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Hi, this is Fujimi 1/72 A-7E Corsair backdated to early 70s standard with a replacement decals from Microscale due to the kit ones turned yellow severely. Despite of blue colour of VA-113 markings were too light I used them anyway as they are only appropriate Vietnam war A-7E decals I had in my hand. I replaced a kit bang seat with more detailed resin one which I have no idea what brand is it and scratch building appropriate wall and structures behind the seat. Like many old Microscale and Superscale decals my sheet provided no any roundels so I had to sourced them from Techmod US insignia sheet. There still are rooms to be improved on this old but venerable kit especially around undercarriage areas such as detailing all three wheel well for more busy looking with stretched sprues and rods, digging a shallow groove for nose gear launch bar immediately forward of nose wheel well, adding drag link and a bit of mechanism linked to the nose gear strut, a solid launch bar was hollowed out for more realistic see through looking from below while a launch bar actuator was also added and black placards inside lower main wheel door were hand painted. Drill a couple set of holes to depict chaff/flare dispensers underside aft fuselage. All weapons are from Hasegawa weapon sets. Once again my jet was finished too clean for combat machine. :lol:/> Hope you like it...

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Awesome work Sir :thumbsup:! I love those old Fujimi SLUFF's. The markings are among my favorites as well. Crisp and clean finish. Thanks for sharing.

Regards,

Don

:cheers:

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You say "it's finished too clean for a combat aircraft..." I'm afraid I'd have to disagree with you on this one!

It's actually very refreshing to see an in scale weathered appearance. There seems to be a craze of covering models in dark panel lines that were never visible on the real aircraft, paint finishes that look like the aircraft has been parked in the depths of a jungle for the best part of a decade and generally models that are rediculously over weathered.

Considering the gull grey over white scheme was glossy, it didn't weather anywhere near as much as the later grey schemes, so in my eye you've achieved what many other builders don't - a perfectly in-scale finish for an aircraft of that era in that scheme. Some panel detail is just visible (as you'd expect when viewing the real thing from a scale distance) but it hasn't been overdone and it really looks the part.

Bravo!

Tom

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Thanks guys for your kind words!

Tom, actually your perspective about scale weathering is my common practice to control how thick of panel lines or how dark of oil leaks etc. should be seen. However not every occasion I could achieve what I considered myself proper weathering mostly caused by limited time and patience. This A-7 may be a lucky one.

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Excellent detail in the main gear bays. I am going to save your pictures for reference when I work on my Fujimi (Testors) A-7s. As for "too clean", all aircraft are that clean at least at one point in their lives. I find no fault in your level of weathering, I really like the clean look. Check out some of Mike Grant's work for beautiful examples of this style. He has an article in most issues of Airfix's magazine and they usually deal with "veteran" kits and always in the clean finish you choose.

Edited by Grey Ghost 531
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I keep coming back to this. It's a great build, and the load-out is very attractive. But there is something very cool about it (can't exactly put my finger on it) that makes me come back to it. I want to build a 1/48 of this one of these days...

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Beautiful clean build with some excellent attention to detail. Clearly, you did your research on this one. Congrats and thanks for sharing. I've got the Fujimi A-7A and A-7E kit . . . . . makes me want to break them out! Well done sir.

Jim

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what TommyP said, I reckon you've got it spot on. I'm amazed at what a big aircraft the A-7 was to a Mig-21 or maybe I'm amazed at what a small aircraft a Mig-21 was to an A-7 :)

Steve.

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You've done terrific job painting Your A-7. Truly awesome! The amount of additional work You've put into this kit really shows. I know it may sound funny, but I've built this kit once or twice, and I'm really envious of that intake. Getting it this smooth is no easy task.

Awesome work! :cheers:

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  • 4 weeks later...

I agree with TommyP, you have achieved and excellent scale weathered appearance. What's your next project?

Actually my next project after the A-7 was finished already almost a month ago. It is Academy 1/72 F/A-18C. I will post pics of my bug soon...

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You say "it's finished too clean for a combat aircraft..." I'm afraid I'd have to disagree with you on this one!

It's actually very refreshing to see an in scale weathered appearance. There seems to be a craze of covering models in dark panel lines that were never visible on the real aircraft, paint finishes that look like the aircraft has been parked in the depths of a jungle for the best part of a decade and generally models that are rediculously over weathered.

Considering the gull grey over white scheme was glossy, it didn't weather anywhere near as much as the later grey schemes, so in my eye you've achieved what many other builders don't - a perfectly in-scale finish for an aircraft of that era in that scheme. Some panel detail is just visible (as you'd expect when viewing the real thing from a scale distance) but it hasn't been overdone and it really looks the part.

Bravo!

Tom

TommyP I agree! To see the oil stains, hydraulic fluid stains, etc. that we see on a lot of models, one has to be standing right next to the aircraft. However, that's just my opinion. And we all know what "they" say about opinions! It's your model, build it like you want it. After all, 99% of the viewing of most models is viewed by the builder. When it comes to commission builds, the model is built to the specs of the "commissioner." I build a lot for vets. For the most part, they like in-flights. My point is, I'm not beating up on anyone. It's your model, and you're the one that's gonna spend the most time looking at your model. I simply like to weather my models like this A-7 is weathered. Nuff said. Build more models!!!

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You did a nice job on your A-7. In 1/72 scale, Fujimi rules the roost!(A-7A,B,D,E) Many years ago, Squadron sold a Fujimi 1/72 scale A-7B (Kit #F10). The paint scheme was the gull gray/white and the marking were for the Barn Owls and one other squadron. Squadron sold the kit as a bagged kit for .99 CENTS! This sale went on for about 6 months or so. I probably bought as least 15 or 20 of these kits. I wish I had bought 100! I built some, gave some to kids(several kids in my area cut their modeling teeth on this kit), and I have two left. We already have plans for them. In my stash, I have 1/72 scale A-7D's that appear to have been poured from the same dies as the Fujimi A-7's. The blown up directions are also very, very similar. Again, great job on a great kit.

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I got this kit from a fellow in modeling community here just at 400 Baht (around $12) which is fairly cheap already for me but a Fujimi kit (even bagged) under a dollar sounds quite incredible! Thanks for sharing.

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