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Trumpeter 1/32 A-6A Intruder.


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This one will be slow as I work on it between other builds for publication, but I thought I'd share. Been hesitant to posts WIPs here, but I thought actually building a Trumpeter kit here would be good for a laugh.

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Sadly 1/32 decals are kind of lacking. Really wish Furball would upscale their excellent 1/48 Intruder sets. Can't use Trumpeter's decals because they are riddled with misspellings. Going with a Superscale sheet for this bird:

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Aftermarket:

Eduard exterior and undercarriage PE sets

AMS FOD covers and wheels

True Details Resin seats

AOA Stencil decals

Microscale Green Lizard decals

Done some work on the cockpit and seats. The seats are amazing. Some of the best resin pieces I've ever seen. They are at 90% just need a drybrush.

IP and panel details were tediously picked out with a fine brush. The tub is glossed and needs a wash and some light weathering.

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Thanks folks. Yeah, the AM is a bit anemic for 1/32 jets in general it seems...at least compared to 1/48. I though of the resin pit (and I'm forgetting who makes it now...not Aires) but honestly the kit detail is really good OOB.

Excellent start! Also great to finally see someone build/post the big A-6

The stencil decals look amazing. I'm really looking forward to using them :)

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Phenomenal start, that cockpit looks awsome :thumbsup:/>/> :thumbsup:/>/> . If you're using them,

have a look at the underwing tanks in the kit, they're a bit off :wacko:/>/> .

Lothar

Edited by polybebber
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Excellent start to the cockpit. While I don't usually build 1/32 scale, I'm really looking forward to seeing your build take place. Just the shear size of the A-6 should make this a special build.

Joel

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Thank you! I typically wouldn't have built this plane in this scale either, but at our show earlier this year Hobby Town was selling their stuff 50% off so I got it for like $80...which was just too good a deal to pass.

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Didn't realize I didn't post completed cockpit.

Washed with some Paynes Grey and black. Some light dry-brushing and we are done.

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Also worked on the nose gear stuff. Some Eduard PE enhancements here, but I missed focus on the strut, so I'll have another pic soon.

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I need to do up the arrestor hook pieces and bay and then I can close the fuselage.

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Ok, so I put the PE in the arrestor hook bay. Easy enough.

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So that meant I could close up the fuselage. It won't be any more difficult to paint installed than not.

Fuselage join was tight. It just barely closes up. There's going to be some serious cleanup...which I'll have a weird method for (you'll see later). For whatever reason the rivet lines approaching the apex of the fuselage get really soft. I marked the lines so I could see them with a bronze sharpie and used a push pin to deepen them out. I like this because unlike and old airbrush needle it doesn't push plastic upward creating a crest around the outside of the hole. Naturally I'll have to touch these up after seam cleanup but if I hadn't enhanced them here they would have been much harder to see later.

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This area will be the real pain to clean up without obliterating stuff. (More on that when I work on it).

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The scheme on the Superscale sheet shows the airbrakes are not theperforated style. The A-6E kit apparently has the closed off pieces, but for the life of me I couldn't find them in this kit, so the holes had to be filled. I tried styrene plugs which didn't work all that well mostly...so I went then to Bondo and CA. The hold to the light test says they are good, but primer will tell the true tell.

Of course AOA is coming out with a new sheet...so I'll likely drop the Superscale...provided I can do an A with the filled in brakes.

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Thing are really ugly now, but they'll be ok.

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Looking great!

I really wish they just included both types of speed brakes in both their A and E boxings rather than one each.

While you're doing plugging and sanding, you may want to consider getting rid of the A-6E molded on details if you're wanted an A-6A (like the slime lights and the big vent hole and panels around it)

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Coming along quite nicely. Early As had the holes in the air brakes. As they were replaced from wear and tear, the new brakes were of the solid type. At least that's how it was explained to me when I asked the same question when building my 1/48 scale A-6E last year.

Joel

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