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Its with great pleasure that I get to present Trumpeter's new 1/32 A-6E Intruder to everyone here. For starters, this is an AMAZING kit. The fit is top notice, I'd say it almost rivals Tamiya in this department, on tricky spots were fitting the engines inside (and this is optional) and some of the wing folding mechanisms. There is a ton of very sharp detail throughout the entire model, a resin cockpit isn't really that necessary at all (I didn't use one). The landing gear installation is solid and relatively easy, at least in this configuration I have (resin bombs) the plane is perfectly balanced I didn't use any ballast (you might want to use some with other configurations though). The basic aircraft is OOB, I used Northstar Models 1/32 Mk.82 Snakeyes which have great detail and really enhance the kit in this respect. I also detailed the landing gear with hydraulic lines using lead wire as well as the engine. If you're wondering why there aren't any photos of the engines its because I attempted this and one of the wings snapped off!!! Luckily it was easily fixed and due to the weathering and overall dirty appearance of USN aircraft I dare to you find it. Also, AOA Decals "Sandbox Intruders" decals, kudos to them on this set it has a lot of options, they're thin and tough (I had to really almost scrub the decals with sandpaper to weather them) they also give you some instructions on panel lines to fill in, etc to make a more accurate A-6E. True Details' GRU-7 ejection seats, really nice piece of resin with good detail but they were missing the ejection handles, however, I still would recommend them. For people that love to knock Trumpeter, I say build this kit then try to talk (I'm sure there is some psychopath out here on the forums whose going to point out a 6 inch wire isn't molded on the wing folds and therefore the kit is completely unbuildable or a panel line is 1 scale inch out of alignment and therefore the entire plane is "inaccurate." I modeled this after an A-6E that was involved in the Libyan attacks of 1986, there weren't many reference photos of this specific one (I only had 2) so I had some fun using my imagination on weathering and touchup painting. Some people think the TPS is boring, I would argue differently, that if you enjoy airbrushing and weathering then they are an absolute blast to paint. I used mostly Mr. Color paints with some Tamiya acrylics, an oil wash for highlighing detail and some weathering & blending. For painting I used my usual method of going very slowly and detailing almost all parts & panels with various shades of browns, tans, and greys before misting the base colors to blend it in, the demarcation lines between the two greys is subtle and on par with how it looks in real life (if you look close there is very little uniformity to the paint finish, this keeps it interesting to the eye. I hope you enjoy checking it out and have as much fun as I did building it.

Dan

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Wowzers. I really like this. Great job!

I'm slowly building the A-6A as we speak. I have the True Detail seats also and they are some of the finest resin I've ever seen.

I have a couple questions.

1. Do you find the wingfold to be sturdy? I want to fold mine, but I've heard they are a little iffy. I'm not looking to snap them off trying to transport.

2. Where did you source the Snakeyes? I'm not familiar with those, but they look great and I'm wanting to loadout with resin ordnance.

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1.) The wing fold is sturdy, IF you don't turn it upside down (In the name of strength I might put a little extra superglue in some spots you might not notice in the folds so much), even with the support poles it still popped off when I tried to snap some shots of the bottom/engines. However, I figure 99.9% of the time when I look at on the shelf I won't notice/think of this. Luckily unless you're really looking for the spot where it cracked you will not see it.

2.) Northstar Models, I believe they have a website, I think they are a Ukrainian Company, they make really nice weapons, I've used their AGM-65 Mavericks before. Only thing was they forgot to include the photoetch sheet for the fuse detail, I didn't feel like waiting a couple weeks for something so minor so I just cut down the stem on the kit supplied ones. A word to the wise, they are NOT designed for this kit, so you need to use care/planning when deciding how you will mount them on the racks.

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Dsahling,

Just an exceptional build. I really like your paint and weathering. Your pre-shading technique looks most realistic. My only suggestion is a little better lighting for your photo sessions.

Joel

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From what I hear, natural indirect light on cloudy days works well? Does anyone have any suggestions about how to position lights indoors? I live in Denver, there is WAY too much sunshine around here, there were some cloudy days a few weeks ago, but of course it was before I finished it!

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Do you use a DSLR? If so I would suggest getting a set of speedlights. You can get a budget brand with 2 lights that will give you all you need for about $150. I used one for a while before moving to Nikon brand speedlights. They work well.

I use one on either side of the model and trigger them remotely.

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If you don't want to go that route you can get some daylight balanced photography bulbs. Three will do it. Stick them in some clamp fixtures from Walmart. One on each side of the photo area at 90 degrees and one directly above. You'll need a slower shutter because as bright as they are they still aren't a lot of light compared to a speedlight.

Type of bulbs I'm talking about

http://www.amazon.com/LimoStudio-Fluorescent-Daylight-Photography-AGG878/dp/B0089Q1HCC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438057538&sr=8-1&keywords=daylight+photography+bulbs

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She is a BEAUTIFUL model!!! I sure like em Dirty!!! Weathering is superb. The greatest features of the Trumpy Intruder, the visible engine bay, along with the detailed "Bird cage" and Radar system.

I too am currently building the Alpha version, and by far is my favorite model yet. Had I known they were coming out with the Echo, I would've waited. Oh well, just have to save up for that one.

You've done a spectacular job on this bird. The details you put into it is sweet!!! :worship:/>

Edited by VA-115EFR
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Hi Dan,

Your build speaks volumes!!! Just one question, when the A-6 was parked, were both ladders down?

Both can be down at any time for any reason. It just depends on the work being performed at the time. If the plane was in the hangar and room was not going to be available to raise and lower them, they would just leave them down. Sometimes wingtips and nosecones come in very close proximity to each other.

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A very nice job indeed. The only criticism is that you need to get it a roommate now. So, start your next one soon!!! I'm sure we'd all love to see one in a wings spread and dirty wing configuration. Let us know what your next project is. Again, very nice work. Keep up the good work! :worship:

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