The Revell 1/48 EA-6A build Thread

Love to see if this bird was ever finished. Looked great btw...

Ha-ha-ha!  I tend to use my paint application as an extension of my puttying.  But I've read that when airbrushing the paint over the pre-shaded lines, one has to do it in lighter coats.  It'll be a new experience for me.

Eric

Looking forward to seeing your work, Eric.

I'd go with straight black.  Since it's pre-shading, it's damn near impossible to screw up.  Your lines don't have to be all that straight and you'll be painting over it with your top colors, anyway.  Worst case scenario, you paint your top colors too heavy and you don't see the pre-shading (this is how I usually goof it up).  No big deal, just make up for it with some panel washes and weathering.

-Fred

Thanks for asking Fred!  I can't wait to see your finished product.  In fact, the other day I was in the hobby shop and I saw the same kit you're working on.  I was soooo tempted to pick it up.  I would have if it weren't for the fact that I have so many kits in my stash to deal with.

Anyway, my parents have left my house after visiting for five days.  It went way too fast.  But while they were here, I was not able to touch the kit at all since I was always too busy.  But I'll be able to get back to it now.  I've glued all the ECM and fuel pods.  The tires are also glued.  I'd like to pick up some dark grey or maybe even black to do my pre-shading.  This is going to be my first attempt!  I hope I don't hose it up.

I'm hoping to get back in the saddle again tomorrow to at least start some pre-shading.  Pics to follow soon after...

Eric

Well, I finally got her all decaled up (except for the armamment) and painted the glass (what a pain, masking the front glass).

Tonight, I'm going to attempt to decal the missiles and ECM pods and then attach everything on the underside.

I'll try and take a pic or two, just to show how she's coming along.

How's your build coming, Eric?

-Fred

Mark,

I wholeheartedly agree with you.  I just thought it was funny/interesting that CAM Decals (where it says on their product "the difference is in the details") didn't make a single mention of the walkways whatsoever.  There was no call-out on the top view of their color profile.  If they did, it would have helped me out a lot in terms of figuring out how wide the walkways are, where they stop and end, spacing,etc.  I don't mind painting them on.  In fact, I prefer it.  It just would have been nice to at least show them on the drawing to use as a guide.

Eric

echolmberg

 But one thing I've noticed is that my painting guide which came with my CAM Decal sheet is incorrect.  Or maybe I should say incomplete.  This morning I saw actual pictures of this plane getting ready to launch off the carrier.  On top one can clearly see the typical Prowler anti-skid paint whereas the decal sheet does not include this nor does it even show it on the painting guide.  So now I'll have to figure out how I'm going to mask it off.  The ones for the wings are included in the decal sheet but the one that goes right down the spine and the ones located on the horizontal stabs are neither included nor depicted.  To me that seems like a major omission by CAM.

IMHO, the walkways actually look better if you mask them off and paint them.  If you just dust on the walkway color, so that it dries just as it hits the surface, then you can get a gritty finish similar to the real thing.  It works well in 1/48 and 1/32 scale.  If you're into weathering, the walkways are going to be one of the scruffiest areas of the aircraft and I think it's easier to weather a painted surface than a decal.

Mark

Looks awesome Fred!  My parents are visiting and staying at my place so I won't be able to do much work on my Prowler until Tuesday.  I think I'm going to make this my first attempt at pre-shading.  The build has been going great so far and I hope I don't screw things up!

Eric

Mikeym_us

Gigatron:

Finally, a stinkin' picture

 

BTW, does anyone know if the inside of the boarding ladder well (the part seen in the picture) is red, as well?  I know the inside part of the fold down section, is.

-Fred

 

 

yup it sure is just like the real thing. Go ahead and paint it up.

Only the inside of the hinged ladder is red.  The well itself is white, with black anti-skid on the steps.

Mark

That's one beautiful aircraft, Fred!!    Not sure about the 6A, but many of the EA-6Bs had the inside area painted white.

Ken

Gigatron

Finally, a stinkin' picture

 

BTW, does anyone know if the inside of the boarding ladder well (the part seen in the picture) is red, as well?  I know the inside part of the fold down section, is.

-Fred

 

yup it sure is just like the real thing. Go ahead and paint it up.

Finally, a stinkin' picture

BTW, does anyone know if the inside of the boarding ladder well (the part seen in the picture) is red, as well?  I know the inside part of the fold down section, is.

-Fred

Been trying to post pics for 2 freakin' days, now .  My card reader is on the fritz - every time I try to get a picture off it, it drops the connection.

Hopefully, I'll get pics up by the weekend.

-Fred

YES, John!  That is more like it!  That is so much better and it's more in tune with how it actually looks.  When I get done with the model, I'll post pictures of it and please feel free to make them look much better as well.  LOL!

A couple of nights ago I attached the wings to the fuselage.  I was going to post pictures but I thought it would have been kind of boring.  I already posted pics of the fuselage.  I figured everyone would know what it would look like with the wings attached.

On a side note, though, the wings did go on nicely with only the smallest of gaps on the top.  Come careful taping, puttying and smoothing with a finger tip and Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol smoothed it all out.

I glued the belly pan in place as well.  I used some quick set super glue to tack it down and minimize any gaps and steps.  After it set, I then ran a narrow bead of CA all along the seam.  The seam was pretty microscopic but I did it anyway, waited about 8-10 minutes and then sanded it smooth.

I'm hoping to start the painting in the next week or so.  It's going to be a busy upcoming week since my parents will be stopping over for a visit for a few days.  But one thing I've noticed is that my painting guide which came with my CAM Decal sheet is incorrect.  Or maybe I should say incomplete.  This morning I saw actual pictures of this plane getting ready to launch off the carrier.  On top one can clearly see the typical Prowler anti-skid paint whereas the decal sheet does not include this nor does it even show it on the painting guide.  So now I'll have to figure out how I'm going to mask it off.  The ones for the wings are included in the decal sheet but the one that goes right down the spine and the ones located on the horizontal stabs are neither included nor depicted.  To me that seems like a major omission by CAM.

Eric, I wanted to see your cockpit better so I messed with it.

Looks good to me, especially the seats.

Eric, I wanted to see your cockpit better so I messed with it.

Looks good to me, especially the seats.

Just to keep this from descending into the bowels of Heck, LOL

I got some of the decals on last night, but am having an awful time with one of them.  I used solution on it and it seems to have settled down so fast, that it created lots of air bubbles.  Not silvering, but actual pockets of air.  I've been poking them and hitting them with more solution.  I'll see how they turned out, this evening.

I promise I'll try to get some pics up over the next day or two.

-Fred

Nice build on that Prowler, Ken .

Eric, the pit came out awseome.  I'm glad you didn't have the fit issue with that belly piece.  On the Intruder, it didn't fit worth a damn.  Sanding, filling, scraping, more filling - all to get it halfway decent.

I need to take some more pics; I've got all the paint on her, except for the radome.  I still need to detail the landing gear, paint the canopy and then all the "fun" stuff.  I figure another week or two, till she's ready.

-Fred

Thanks, Eric.  Your ship is looking good!

The Hasegawa kit is pretty good, but the cockpit is a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10.  I put in a Super Bug resin tub, but with a whole lot of difficulty as it required much sanding of the fuselage interior to get it in there.  Also added True Details seats.  Another big hassle for me was getting the forward cockpit hatch together.  The windscreen and the aft cover are ok, but the forward hatch comes in two pieces.   

Ken

Yeah the screens are a bit too bright even without the small nuclear detonation that is my camera flash.  I plan on adding a top coat of Tamiya smoke to dull it down a bit. 

echolmberg

Here are some pics so far.  I'm not happy with how the flash washed them out but to take them without the flash made it look like I was in a cave.  Tonight I dry fitted the wings and I'll have to use a miniscule amount of putty on the top where the wings meet the fuselage.

:550:0]

In the cockpit, I'll wait until after I've painted the plane before I drop the seat backs in. 

 

 

looks like the flash made the radar screens look like they were turned on. BTW I believe darkness would be a Prowler crewmans natural habitat those radar screens were better seen in the dark anyways.

I can imagine how big this is, ive got a Tamiya 1:72 A-6E waiting in the wings and thats a bit of a beast. At least 25cm long (just over 8inches for you imperial fullas)

Ken,

It looks great to me!  How was that Hasegawa kit?  It looks like you did it justice.

Fred, it's interesting that you said the underside center section was so horrible!  I just test fitted the one on my EA-6B tonight and, I hate to say this, it seems like it's going to fit like a glove.  If I do it right, I might be able to get by with no filler whatsoever.  At the very least, I'd have to use some Mr. Surfacer 500 on it but that's about it.

Here are some pics so far.  I'm not happy with how the flash washed them out but to take them without the flash made it look like I was in a cave.  Tonight I dry fitted the wings and I'll have to use a miniscule amount of putty on the top where the wings meet the fuselage.

:550:0]

In the cockpit, I'll wait until after I've painted the plane before I drop the seat backs in. 

For anyone who hasn't yet built the 1/48 EA-6B, this picture doesn't convey how big the kit actually is.  I think it's due to the angle at which I took the picture.  It's, for me anyway who's used to building 99% WW2 single engine fighters, a huge plane and model!  Right after I took this picture, I sanded away the putty on top.  It really didn't need all that much.  So far, it's been a user friendly kit.  But it ain't over till it's over, right?  LOL!

Eric

 PS.  Thanks to those who corrected my gaff.  Yes, you are correct.  I should have said HARM, not Shrike.  I knew something was wrong when I posted that....

Hi guys.  I apologize if I'm intruding into your mini-group.  I've just finished(?) my Hasegawa EA-6B and wanted to show it to someone, blemishes and all.  It's not museum quality but I hope my marine friend will enjoy. 

Thanks, Ken

Well, I finally got the wings on - she's starting to look like a plane.  Thankfully, the wings fit good and tight on the top side - no gaps at the roots.  But underneath, no two angles match the curvature of the fuselage.  I'm just glad the landing gear should block most, if not all, of that from sight.

But man, that center section that has the nose gear and belly - what a terrible fit.  The directions are so vague as to how it goes together.  I think my piece may have been warped, because there is no way that thing should have fit that badly.  It took an hour of sanding, a couple applications of Mr. Surfacer 500 and another hour of seam clean-up - just to get it to about 75% acceptable.

I'll try and post pics of this later, so stay tuned sports fans.

-Fred

EA-6Bs have used HARMs over Iraq '91 and "03, Balkans 96 and 99, Afghnistan "01 and probalby Libya in '86 as well (the HARM's combat debut).

echolmberg

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what kind of weapons the EA-6B carried besides the Shrike missile?

Thanks,

Eric

As far as I know the EA-6B never carried the Shrike only the A-6A, A-6E, and the EA-6A carried the Shrike. The EA-6B carried only Jamming pods and fuel tanks on its hard points. And the Shrike was only used in Vietnam and was replaced by the AGM-88 HARM and the EA-6B was I believe developed just as the war was winding down and probably didn't see action. 

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what kind of weapons the EA-6B carried besides the Shrike missile?

Thanks,

Eric