I have completed my first build for 2021, an original boxing of Monogram's Warthog in 72nd scale.
I remember seeing this one in model shops frequently in the late '70s but I'm having a tough time recalling if I actually ever built it. I know that I built a 48th scale Thunderbolt II right about the time that Desert Storm kicked off, but just can't say if I ever built its older, smaller scale brother. Then a few years ago my mother-in-law picked up this kit at a garage sale (hence the condition of the box). The instructions were moth-eaten and I could not even touch them without further disintegration, and the decals were in such awful shape I just automatically picked up an aftermarket set for Desert Storm-era Warthogs.
My build represents an A-10A that flew with the 511th TFS / 10th TFW based out of RAF Alconbury, relocated to King Fahd Airport in Saudi Arabia in 1991 for Desert Storm. The Annabelle II.
There are very few parts in this kit, and it goes together pretty well. No flash on my example, nor warped parts. Like most Monogram kits, it is intended to be built with the wheels down, but I opted to do a bit of plasti-surgery to build it wheels up. By installing the gear doors prior to closing up the fuselage or main gear wells, I was able to get the gear doors into position without any major mis-alignments or risking the parts falling inside the model.
I didn't spend a lot of time on this one; I literally started it yesterday. I put down a coat of AK Interactive Real Color Medium Grey for the interior parts, then painted the pilot figure. I didn't bother with any washes or detail painting in the sparse cockpit. Assembly probably took about 2 hours, give or take, then I masked the canopy and windscreen to finish out the assembly. I did have some seams to fill, and quite honestly, I could have done a better job with that.
Today I painted the exterior - AK Interactive Real Colors Dark Gull Grey, Vallejo USAF Green, and Vallejo US Dark Green, with AK Interactive Real Colors Gun Metal, Model Master Metalizer Dark Anadonic Grey, Model Master Acryl Clear Blue, and Model Master Acryl Clear Red. The Dark Gull Grey did not match the ANA code listed on the decal instruction sheet, but I didn't want to spend any $ to get the right grey. Close enough as far as I'm concerned.
Decals went on okay. I opted against weathering. (Perhaps I'm painting a picture of a lazy modeler here, which I'd say is entirely accurate).
And my favorite image of the A-10 is captured in this meme:
Now on to whatever the next build will be. I'm leaning toward the old Monogram kit, "Fighting Planes of the Thirties" with 72nd scale F4B-4, F11C Goshawk, and P-6E Hawk kits.