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A-4C Skyhawk - VA-36 Roadrunners (1/48 Hasegawa)


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I'm really enjoying this build and the extra attention to detail going into it. Vacforming the head to get a mask is brilliant!

 

And I have to confess I'd forgotten about the cockpit project...which I was also thoroughly enjoying. I hope you get back to it in time.

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Hi Zac, glad you like it so far! : )    NightOwl, let me check on those, although, I  must say, that will be for the uber-detail-minded modeler, hehe. I'm more of the mid-fi kind 

: )  GW, no hijack at all, your info are always so useful.

 

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Had some trouble fitting the guy in and managed to ruin the sidewalls of the seat a little.     Still have to patch up those shoulder seams and figure out the best color/paint for the flightsuit.

 

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It doesn't look like the bottom of the seat will be visible -- I might be able to get away with not fixing the seat  : )

 

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It doesn't look like much of the pilot will be seen either, especially once the canopy frame is painted up.  Now to see if I can make a hose for the mask.

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I was comparing HUD photos and saw that there were various versions used.   Found this type of HUD for the A-4C from this A-4D 2N (which I read was the initial designation for the A-4C)  as well as this A-4L photo, which I learned is an A-4C with upgraded electronics.    

 

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https://airandspace.si.edu/multimedia-gallery/a19760757000-panojpg

 

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The curved mount seems to be used for adjusting the angle of the reflector plate.   The plate is framed only on the left-hand side and has a rounded top.

 

 

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Cut up a reflector plate from packaging plastic.  Turned some clear sprue on the dremel for the gunsight.  Ran a ball-headed carving tool on the bottom of the coaming for the gunsight opening and will glue it from underneath after I paint the coaming.

 

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Still need to add some more details near the bottom of the glass.

 

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Checking to see how it looks mounted..

 

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On 3/10/2021 at 6:42 PM, GW8345 said:

If I may;

 

The outboard stations (Sta 1 & 3) on the A-4A/B/C only had a safe working load (SWL) (i.e. capacity) of 1,200 lbs. the centerline (Sta 2) SWL was 3575 lbs.

 

For the A-4E and onward, the outboard stations (Sta 1 & 5) had a SWL of 500 lbs, midboard (Sta 2 & 4) 1,200 lbs and centerline (Sta 3) 3575 lbs.

 

You can find plenty of pictures of A-4's with 3 bombs on those pylons (although usually on a MER). The pilot was restricted in his rate of roll in those configurations, but it's possible.

 

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7 hours ago, spejic said:

You can find plenty of pictures of A-4's with 3 bombs on those pylons (although usually on a MER). The pilot was restricted in his rate of roll in those configurations, but it's possible.

 

What kind of bombs were they?

 

I never said you couldn't put three bombs on station 2 and 4, you can't put three Mk 82's on those stations.

 

You can put three Mk 81 w/Mk 14 fins and still be under the limit, two Mk 82's with Mk 15 fins put you slightly over the limit but it was a legal load, certain loads were allowed an exemption to the station weight limit but not 6 x Mk 82. Besides, you couldn't do 3 or 6 x Mk 82's because you would hit the gear door unless you were using a MBR which is different from a MER. A MBR shoulder stations were angled downward at 32 degrees, a MER's shoulder stations were angled downward at 45 degrees, so the bombs on a MER shoulder stations stuck out more than the bombs on the shoulder stations of a MBR.

 

So, what kind of bombs were they and what kind of accessory suspension equipment was used?

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2 hours ago, GW8345 said:

What kind of bombs were they?

 

I never said you couldn't put three bombs on station 2 and 4, you can't put three Mk 82's on those stations.

 

You can put three Mk 81 w/Mk 14 fins and still be under the limit, two Mk 82's with Mk 15 fins put you slightly over the limit but it was a legal load, certain loads were allowed an exemption to the station weight limit but not 6 x Mk 82. Besides, you couldn't do 3 or 6 x Mk 82's because you would hit the gear door unless you were using a MBR which is different from a MER. A MBR shoulder stations were angled downward at 32 degrees, a MER's shoulder stations were angled downward at 45 degrees, so the bombs on a MER shoulder stations stuck out more than the bombs on the shoulder stations of a MBR.

 

So, what kind of bombs were they and what kind of accessory suspension equipment was used?

 

Here's one picture with 3 Mk82's on a MER used operationally and not just as a demonstration:

 

https://www.leecroissant.com/media/large/Douglas-A-4-Danang.jpg

 

You can tell they are Mk82's because they extend past the nose of the MER while a Mk81's would be even with it. Also the bomb singly mounted on the outer station is smaller than the ones on the MER, and they don't make anything smaller than a Mk81.

 

And this picture shows why you would mount 3 bombs on a MER:

 

https://www.skyhawk.org/sites/default/files/images-a4-unknown/a4k-ddmmmyy-rnzaf-snakeye-image172.jpg

 

The inner aft location doesn't interfere with the gear doors. (I suspect these are Mk82s as well because of the cutout in the fins.)

 

I will retract the statement that there are many of those pictures - the vast majority of heavily loaded A-4 images I have are either Mk81s or impossible to determine with certainty because of bad angles or resolution. And I'm sure given the limitations of plastic a TER full of bombs would have even worse clearance issues on a Hasegawa kit than the real aircraft.

 

 

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you couldn't do 3 or 6 x Mk 82's

21 hours ago, spejic said:

 

Here's one picture with 3 Mk82's on a MER used operationally and not just as a demonstration:

 

https://www.leecroissant.com/media/large/Douglas-A-4-Danang.jpg

 

You can tell they are Mk82's because they extend past the nose of the MER while a Mk81's would be even with it. Also the bomb singly mounted on the outer station is smaller than the ones on the MER, and they don't make anything smaller than a Mk81.

 

And this picture shows why you would mount 3 bombs on a MER:

 

https://www.skyhawk.org/sites/default/files/images-a4-unknown/a4k-ddmmmyy-rnzaf-snakeye-image172.jpg

 

The inner aft location doesn't interfere with the gear doors. (I suspect these are Mk82s as well because of the cutout in the fins.)

 

I will retract the statement that there are many of those pictures - the vast majority of heavily loaded A-4 images I have are either Mk81s or impossible to determine with certainty because of bad angles or resolution. And I'm sure given the limitations of plastic a TER full of bombs would have even worse clearance issues on a Hasegawa kit than the real aircraft.

 

 

First, let me clarify my statement "you couldn't do 3 or 6 x Mk 82's", I meant 3 x Mk 82 on a TER and 6 x Mk 82 on a MER. The reason is that the inboard station (forward on the MER) would hit the forward gear door.

 

Now, as far as the photos, the second one you posted is from the RNZAF, so that right there doesn't count, FMS customers can do what ever they want and don't have to follow Navy Airworthiness rules.

 

The first one, congratulations, you found the exception to the rule. That photo was taken in the mid 60's when the rules weren't followed that closely in-country, aboard ship was a different story. There's always an exception to the rule, someone at some point is not going to follow the rules (done a lot of that myself) and why you are in combat the rules become more of a guideline because the bottom line is get the job done, no matter what it takes. One picture doesn't mean that everyone did it and that it was normal, it just means it was done at one time. It looks like I have to write a book when share some technical stuff in order to cover every possibility since some on here like to find some small technical thing and play gotcha and frankly, I'm tired of it.

 

Bottom line, it's a model, build it/load it anyway you want, it's not like you are going to have to do an over stress inspection on it when you bring it back from a show.

 

This is my last post on the subject/in this forum, CJ, sorry to hijack your thread, I didn't mean for this to turn into a debate.

 

GW out.

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Mr. Happy, thanks!  : )    Thanks Jackman,  I'm not really sure where it came from but I'm interested to know, too.  Darren gave me a bunch that included Tamiya figures and these.   I used the Tamiya arm on the joystick side : )       Hi @Darren Roberts if you read this somehow, can we ask where the white figures came from?  And I hope you haven't gotten tired of building Tomcats, we're missing you in the GB.

 

No hijack at all, GW.  Hope you didn't really mean that -- that it's your last post on the subject -- because we all learn so much from someone like you who looked after real ordnance and had experience on a carrier deck.  We really appreciate your hanging around in a modeller's forum with a wealth of information up your sleeve and ready to share them.  Learned a lot from Spejic's pics too.   All your posts are very informative and valued so I really hope you guys stick around. 

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On 3/26/2021 at 6:02 AM, crackerjazz said:

Mr. Happy, thanks!  : )    Thanks Jackman,  I'm not really sure where it came from but I'm interested to know, too.  Darren gave me a bunch that included Tamiya figures and these.   I used the Tamiya arm on the joystick side : )       Hi @Darren Roberts if you read this somehow, can we ask where the white figures came from?  And I hope you haven't gotten tired of building Tomcats, we're missing you in the GB.

 

No hijack at all, GW.  Hope you didn't really mean that -- that it's your last post on the subject -- because we all learn so much from someone like you who looked after real ordnance and had experience on a carrier deck.  We really appreciate your hanging around in a modeller's forum with a wealth of information up your sleeve and ready to share them.  Learned a lot from Spejic's pics too.   All your posts are very informative and valued so I really hope you guys stick around. 

 

Hmm, you want me to remember where that figure came from. I can't even remember what I had for breakfast! 😄 From the look of it, I think it was from the 1/48 Monogram F-106. It looks very Monogramish.

 

In regards to the group build, I have a Tomcat that I have to do, so I'll get it in there. I've been building for a museum fund-raiser, so that's been taking most of my build time.

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Thanks, Major Walt!  : )    You're welcome, JackMan, and thanks, Darren, hope to see you over at the GB soon!

 

After masking the Tomcat canopies the Skyhawk glass seemed like 1/72.    I was really tempted to push the buy-it-now button again for some Skyhawk masks.  But I decided to give something a try.

 

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The Tamiya masking tape for curves was ok to use for the rear of the canopy but the windscreen posed some challenges.   I tried getting the oval shape with a piece of japanese paper -- the kind you see inside shoe boxes.

 

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I then glued it onto a strip of Tamiya tape and used a pair of scissors while trying my best to keep the hands from shaking.  

 

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Did the same for the side of the windscreen.

 

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Maybe I should have used the xacto?   Anyway, that'll do -- i don't want any more heheh.  I see from reference photos that the canopy actually has that little odd shaped area towards the bottom of the front pillar -- hope I got that right.  Later on, too, I'll have to do another set of masking for the light-brown colored lining inside the oval and towards the rear of the canopy.

 

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Still have to mask the inside and off to the paint booth they go.   I do all my painting in the garage so I'm really glad the cold weather is easing up a bit.

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Some progress...

 

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The plastic is molded in white but I still want to paint the helmet.  Somehow the eye recognizes plastic if left unpainted -- or is it just my imagination?   Anyway, this is what I get for not painting the helmet first before strapping the pilot onto the seat.

 

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I thought I might as well continue working on the instrument panel.  

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Decided to glue the fuselage halves together with Tamiya quick setting glue at this point; planning to attach other details like seat straps and the ejection seat handle after.  I then realized I hadn't installed the tubes for the in-flight mount and had to pry the halves apart.   The quick setting glue did a good job and the fuselage put up a good fight I thought it would break.

 

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Scraped off the detail on the forward left hand side that the manual says to remove.  Removed the molded-on angle of attack vane as well -- will try to make one from styrene.

 

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Had to address the airbrakes' not following the curvature of the body.   Made sure the middle part of the airbrake sat flush to the surface, glued it on and sanded down the top and bottom.

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Will have to fix the scribed details on the airbrakes that were lost to sanding.

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Steve, Scooby,ChernayaAkula, thanks guys!  : )

 

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Cut off the main gear door sprue gates (including hinges, oops) and glued the door on.   Will fix the hinges with some styrene later. 

 

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Notice the overhang from the small fairing in front.   Will check references if I need to sand it down or if I need to add putty on the door.

 

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Did the same for the other main door.   Was careful to keep the hinges intact this time.

 

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you have to notch the edges of that square opening.

 

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And thin the door from underneath.

 

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For these doors I had to do some trimming where they needed to sit.

 

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Test fitting the wing.  The angle on my Roadrunner A-4Cs references hide it but I elected to have the blanked flare dispenser I see on some other A-4Cs.  The edges of the curved panel will need some putty work.

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Now, back in the 80's, my brother and I were building 1/72 planes every weekend. He loved the Skyhawk... I never understood it. But I'm starting to appreciate it, your work is fantastic! I think you've inspired me for a Christmas gift this year... :thumbsup:

Andy

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ExchefAndy, thanks for stopping by!  : )     The design tends to grow on you, doesn't it, especially when it's got those pontoon-like fuel tanks : )   I also like the clean lines of the versions without the back hump.  The Skyhawk was the first model I even laid eyes upon, so it brings me back.  It's interesting to know that it was designed by the same guy who designed the SBD Dauntless and Skyraider - Ed Heinemann.   I wasn't a big fan of the Skyraider, but I like the low-wing, two-man crew killer looks of the Dauntless a lot.

 

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I didn't glue the nose on yet.  I really want to backdate my other A-4 -- An A-4E to a C.  So I want to cast the necessary parts.  Rescribing some details lost to sanding.

 

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Will try to cast these, and maybe the bobtail for the tank as well.

 

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Wanted to correct the profile of the bobtail first as it kinda looked like the nose of an AV-8B.

 

Found a photo from this Largescaleplanes thread.  Overlayed the Hasegawa tank and drew over it to see how much of the bobtail to remove.

 

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Attached the tail to a styrene rod and turned it on the drill.

 

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Edited by crackerjazz
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