A-12 Avenger II help

[TheBadger]

Hey all,

             I picked up Anigrands 1/72 A-12 Avenger II.  Interesting kit but definitely need some sprucing up.  I've done a ton of Google searches on the A-12, wondering if anyone may have some hidden gems that I can't seem to find.  I'm looking for close and clear pictures of the landing gear, wing folds and possible cockpit pics.  I've got pictures of the main instrument panels but can't seem to find much on the consoles.  Schematics would be great to as the surface detail is a bit wonky with panels being put all over and in nor real semblance of order.

Any help would be wonderful.

Thanks, 

 

[Rob de Bie]

42 minutes ago, TheBadger said:

Hey all,

             I picked up Anigrands 1/72 A-12 Avenger II.  Interesting kit but definitely need some sprucing up.  I've done a ton of Google searches on the A-12, wondering if anyone may have some hidden gems that I can't seem to find.  I'm looking for close and clear pictures of the landing gear, wing folds and possible cockpit pics.  I've got pictures of the main instrument panels but can't seem to find much on the consoles.  Schematics would be great to as the surface detail is a bit wonky with panels being put all over and in nor real semblance of order.

Any help would be wonderful.

 

I'm building the same kit, and I too did not find much in terms of photos of the real. No wonder since it was never finished. Also, I would recommend building the model as it is, that already big enough a pain! If you want to change it, you better start from scratch.. Here are two build photos.

 

The first one shows the upper 'fuselage' after a coat of Mr Surfacer. It had dozens and dozens of pinholes in the Mr Surfacer. You can see some of the pinholes as they appeared originally in the canopy coaming area (look closely). I explored a few pinholes with a needle, and found a cavity (air bubble) beneath each one of them. Later I filled each one with CA glue.

 

 

I built mine with the wings not folded, to show the huge size of the design, and because the wing fold detail is very clunky. The wing tips are much thinner than the center fuselage, much modeling magic was required.

 

 

Here's where I am now. I haven't decided what to do with the cockpit - it's pretty horrible.

 

 

On the positive side, it's an impressive model. I'm not a regular 'what-if' builder, but I still like it every time I hold it in my hands, enough so that I haven't given up on it.

 

Rob

Edited April 26, 2018 by Rob de Bie

[habu2]

First of all understand there never was a “real” airframe.  There was a full scale mockup, and somewhere I have photos and cutaway drawings from some Japanese magazine I posted on my now-long-gone website.  It may still be on the wayback machine....

 

Edit: try this link

 

http://web.archive.org/web/20080128181425fw_/http://www.habu2.net:80/a12/avenger2.htm

 

Edited April 26, 2018 by habu2

[TheBadger]

@habu2, apparently the mockup airframe was taken to Fort Worth Aviation Museum to be restored and displayed.

[habu2]

I hope so. Last time I saw it was 12 years ago, sitting outside and deteriorating at the north end of NAS JRB FW on the Lockheed side. 

[Dave Roof]

Model Collect just announced on their Facebook page a 1/48 kit of the Avenger to be released later this year.

[TheBadger]

Thanks for the info Dave, so far I've been lucky, I haven't had to upscale due to my eyes.  It's coming though lol.

Oh and @habu2, your site on the A-12 is amazing!  Some great stuff there that will help me out.  Looking at the landing gear in the Anigrand kit I though there was no way that they could be that spindly.  I was going to replace with A-6 gear and the nose gear of the F-14. May still do it.

 

Edited April 26, 2018 by TheBadger

[TheBadger]

Rob, some very bad molds there.  Mine seems pretty clear with 2 small bubbles near the back end but putty should fix that up.  If I had to do it over again I think I would have picked up the Planet Models kit instead.  Seems a little more detailed.

[Rob de Bie]

1 hour ago, TheBadger said:

Rob, some very bad molds there.  Mine seems pretty clear with 2 small bubbles near the back end but putty should fix that up.  If I had to do it over again I think I would have picked up the Planet Models kit instead.  Seems a little more detailed.

 

Bad casting actually :-) It was clearly not vacuum or pressure cast. I didn't see the hundreds of tiny bubbles before I started painting, so be sure to check your kit.

 

I didn't want to mention the Planet Models kit - I wished I bought that one too :-) I'm not sure though which of the two is more accurate. And I'm too far with my model now, I will finished it. And never buy another Anigrand kit again!

 

Rob

Edited April 26, 2018 by Rob de Bie

[Trojan Thunder]

I too have this kit in the 'to do' pile, nice website Habu

[TheBadger]

Rob, with all this talking I decided to pull the trigger on the Planet Models one tonight.  I'll wait till it get here and post close up of both kits.

[archybean]

On 4/26/2018 at 12:37 PM, TheBadger said:

@habu2, apparently the mockup airframe was taken to Fort Worth Aviation Museum to be restored and displayed.

 

The mock-up is indeed there, I saw it last summer when I went through the museum. Unfortunately the mock-up is sitting outside. Folding wings were sitting on the ground next to it. Fingers crossed they'll be able to restore it. 

[plane bum]

On 4/26/2018 at 3:01 AM, TheBadger said:

Hey all,

             I picked up Anigrands 1/72 A-12 Avenger II.  Interesting kit but definitely need some sprucing up.  I've done a ton of Google searches on the A-12, wondering if anyone may have some hidden gems that I can't seem to find.  I'm looking for close and clear pictures of the landing gear, wing folds and possible cockpit pics.  I've got pictures of the main instrument panels but can't seem to find much on the consoles.  Schematics would be great to as the surface detail is a bit wonky with panels being put all over and in nor real semblance of order.

Any help would be wonderful.

Thanks, 

 

i have the 1/48 collect-aire kit it has metal landing gear nice drawings of the instrument panels and consoles i can take photos of them if you give me an email my email is arthurgray40@yahoo.com

[TheBadger]

@plane bum, sending an email.

[mrvark]

I'm pretty sure that was the first kit Anigrand produced. Virtually all there early releases suffered from air bubbles. The problem lessened over time, but the early ones can be quite frustrating.

[habu2]

There are instrument panel drawings in the link I provided earlier. 

[arg]

There are also photos online of drawings of the expected Full Scale Development (FSD) aircraft, which differed in some details from the mockup.  I opened and built up the main weapons bays (the inner door is cast as closed) - the weapons bay doors operated in a "finger-fold" fashion similar to the F-22 main bay doors.  I made mine in a hypothetical scheme (F/A-18 prototype inspired) as if the first A-12 prototype was completed and rolled out - overall light gull gray with insignia blue wingtips and flashes from the back of the canopy to the wing trailing edge.  Used kit decal markings, but added a "1" to top trailing edge, and each side of the nose.  (Figured that with the cost overruns and delays, they probably wouldn't  want to paint 'gold' flashes on it like F/A-18 #1 had.)  The first prototypes had bureau numbers assigned - 164519 for A-12 #1, which I made from a couple of additional decal sheets purchased from Anigrand.  I used Eduard F/A-18F photoetch for the cockpit, F/A-18F "slime light" decals, and homemade decals of a script "Avenger" and A-12 program patch that I put on the main landing gear doors.

 

Send me an e-mail (argjlg@msn.com), and I can send you photos I've found and photos of my completed build.

 

 

[Rob de Bie]

On 4/28/2018 at 8:35 PM, mrvark said:

I'm pretty sure that was the first kit Anigrand produced. Virtually all there early releases suffered from air bubbles. The problem lessened over time, but the early ones can be quite frustrating.

 

Interesting! The catalog number is AA-2009, which suggests the 9th model in their 1/72 line. But I couldn't find a complete catalog listing.

Rob

[f5guy]

I started this kit a number of years ago, and decided to lower the wings too. Of course they didn't come close to being the same size at the joint, and the kit got set aside for years, and almost trashed several times. Finally one winter a few years back I decided to finish off or junk my long term shelf sitters. It was a fight, but I finally managed to wrestle this pig of a kit into submission. I finished it off in what I call a "fade to gray" splinter scheme similar to those used by VF-301 & VF-302 on their F-4S's back in the mid 80's. I used some spare VA-34 decals, and it was done! It looks pretty unique in my display case, but don't look too closely! Fred K.

[Rob de Bie]

1 hour ago, f5guy said:

I started this kit a number of years ago, and decided to lower the wings too. Of course they didn't come close to being the same size at the joint, and the kit got set aside for years, and almost trashed several times. Finally one winter a few years back I decided to finish off or junk my long term shelf sitters. It was a fight, but I finally managed to wrestle this pig of a kit into submission. I finished it off in what I call a "fade to gray" splinter scheme similar to those used by VF-301 & VF-302 on their F-4S's back in the mid 80's. I used some spare VA-34 decals, and it was done! It looks pretty unique in my display case, but don't look too closely! Fred K.

 

Something like this? I solved it by deforming the upper half of the center fuselage, after removing the root rib of course.

 

 

If you have any photos of your model, please share them!

 

Rob

 

Edited May 4, 2018 by Rob de Bie

[f5guy]

2 hours ago, Rob de Bie said:

 

Something like this? I solved it by deforming the upper half of the center fuselage, after removing the root rib of course.

 

 

If you have any photos of your model, please share them!

 

Rob

 

 

Yup... pretty much like that Rob! I have the Anigrand 72nd scale Hummingbird VTOL jet kit too, but I haven't had the apples to attempt it yet😅 As for pics, he kit is packed away with all of my other finished models at the moment. It will be a good six months before they see the light of day again, or before I can get building again for that matter.....  Fred K.

[Timvkampen]

the best mismanaged acquisition project ever with the longest lawsuit also. They should have acquired the A-6F and F-14D.... Lovely concept though for a flying Dorito! 

Respect for the build, seems challenging! 

[habu2]

Somewhere I have loft line, cross section and panel drawings for the A-12. I believe they were made for use by the GD model department to make display models. 

[Vince Maddux]

28 minutes ago, habu2 said:

Somewhere I have loft line, cross section and panel drawings for the A-12. I believe they were made for use by the GD model department to make display models. 

I wouldn't mind having a copy if that if you can find it.

[TheBadger]

1 hour ago, habu2 said:

Somewhere I have loft line, cross section and panel drawings for the A-12. I believe they were made for use by the GD model department to make display models. 

I think they were on your site.  At least there were a few. If you have other I'd like to a copy as well if you don't mind.