stevearado Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Hello All, This will be my first attempt to participate in a group build in a long time. I am starting with the Encore/Squadron boxing of the A-37B Dragonfly that was recently released. The 2 kit inside are Academy tooling with resin bits thrown in and Cartograf Decals. I will be using the decal option for the A-37B flown out of Bien Hoa Airbase in Vietnam in 1971 by Capt. John Lamb. The kit's other two schemes are post Vietnam schemes, and would be used in the second kit build sometime in the future. I will start working and posting pics of my progress as time allows. Thanks for looking. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Omega One Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 SWEET!!! never seen that combo before though.... I just love the A-37!! Andrés Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AVGBob Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Very cool! I'm interested in seeing how this one comes together. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Litvyak Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 This should be interesting indeed! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevearado Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 Thanks everyone. Last night, I removed the pour stubs from the resin parts, and dry fitted them inside the fuselage. The resin parts are from True Details and are very nice. The kit fuselage and wings have some warping issues. However, those should be easy to straighten out with persuasion. Tonight, I plan to wash the cockpit parts and begin painting. Hopefully, I will have it all in and the fuselage closed up before going out of town this weekend. Thanks for looking. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Litvyak Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Wow, the resin makes an *immense* difference in the cockpit over the original parts! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AVGBob Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Indeed it does....Was it much trouble getting it to fit? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevearado Posted September 3, 2015 Author Share Posted September 3, 2015 Indeed it does....Was it much trouble getting it to fit? It wasn't any trouble at all. Once I removed the pour stub from the floor/tub, I compared its size to the kit floor. Both were the same size. One area that could require extra effort is getting the resin floor/tub to line up within the fuselage. The kit part has guides on the bottom that the resin part does not have. I plan to transfer the locations of those guides and mark them on the new part to help with alignment. The resin set does not include control sticks, and require the ones from the kit to be used. The resin seats also fit pretty well. Some progress for tonight; The cockpit parts have been washed and painted. The control sticks are also in place. Thanks for looking. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trietmcam Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 All right! Dual Tweety Birds. What a nice resin cockpit and chairs. I could be wrong, but the kit look like the Academy kit. At least the sprue arrangements is very similar. Happy building Triet Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevearado Posted September 3, 2015 Author Share Posted September 3, 2015 (edited) You're right, Triet, it is the Academy kit. It is the first Academy kit I've seen in an Encore box. Edited September 3, 2015 by stevearado Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevearado Posted September 4, 2015 Author Share Posted September 4, 2015 Some progress from last night: I painted the details on the cockpit parts prior to assembly. I still plan to do some final touch-up and add Future to the gauges. The fuselage was also closed up last night. Due to warpage, it took some persuasion to get the halves to line up. I still need to take care of the gap in the nose. The cockpit is not firmly attached yet, but will be this evening. Tonight, I plan to start cleaning up the fuselage seams along with starting on the wings. Thanks for looking. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ikar Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 (edited) A couple motivational tweet shots: Edited September 5, 2015 by ikar Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevearado Posted September 10, 2015 Author Share Posted September 10, 2015 Thanks for posting the photos. Gives me something to shoot for. After being out of town over the weekend, some progress. I got the wings attached today. I still need to clean up the seems. Also, the wing tip tanks are almost ready to go on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevearado Posted September 11, 2015 Author Share Posted September 11, 2015 Tonight's progress. It starting to look like a Tweet now :) : Thanks for looking Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevearado Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 Some more progress for today: I got all of the weapons pylons attached along with antenna blades that go in the dorsal and ventral surfaces. There are a couple of humps that are to be painted black that I will attach once the paint is applied. I also attached the refueling probe to the nose. Finally, the windscreen was attached along with the HUD glass inside the cockpit. Some more shots: Thanks for looking. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotorwash Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 Great job so far. I love these aircraft. Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevearado Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 Thanks Ray! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevearado Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 (edited) For the last few days, the Tweet has been in the paint shop along with some small bits. The white in the gear wells is Floquil Reefer White while the rest is Model Master Enamels. Unfortunately, one pylon and a dorsal antenna blade broke off while I removed the masks and will be reattached. Also, some of the masks on the canopy came off and will need to be replaced. Overall, I am satisfied with the results so far. I also began work on a couple of fuel tanks and rocket pods that will attach to the pylons. Thanks for looking. Edited September 17, 2015 by stevearado Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotorwash Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Nice looking paint job, SEA camo definitely looks great on the Tweet. Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jgrease Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Nice build! I have no patience for a plane that tiny in 1/72 so it's nice to see one being built well. John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Frankly, I never liked this aircraft. Never knew why. But seeing Your build I may have to get one for myself, as it's looking very nice. Keep up the great work! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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