare sure gives you enough courage to start cutting the first one). My only regret is not getting the seamless intake (have to check if it's still being offered). Edited September 13, 2014 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Crazy Snap Captain Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 Looking forward to this one! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scottr5213 Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 Your right about the detail of the pit, sure wish zacto's set was still avaiable Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted September 14, 2014 Author Share Posted September 14, 2014 Hello, guys, can anyone point me in the right direction as to HUD shots for the A-7E? All I could find online is this: http://www.rochesteravionicarchives.co.uk/View_Object?ObjectId=1128 for the A-7D, but I couldn't seem to find any references for the A-7E HUD. I almost managed to muck up one side of the HUD PE part, having no real PE tools except the razor blade and long-nose pliers but was able to flatten it back. I didn't realize how fragile these things are. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted September 15, 2014 Author Share Posted September 15, 2014 (edited) Andrew, Scott, thanks! Comparing the Zacto and Aires canopy frame parts. Sawed these off to make way for the Zacto parts. I hope I know what I'm doing. Doodling a bit to inspire myself. A landing signal officer's view of a tough SLUF approaching. Edited September 15, 2014 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Finn Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 (edited) A few A-7E HUD shots: http://media.nara.gov/stillpix/330-cfd/1988/DN-ST-88-04022.jpeg http://media.nara.gov/stillpix/330-cfd/1988/DN-ST-88-04021.jpeg http://media.nara.gov/stillpix/330-cfd/1988/DN-ST-88-02216.jpeg http://media.nara.gov/stillpix/330-cfd/1991/DN-ST-91-04262.jpeg edit: some had HUD covers http://media.nara.gov/stillpix/330-cfd/1988/DN-ST-88-02213.jpeg http://media.nara.gov/stillpix/330-cfd/1987/DN-SC-87-05557.jpeg Jari Edited September 15, 2014 by Finn Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted September 15, 2014 Author Share Posted September 15, 2014 Hi Finn, thanks for those shots! : ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 (edited) Off to a good start! Love the Corsair doodle! :lol: Talk about the "Sailor Inhaler"! Edited September 16, 2014 by ChernayaAkula Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel111 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Great (and ambitious :-)) start so far, I will definitely follow. Marcel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted September 17, 2014 Author Share Posted September 17, 2014 Hi Moritz, Marcel, thanks guys! I hope I don't disappoint you. Practicing cockpit-painting on the OEM part first before I do the Aires. I really have to practice, don't I? I'm looking at all the cracking cockpit paintjobs here and I just let out a big sigh. Just how you guys do it amazes me. I'm quite sure one wrong step and down the drain goes the $$$ on the Aires pit. I wouldn't want to paint over twice and lose all that detail. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
inScale Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 (edited) Outstanding start! I too am overwhelmed with the large number of parts! I do have the Zacto resin parts including the intake and the Aires tub. My dream is to build it as a Greek ceremonial A-7E. Not having the time is my problem. I will be following your thread closely. Keep those photos coming as they are worth a thousand words. Which aircraft will you be replicating. Happy modeling to all as winter is slowly creeping upon us! (literally and figuratively) :sarcasm_on:/>/> Edited September 17, 2014 by inScale Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NavyF4s Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Hay Crackerjazz Beauty: "Is in the eye of the beholder". Slow and steady wins the race. So far it looks pretty good. :thumbsup:/> ps there are lots of ways to strip paint safely, be brave. :D/> Quote Link to post Share on other sites
falcon20driver Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I think your cockpit painting looks pretty sharp. I'm definitely excited to watch this progress, its a neat subject. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 This is one topic I will definitely follow. I have had the same kit sitting in my stash for several months now, but other builds have taken up my time. I absolutely LOVE that Aires cockpit. It looks terrific. I'm sure you'll do a proper job on it. ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Netz Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Sawed these off to make way for the Zacto parts. I hope I know what I'm doing. I don't think now is the time to fit the canopy to the cockpit... you should be fitting the pit to the fuselage then start thinking about the canopy. Knowing the fit of Aires products, I wouldn't bet on anything fitting till all the sanding and sawing is over. Curt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 Hi inScale, I'll be building something from the period when the A-7s and other Navy planes enjoyed having hi-viz markings emblazoned on their tails. There's something about those brash colorful insignias that I really enjoy looking at. I'll see if I'll be using one of the decal sets in the kit. Looking forward to your Greek A-7 build! Hi NavyF4, thanks for the encouragement! Falcon20driver, thanks, I'm just as excited - I've only built the A-7 in 1/72 before so the 1/32 looks gigantic! Hi ALF18 thanks for stopping by! Hope you don't spot too many errors -- having a real pilot watch my build kinda puts a strain on me. Netz, you are absolutely, right -- have to sandwich the cockpit first. So I guess I'll begin with the EOM intake and see how it interacts with the Aires pit then see about those fuselage halves. Now I see the value in getting a seamless intake. And that seam goes all the way in there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted September 20, 2014 Author Share Posted September 20, 2014 (edited) Some progress on the intake: Cut off the OEM intake tab. Carefully measured the 5.72mm that Zactoman specified and started cutting away. Glued the correction flange on. You can see where the OEM intake needs some TLC. First thickened the bottom a little with some apoxie sculpt. Then filed away, doing my best not to harm the resin part. Edited September 21, 2014 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted September 22, 2014 Author Share Posted September 22, 2014 (edited) Shaved off the vertical fin antenna after reading RiderFan's build. They didn't seem to be there for Navy SLUFs. I've removed it completely on one side. And while I was shaving/sanding off the other, I looked at Finn's pics in the same thread and they did seem to be there, only barely noticeable. So now, I don't know what I'd do with the completely removed one, if I should make a new one out of thin styrene sheet or leave it smooth and sand off the other one entirely, too. Also, I noticed from photos that they seemed to be more like raised outlines only (?) I'm scratching my head over this one -- help, please. Dry fitting the intake. The model's front area itself is squashed. As per Zactoman's intructions, pressure needs to be applied when gluing the fuselage front area to the correction flange. It seems like it needs a shim here. I'm worried about the memory of the fuselage, though, as it might go back to its original shape in time and flatten the flange, or maybe just pop open if the glue is not strong enough. I really would rather have a setup where the fuselage is reshaped completely than spend its time fighting the hold of the glue (which I imagine it will be doing for the entire life of the model <or am I just a worrywart -- man, the things modelers worry about> ) Dry-fitting the front lip. Edited September 22, 2014 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Finn Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Here are some more pics of the tail area, you can see the outline pretty good here: http://media.nara.gov/stillpix/330-cfd/1987/DN-ST-87-10531.jpeg http://media.nara.gov/stillpix/330-cfd/1989/DN-ST-89-01927.jpeg http://media.nara.gov/stillpix/330-cfd/1991/DN-ST-91-05661.jpeg http://media.nara.gov/stillpix/330-cfd/1987/DN-SC-87-00492.jpeg Yet other pics don‘t show it at all or barely visible: http://media.nara.gov/stillpix/330-cfd/1987/DN-SC-87-05547.jpeg http://media.nara.gov/stillpix/330-cfd/1991/DN-SC-91-07231.jpeg http://media.nara.gov/stillpix/330-cfd/1989/DN-ST-89-01930.jpeg Jari Quote Link to post Share on other sites
falcon20driver Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Your putting in a lot of work on this one, and it's looking awesome! I'm thoroughly enjoying this build. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 crackerjazz,, Just found your build. Certianly a massive build, but the end results will be well worth it. Using a little pressure/force to glue parts together isn't much of an issue, but needing a fair amount of pressure is. Eventually, the parts will crack as the glue seam dries out. Sand, reshape, and test fit till it's the way you need it to be. Absolutely nothing wrong with your level of painting the pit, as it looks darn good from my perspective. Will be following right along to completion. Just take your time, and enjoy the build. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 (edited) Finn, thanks for the pics again. So it looks like it's there after all, and the angle of the lighting in the photos sometimes hides its existence. It's just not as thick as the model portrays so sanding it down really helps bring it to scale. As for the side I smoothed out, I'll think of a way to bring it back. Hey, falcon20driver, thanks for the kind words. Joel, hi! Hope I can do something about the fuselage. And yeah, I do get too serious sometimes and miss to see the fun in building, so that's really great advice, thanks! Making way for the pit. Now I can see what people mean about the pit not being a straight drop in. It's getting trickier as I go along. Cutting off some portions of the pit that are hitting the intake tube. Wait a minute. Does this thing really fit in there? Something has to be shaved down big time to take care of that monster gap. Right now I have no idea where. And the cut should be big enough that the canopy frame fits properly. Right now I don't think it's possible. Maybe I should just pull on the frame outwards when gluing it on, but I'm not sure how that affects the shape of the canopy. Sorry for all the questions -- really want this SLUF build to work - the kit looks like it builds up to an impressive model when built right. Edited September 23, 2014 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aigore Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Looking good there :D Well those things are meant to be removed on the Aires pit....as is the casting block on the underside. That windscreen frame looked interesting...have you tried bendng it with the clear parts in place? Another option is adding plasticard and putty... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zaxos345 Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 You have done well and shave this LORAN antenna but you should scribe it first using the lines as a ruler. As for the aires cockpit i think it needs a lot of work to fit in but it does, at least this is what i get from some other builds. I have the same project going on with some differences (i am building a -H model) so i will keep up with you (i will eventually post my build)! Wish you luck, John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 So far you've done excellent work on getting the Aires pit to fit. Looks darn perfect in the last picture. The Windscreen issue will be a challenge. Spreading clear parts can be very difficult, and usually ends up with a crack or stress line. I believe it was Aigore who spread a clear windshield by 1st dunking it in nearly boiling water. the frame can easily be built up by feathering in some sheet plastic to widen it, or using the same heat treatment to spread it as well. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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