A-10 WIP

Looking good!!!!  Raymond

Looking great squatch..

Joe

Very nice work - that's a beautiful looking a/m gun!

Big steps taken. Happy with it for the most part. Fuselage halves fit fairly well. Not much filling except on the nose where the plastic had sunk on one side a little bit. Wings fit well as well and just a tad more filling and sanding on the wing root and on the underside where the flaps met. The elevators fit nicely as well and I didn't  have any filling or sanding on it. One thing that I thought I had planned for was the nose weight. I had put some lead weights in there and thought it would be plenty, but alas it wasn't. There isn't enough room to squeeze anymore in there without cutting, so I'll have to use the clear plastic piece to make it stay upright on all 3 wheels. Also when I put the nose gear on it was a tight fit with the AM tub. I shaved as much as I dare off each but when I put it in the tub pushed up and now the instrument panel is elevated a bit. I may or may not fix it, its fairly well hidden once the canopy goes on. 

I painted the exhaust nozzles burnt umber. turned out really nice with kind of a rusty/heat feeling if that makes any sense.

When I put the wings on I used the tape trick to keep them where they need to be. So simple but so useful!

Well there she is so far. Starting to put the little bits on. Next is the racks for all the armorment/bombs. 

Do you guys think I should leave the gear doors and stuff off until after painting? The wheel wells are white as is the gear itself. I have painted the inside of the gear doors still on the sprue. I think it would be easier to simply wrap the struts instead of the entire assembly but my head is a mess with modeling ideas so I can't think clearly. Let me know what you guys think!

Nice to see this coming together. I always leave my gear bay Doors and usually the undercarriage itself off if I can.

Nice job! I've always liked the Warthog.

Ok guys. Sorry it's been quiet but with work and festivals and life I havent had a  chunk of time to sit down and update. I've gotten paint started and its....amature at best. Filling seams and painting are 2 areas I desperatly need to work on. But each model is a learning experience, usually in patience. I put a white tamyia primer on, smelled horrible but helped the MM acrylics stick so much better than usual, something I will be doing from now on. I then did a coat of light ghost grey and felt a moment of relief as I realized it was coming to an end! Or so I thought. Once that had dried I began taping and using silly putty to mask off the areas that would be slightly darker, dark ghost grey to be exact. I started painting and for the life of me couldnt tell where I had put the darker coat down, I thought it was too close of a match and it wouldnt show well enough. Then in my infinite wisdom I switched to a vallejo dark grey and painted the rest. After peeling the tape off the contrast of the two greys was so harsh I imediately knew I would have to redo it.

In my anxious and slightly angry state I began retaping and remasking. Time was of the essance because I had to go to work in about 45 minutes. It didnt take long though and I got the coat of dark ghost grey down. Peeled off the tape and it looked ten times better. A lot more subtle and more to what I was looking for. The second masking job also was better and had sharper lines. I did end up going back and touching up some of the lines with a brush but it wasnt anything major. This is the first time I have really appreciated MM paints.

Crap, in typing this I realise I totally forgot to clean out my airbrush before I left....

So this is where I am left in the build, I need a base (have a piece of wood and am just gluing a tarmac to it). Need to add the bombs (already painted), need to add the gear doors, and decals. So while the list is shortening its still a hefty amount of work. I am currently at work so I will post pictures when I get home around 1230am.

This all looks good so far Squatch and I am looking forward to the pics. Like Bish I leave all of my gear doors and the like off until I've painted the plane. I stopped doing any meaningful painting unless I had an hour or better block of time and try not to "paint myself into a corner" (pardon the pun/expression) in limiting the amount of time I have like painting before I have to go to work. I tend to rush because of time constraints when I do that and the results usually don't turn out well. Modeling is my way of relaxing and I can't relax when I'm stressing/ rushing to beat the clock.  Just a little advice from the experiences I've gone through.

 Post pics buddy. Will be watching, Joe

Squatch - Just found this thread and am loving your build! Great job so far - can't wait to see the finished product. I recently bought the Revellogram A-10 and have ordered the same Verlinden update set and GAU gun kit you're using, so I have a keen interest in seeing how you went about it. I also contacted Seirra Hotel Models, which makes a resin set of closed decelerons so they can be displayed more conventionally. They had been out of stock but they just got more in so they're on order, too. A set of Monokio "Peanut" and "Flipper" decals completed the order list - I like the idea of the brown and tan color scheme with the Warthog face, so I think I'll go that route - haven't seen too many of those. BTW, I read in my research (I've done so much that I forget where) that the insides of the decelerons on the A-10s had originally been painted red but were later changed to white. Hope that's of some help. If you want, I can try to locate the reference. Also, I came across a PE ammunition loader (aka, "The Dragon") on DJParkins.com which would make a great diorama, but would require using the company's PE Detail and Weapons set as well. Here's the link if you're interested - scroll down a few screens to find it: http://www.djparkins.com/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2edjparkins%2ecom%2facatalog%2findex%2ehtml&WD=10%20ammunition&PN=1_48th_Post_War_USAF_NATO_Russian%2ehtml%23aFP_2d48_2d103b#aFP_2d48_2d103b. Good luck!

Squatch, If you are worried about tail sitting and are mounting on a board I have a potential solution for you instead of a clear plastic piece.  Place the model on the board and lightly trace the outlines of the wheels with a pencil, doesn't need to be perfect, just a general idea where each wheel is.  After that, drill two tiny holes for each wheel all the way through and erase the pencil marks.  Then get yourself about 8 inches of speaker wire and completely strip it so you can pull the threads apart.  Use one thread for each wheel and wrap it over (or around) the axle between the wheel and strut, and run it to the bottom and twist it together as flat to the bottom of the board as you can.  Then add a drop of CA to the twist and snip the ends.  If you put some of those round rubber self-stick feet on the bottom corners (the kind to protect the surface it sits on) you don't have to worry about the little lumps from the wire twists.  I did it with a P-51 a while back and the thing hasn't budged.  The wire on the nosegear will hold the nose down and wire is probably stronger than the axle it's attached to, so it's not going anywhere.  

Groot

Great idea!  (I have a PM Model Messerschmitt Me P-1111 that I didn't weight properly - this might be the solution.)  How about gluing down some fine-grade wet & dry for faux asphalt?

You can, but you have to be real careful about getting a good persistent glue around the edges as that stuff loves to curl up, especially when it gets wet if you paint it.  There is a 1/196 scratchbuilt Nimitz thread in the ships section and the guy building it is using sandpaper for nonskid.  Aside from just checking out his amazing work, you could ask what he's using to glue it down.

Groot

Ok, after such a long pause in working on this beast she is finally done. Leaned a crap ton on this model, from photo etched parts, resin, modifying the model, painting, just anything you can think of. Great time building it. Only thing you wont see is the canopy. I had put a tiny bit of alcohol to get some over spray off, and it fogged it up to a hazy white. So I left it off...for now.  Please let me know what you guys think!

Thats all I've got guys. The only things left on it is a flat coat and fixing the canopy. Its not based on any particular squadron or specific plane. I put some decals on there just to add some color and some splash of eye candy. 

Nicely done!  I've learned a lot from your posts - thanks for taking the time to put them up. I wonder if dipping the canopy in Johnson's floor polish would help?  Looks like the decals went down well, and there's certainly a ton of them! 

Thanks! I've learned a ton from this forum so the lease I could do is add to the collection. I'll try sanding it then dipping it in future, thats my last bet other than buying a new one, which I found one but its molded closed instead of open like the kit.

I guess you could cut the replacement if necessary - I did it once, successfully. My A-10 Verlinden update set showed up in the mail just after my last post. Nice pieces, but could the instructions be any more vague about where and how to cut the fuselage?  My hat's off to you again for tackling such a complex build. I may wait to get another couple under my belt before starting mine. (I'm a returnee to the hobby after a 40-year absence & it sure has changed!)

Tell me about it! The instructions were pretty vague. there is a youtube video of someone using the verlinden set, search for A-10 scale build. It helped me get an idea of where to cut and such. If you have any questions let me know

Thanks - the tips and help are appreciated and needed!

She looks fantastic, good luck with the canopy!

Groot