crackerjazz Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Hi, working an A-4 Skyhawk instrument panel for display. Chose 1:2 as it seems like a good large scale but not too large to fill up the wall. Just planning to use some styrene sheet. The scratchbuilt parts probably won't look very realistic but I'm aiming for just a nice enough representation to adorn the my work area. I wanted to join the Skyhawk group build last year thinking I could squeeze this in during the holidays. But the days just sped by and I lost my chance. Now that I'm working on it I can see that I couldn't have made it in time for the deadline anyway. I'm modeling it first to make patterns for cutting styrene (manually). I'm using the figure from the Squadron book which is a TA-4F trainer but I'll try to replace some of the instruments based on ones from the fighting units. I've come across some good A-4E shots those might help. But any help is welcome. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Exhausted Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 I look forward to seeing this one through. A bit different, but an interesting path. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Adam1818 Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Very cool! Would love to do a hornet like this but finding all the measurements would prob be a nightmare. How are u going about this? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted January 25, 2016 Author Share Posted January 25, 2016 Hi Adam, you will need just width of the actual instrument panel then you can print the IP to scale and cut styrene parts accordingly. I resized the TA-4F panel based on an empty instrument panel I found online where the width was indicated. In your case, the CDkit F-18 instrument panel might provide good info too. I can see it mentions 26" as the width of the F-18 IP. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JMan Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 WOW, I've seen a lot of different things being built on here but definitely not this. Very much looking forward to seeing this come to fruition!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 This is an RNZAF official image of the original A-4K Instrument panel. The A-4K was an A-4F with no ECM fitted Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted January 29, 2016 Author Share Posted January 29, 2016 (edited) Hi Exhausted, EJMan, a4s4eva, thanks for following! And thanks for that photo - very useful! Built the 8-ball bezel in layers to get the right thickness for the various sections. Edited January 29, 2016 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wayfarer 30 Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Holy cheese man! That's really great stuff. Look forward to watching this for sure. Mike. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cr7driver Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Excellent idea. Im looking forward to seeing this completed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 Hi Mike, cr7driver, thanks, guys! There's a red filter that can be flipped on the radar scope. I'm not sure if I'll be making one, though. In some cockpit photos the filter is gone entirely - so maybe it's not always used? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 2, 2016 Author Share Posted February 2, 2016 Some progress with the APG-53 radar scope: Gluing on "walls" to build up the required thickness. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jgrease Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Wow. Just cool stuff. Looking forward to more! John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 Hi, John, thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K5054NZ Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Great work, crackerjazz, a very cool build and you're teaching me some great techniques. I vote for the red filter, as it would add some visual interest to the finished product.....unless, of course, you make it work so it can be flipped up! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Major Walt Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Great work! This is truly amazing! This is some seriously intricate work Walt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 Hi K5054NZ, glad you like it. I'll try, but that'll be a stretch :) Major Walt, thanks! Couldn't read the letters above "TAC" so I left it blank. Anyone know what it might be? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JohnS Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Great build! Here are links to a few hi-res A-4 panel drawings I found on an old eBay listing. I'm not sure if these will help, but I thought I'd pass them along. http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/oNIAAOSwgyxWVzPO/s-l1600.jpg http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/1QQAAOSwcBhWVzO5/s-l1600.jpg http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/r6IAAOSw7FRWVzQz/s-l1600.jpg http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/YCwAAOSw8-tWVzPu/s-l1600.jpg http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ooEAAOSw7FRWVzP9/s-l1600.jpg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 14, 2016 Author Share Posted February 14, 2016 (edited) Hi, John, thanks for those! They are very useful! Edited February 14, 2016 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
texgal45 Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Beautiful work on a really different project. I love it. Grandma L Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K5054NZ Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Very, very cool. Thanks again for sharing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 (edited) Hi Texgal, thanks for the kind words! Hi K5054NZ, thanks! -- and sorry for the lack of updates -- I got sidetracked by the Tomcat :) I knew I shouldn't have started another project --- again! Got a question, fellas --- does anyone know what font they use exactly on the A4 instrument panel? And is it the same standard font for all US Navy aircraft? I'm trying to make the labels in a format that the dry-transfer decal service can use. Solidworks doesn't seem to have it so I'm just using the closest-looking font I could find -- but would love to find out what the font is actually called. Thanks in advance! Edited March 7, 2016 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Just stumbled on this great project of your CJ. What you have done so far looks great. What are you using to glue the paper templates to you card stock? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thegoodsgt Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 This may be the absolute coolest model we see all year! I'll be excited to follow it. Steven Brown Scale Model Soup Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tgoetz Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 I like the idea and the craftsmanship. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K5054NZ Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 My only question now is: what about the 1:2 A-4 to display it in? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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