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Monogram A-10A build


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It's been a long time since I've posted, and I've been doing more woodworking then model building.  I, like everyone, have always loved the A-10.  I have a stack of A-10 kits and want to start working on them.  So, why not start with the oldest first?  I have the Monogram with the 1995 copyright date on it.  I am going to use the True Details cockpit, the Sierra Hotel decelerons, and dual rail adaptors, and a Master Models brass gun,.  I have both the Shawn Hull and Sierra Hotel LASTE update sets.  I'm not sure which would be better for the A-10A I want to build.  I want to build the A-10A with the D-Day markings from 1994.

Edited by paxtonm
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The first thing I did was sand down the interior detail on the sidewalls and installed the resin sidewalls.  The resin cut and sanded easily and installed without problem. I am not sure whether or not to make this my first attempt at rescribing panel lines and rivets.  Advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

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Edited by paxtonm
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Good project, but doesn't this thread belong in "In Progress Pics?"

 

Re the panel lines, IMHO don't bother. It's a lot of tedious work for dubious gains, especially for the camouflage scheme you'll be doing. You're going to have enough fights to win getting everything to fit together. Just my 2 cents.

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As great as the resin rendering of the AC ducting is, I know it’s wrong for a post-LASTE aircraft. The rest of the cockpit is substantially better than the kit version, so I’m going to live with it. 

I got the cockpit assembled and sprayed it all MM aircraft interior black and then shot the pieces that are not primarily black Dark Gull Grey. Lastly, I drilled out the port side APU exhaust and backed it with some tubing. I’ll get the pics up tomorrow!

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i agree about the panel lines. I’m just going to try to sand judiciously and carefully!

 

Edited by paxtonm
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Yesterday's progress.  Nothing too big, just drilled out four more lumps of plastic that are supposed to be vented. Much cooler!

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I think i'm going to open up the square vents on the sides too.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Another small step! I got the rest of the vents drilled out, which I think really adds to the model.  I drilled these out with a pin vise and the smallest bit I have, which I believe is a .8mm.  After drilling, I squared up the corners with a disposable scalpel.  got some panels in the cockpit painted Model Master Aircraft Interior Black.

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Until next time!

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Some more work on the A-10 instrument panel. This is the True details resin kit. I gave it a primer coat and then a coat of Aircraft interior black. I followed that up with some light dry brushing with Dark Ghost Grey. Lastly, I started to place some individual instrument decals. It was really tough to get them centered and oriented correctly. It’s amazing how bad zoom photography makes things look!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Another exciting update. I got the cockpit installed, and despite all my efforts I still have a gap between the instrument panel and the coming. That’ll likely get fix with styrene strip. I cemented about 15 nickels behind the cockpit to keep the nose down once the engines are added. Speaking of engines, you can see all of the kit supplied parts, plus some beautiful resin engine faces and fans from Sierra Hotel Models. I sprayed the exhaust outlets with dark aluminum and the fans with magnesium. There’s still a lot of work to be done on the outlets! Lastly, I sprayed the inside of the housings Light Gull Gray. There’s a lot of surgery and weathering that needs to be done on these.

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I don’t really like the kit heads up display (HUD). The hole is a bit kludgy, and the frame is way too thick. So, off she goes. I filled the gap between the IP and the coming with styrene and super glue, and I filled the hole with super glue. It’s starting to look better already!

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I continued work on the engines! The exhaust nozzles now look like they are heat stained. I used coats of Alclad Sienna, blue, and red. I also cut and sanded the openings back to where they widen enough to get the resin pieces in. 

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Opening up some more holes in the fuselage! I used a .8 mm drill bit first, then a 1.0 mm bit. I’m not sure anyone will ever see it, but I backed it up with a piece of old coffee filter.

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The liquid in the fuselage is just the remaining CA accelerator!

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I got the engine nacelles mounted and the Sierra Hotel resin fans and housing glued in and faired. When the cut is made where indicated, they’re really close! After mounting, I used a small amount of plastic putty, which took care of the top, aft end nicely. Underneath, both fore and aft is going to take a little work!

 

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Nothing that some CA glue and elbow grease can't cure!

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I definitely hate this. This is supposed to end the air inlet for the APU. This is a block of plastic. So, first I tried drilling it out. That looked better, but still terrible. I thought, “Why not just cut off the whole thing? Then you’ll have to fix it!” We’re left with this!

 

 

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It can only get better, right?

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My solution to the lump of plastic issue. I’d have made it out of thinner styrene if I’d had any. I tried to get some rivet detail on it, which may or may not show up once its painted. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Lots of assembly on the A-10! It looks like a lot of putty, but it’s a water-based putty that cleans up very nicely!

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The joint between the horizontal and vertical stabilizer is very small.

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The wing roots took a little more work and patience.

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Lastly, the gun looks so much better than the kit version. It was very fiddly to put together, and I wish the barrels extended through the housing more, like they do in the actual cannon. Regardless, it looks so much better!

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On 4/17/2019 at 5:16 PM, Julien (UK) said:

Dont remove all those rivets from the back end, its covered in them back there and they are quite big in reality.

 

Looking good tho

 

Julien

 

Julien,

 

i have some rivet decals I’m going to use to replace lost ones. My next big steps are rescribing  the fuel door, and placing rivets on the windscreen and canopy, as well as where they’re missing!

Edited by paxtonm
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I tried using some HGW rivet decals this morning. Needless to say, it was a debacle. I promptly ordered some Archer Fine Details rivets. I’m not sure why I didn’t get them in the first place. 

 

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