BuNo02100 Posted February 17, 2024 Share Posted February 17, 2024 Was this “plate” on all A-4s? It’s kind of a pain to work around. And did it have a panel line or do I need to fill it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jbryan911 Posted February 17, 2024 Share Posted February 17, 2024 I believe it's only on later models. I sanded it off for my stalled early 'Nam build. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spejic Posted February 18, 2024 Share Posted February 18, 2024 Try to find pictures of the aircraft you are modelling. That support is seen on some E's and F's and not in others. In my photo collection I can't find it on other variants of the Skyhawk, which is no guarantee because this is a thin piece of metal and hard to see on clean aircraft in 1970's and 80's film. There is no panel line on the support itself. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KursadA Posted February 18, 2024 Share Posted February 18, 2024 It is visible on this preserved aircraft - Flickr has many good photos of it: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BuNo02100 Posted February 18, 2024 Author Share Posted February 18, 2024 Thanks @spejic and @KursadA, went back over tons of pics and it appears to be time frame and airframe specific. As it turns out, I finally ran across a pic of the specific aircraft I am depicting and after learning “how” to look for it, it is definitely there. BW Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob de Bie Posted February 18, 2024 Share Posted February 18, 2024 From the heart, there are a few more doublers on the fuselage of many A-4 versions. It heavily depends on the lighting whether they are visible. Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spejic Posted February 19, 2024 Share Posted February 19, 2024 5 hours ago, Rob de Bie said: From the heart, there are a few more doublers on the fuselage of many A-4 versions. It heavily depends on the lighting whether they are visible. I did find one example on a A-4L. While I have a couple thousand images of the A-4, you could never tell one way or the other on most of them because of the quality of the film/scan/lighting. But there are also very late A-4E and F's (like those in aggressor squadrons) without them, so it really depends on the particular airframe. I don't see them on Skyhawks with enlarged intakes (probably because they wouldn't even fit), and I have also yet to see one on a TA-4J (again, that is not proof they were no TA-4J's with them) and the Hasegawa kit of the TA-4J does not include it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alternative 4 Posted February 19, 2024 Share Posted February 19, 2024 Royal New Zealand Airforce A-4's and Australian Navy A-4's didn't have them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob de Bie Posted February 20, 2024 Share Posted February 20, 2024 On 2/18/2024 at 7:14 PM, Rob de Bie said: From the heart, there are a few more doublers on the fuselage of many A-4 versions. It heavily depends on the lighting whether they are visible. I remembered where I saw the additional doublers: two videos about A-4s used as aggressors. Here are two scenes where they can be seen. https://youtu.be/GlCRs-gINUY?si=32VyVQ3bwOtOxsDy&t=1115 https://youtu.be/e1i2vVPgG8o?si=wkitZHWC0Op1a28S&t=544 That's all I know - don't claim to be an A-4 expert. Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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