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New Decals - Hollywood A-6 Intruders (1/32, 1/48, & 1/72)


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AOA sheet (SS-001) is for the A-6 Intruder again but this time it is a small special sheet with all three scales on one sheet. These Intruders were A-6E TRAM aircraft modified in 1989 to represent A-6A during Vietnam in 1972 for a particular movie. The sheet includes the exterior markings to reproduce Devil 501 or 505. Decals for crew helmets for both aircraft and one external fuel tank are also provided.

(The national insignias are intentionally mis-proportioned on the decal sheet compared to specs, this is how they appeared on the actual 501 and 505)

Now in stock.

Printed by Microscale.

Price $13

www.AOAdecals.com

SS001-1.jpg

AOASS001.jpg

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That book was so awesome and the movie was - overall - such crap. I thought the guy who played Jake Grafton was OK, but William Dafoe was not at all what I pictured for Tiger Cole. Awesome carrier and flying footage, and... Well, things went downhill quickly.

Read Flight of the Intruder! Just do it!

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I am in! Loved the book...waaaay better then the movie. Final Flight was a good read too as was Intruders. Coonts had some really good books.

I bet a movie type Group Build would generate interest.

Good stuff!

:cheers:

EDIT: Spelling.

Edited by Don
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The book is amazing. I make a point of reading it every two years. The film coulda been okay. The first time I read the novel, I pictured Cole as either Dafoe or Kurt Russell, so his casting was fine. Shoot me, but I always saw Jake Grafton being played by Whip Hubley, and Camperelli always made me think of Robert Patrick. I hadn't heard of the movie until I was already twenty (it came out when I was 10 or 11, before I cared about airplanes) and got excited about seeing it. Man, was I ever disappointed. I was expecting a strike version of Top Gun (which I loathe for the inaccuracies and acting, but at least the music, flight scenes, and artwork were good) and what I got was some super-crappy low-budget adaptation. It kinda followed the book pretty well for the first half, then goes on this wild departure. The finale really gets me. Launching a plane without scheduling like it's hoping in and starting a car, then sacrificing said plane to rescue your shot-down CO as if you could get there more quickly than the dedicated RESCAP... just what?!

I'd like to see a remake film followed by the first two sequels (chronologically). Intruders doesn't have a whole lot of plot but boy you sweat anyway. Final Flight has a plotline straight out of an 80's Steven Segal movie, but at least we can get some Tomcat action. Interesting side note; Final Flight was published in 1988 and forsaw VF-143 and VF-11 being assigned to the same air wing flying F-14Bs on the maiden cruise of a new Nimitz-class carrier a decade before it happened in reality. in 1997, VF-11 downgraded from F-14Ds to Bs, moved to Atlantic Fleet, and got hitched to CVW-7 with VF-143. CVW-7 was the first air wing to deploy with USS John C. Stennis.

Anyway, awesome work on these decals. I especially appreciate helmet decals included. Air crew detailing has been ignored mostly up until the last few years.

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This is a must. I loved the book but the movie sucked big times.

Neither character in the movie hit me as being cast right.Weren't

A-6Es used in Vietnam before they received the TRAM pod?---John

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I was a kid when the movie came out and saw it before I read the book. Of course, I agree the book is way better (aren't they always), but I still enjoy watching the movie even with the cheeziness, "romance", and other issues. I have it on BluRay - I do not have Top Gun, nor will I, even though I enjoyed that one as a kid too, now not so much. I'd say the Flight of the Intruder movie/book had a part in my love for the A-6.

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Weren't A-6Es used in Vietnam before they received the TRAM pod?---John

Not that I'm aware of. None of the squadrons I've looked into had the A-6E in combat in Vietnam (definitely not VA-196), maybe after the ceasefire in Jan 73?

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The decision by the 50-pound heads was made to keep the A-6E out of Vietnam because they did not want to risk the E-model's more advanced technology in what was considered a high-risk, low-priority theater. They wanted to reserve the classified tech for a conflict with the Soviets even though the Es superior abilities would have made it much more successful and useful in Vietnam.

Likely if the F-14 had come along in time for the Vietnam War, they would have made the decision to keep it out rather than risk one being shot down and analyzed, even though it could have made a terrifying impact on the air war.

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Coonts was my favorite author for many a year. Disappointing movie other than the flying scenes (face it, we usually say that!), but to this day, if I'm driving at night and get a bright flash from some moron who left their brights/hi-beams on, I always remember Dafoe screaming at Grafton for forgetting to close his eyes during the Shrike launch and the momentary blindness :lol:

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That book was so awesome and the movie was - overall - such crap. I thought the guy who played Jake Grafton was OK, but William Dafoe was not at all what I pictured for Tiger Cole. Awesome carrier and flying footage, and... Well, things went downhill quickly.

Read Flight of the Intruder! Just do it!

I concur! Read the book twice

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I don't know if I would call the film a disappointment compared to the book, given that certain aspects of the narration on the book would have been tough to do, such as Grafton and Callie's meeting in Hong Kong. It probably would have been better though if they just left that out of the story completely while maybe only hinting at it in flashbacks. Some of the story changes were a bit odd though. I also wish they would have kept the real "phantom $#!##er" the same as the book.

The depiction of the Iron Hand flight was nice, showing just how crazy that mission could be. I wish they could have perhaps included Jake tanking a damaged A-6 to showcase how intense tanking missions could be, even if KA-6s never got feet dry. I will say this about the movie, one SUPERIOR thing from it over the book was casting Danny Glover as Camperelli. I know, it was way out in left field but Danny played it up great, almost stealing the show ("Have you ever met a black Italian?"). I admit, it was a bit of a change from the book character, but he did emote the feeling of betrayal nicely when Grafton and Cole did their SAM City strike (I think it would have been more powerful if they had bombed the book target, which they missed, meaning the strike was wasted).

I may have to get this sheet as I would love to do an Ironhand A-6B.

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  • 4 years later...

It's been years and out of stock for some time, but this sheet covering a certain 1991 movie's Intruder aircraft is available again by direct order only - less than 10 sheets available.

While re-organizing stock I found I still had some spare sheets in reserve of what I thought was completely sold out. There is however no printed instruction sheet included for these last ones but a new image has been added to the website for the placement guide. 

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On 6/30/2016 at 8:56 PM, andrew.deboer said:

That book was so awesome and the movie was - overall - such crap. I thought the guy who played Jake Grafton was OK, but William Dafoe was not at all what I pictured for Tiger Cole. Awesome carrier and flying footage, and... Well, things went downhill quickly.

Read Flight of the Intruder! Just do it!

The only air crew I ever saw wearing PJ's (stripes) were FAC's and some chopper crew men, BUT that doesn't mean they couldn't or didn't. Just never saw any, and I was in Chu Lai and DaNang on a regular basis. Further south (Cam Rhon Bay) they wore strait green. Nicely washed and even starched at times. That big ole knife always amazed me! I could see it snagging on something while trying to get outta dodge in a real hurry. Most pilots were issued S&W 38's, but a few got their hands on a 1911a1! Most aircrews were issued plain old generic black leather boots, but once again you saw a few with jungle boots. I remember a guy who flew an O-1 (named Gary from Gary Indiana) into a very hard landing out our way. Plane was junk, and he looked like something right out of Hollywood! He had tiger stripes, and jungle boots. Packed a CAR 15 and a 45. Said this was his third Bird Dog, and was about ready for something else! Then he jumps up and runs over to the plane, and crawls inside it. Comes out with a real cow boy hat! He was one of the two FAC's we used, and from then on was known as "cowboy". To weeks later he's back out there with a new O-2. 

       Oh the O-1! Went and grabbed a five ton truck, and drug the O-1 off the runway, and burnt it about an hour before the C7's started rolling in. Hope Cowboy got outta that dump OK.

gary

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On 10/13/2020 at 4:13 PM, ziggyfoos said:

I wonder where that was filmed at? Not Chu Lai, and for some reason doesn't look all that much like DaNang. Maybe Dong Ha? If memory serves me well, DaNang was black top with white sand and red dirt. Chu Lai was white concrete from late 67 onwards, and that's not Chu Lai. Dong Ha came into play kinda late, and never got up that way. As for PJ's, that's the first time I ever saw Marines wearing them. As I stated; nothing was impossible, but just kinda rare.

gary

    

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13 hours ago, ChesshireCat said:

I wonder where that was filmed at? Not Chu Lai, and for some reason doesn't look all that much like DaNang. Maybe Dong Ha? If memory serves me well, DaNang was black top with white sand and red dirt. Chu Lai was white concrete from late 67 onwards, and that's not Chu Lai. Dong Ha came into play kinda late, and never got up that way. As for PJ's, that's the first time I ever saw Marines wearing them. As I stated; nothing was impossible, but just kinda rare.

gary

    

That footage is from 65/66 and with those two F-4 squadrons along with the USAF aircraft and helos in the background I would've thought Da Nang, although there is some early Chu Lai footage in there too.

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On 10/13/2020 at 8:43 PM, Cool Hand said:

Not sure how I missed this release initially, but I just placed an order for one of the final sheets. Seems like it's got my name written all over it. :whistle:

 

So not from Cool Hand Luke? (kidding)

Thanks for the order, it's in the mail

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