Close Air Support Group Build 2021 Needs YOU!

Lots of good stuff early on. This is promising.  Keep it up!

How about a OV-10A and probably a A-7D.  I have to make sure the A.F. is well represented.

It's not much but it's a start. I assembled the cockpit and sprayed it gray along with a bunch of other things that will need to be that color.

ikar01,

Got you on the front page. What scale and who makes the kits?

Looking good Ed.

Sorry for not having a new update just yet... all I can say is life happens.

I am reworking the gun vents above the windows as I think the first ones I made are too long and large. I'm also going to add the wind deflectors to the leading edge of the 7.72 window openings (not provided in the model). Below is what they should look like and what I have done.







I've also found a couple other vents I need to add beneath the fuselage. My next major scratch build will be the internal wing and fuselage reinforcements. Not sure just how much of this will be done, but I would like to show the ones by the windows.





More photos very soon.

Ben

Got my kit off the shelf.  Ready to dig in.  Updates coming soon

PhilliePhan79

Got my kit off the shelf.  Ready to dig in.  Updates coming soon

 

 

Not quite finished in this picture.

John

Plodding along slowly but surely. Finally finished the cockpit and pilot. Getting ready to install and close up the fuselage. Painting 1/48 scale figures is something I haven't mastered yet. Not sure if I want the canopy open or closed.

I have failed at finishing every GB entered, but have wanted to build this kit for a while now.  Plus there is no "Scooter" on the roster yet.

Here is the box top:

And a shot of the current state of the kit:

Aside from a Hasegawa F-86 and Revell MiG-21 I built in middle school, this will be the only other 1/32 jet I have ever attempted.  Typical of Trumpeter, I think the box art shows an A-4E, not an F.  I don't know a lot about the A-4 Skyhawk, but there was a built 1/32 Hasegawa kit that resided in my LHS many moons ago that I never got tired of looking at.

Hey Lewbud!

Does this fit your criteria?  Lots of plastic and some aftermarket too.  Need a little more than 48 for this one.  Like Real G, I wanted to pick something that wasn't on the roster yet.  Let me know!

P1012055 by Tim Bowers, on Flickr

P1012056 by Tim Bowers, on Flickr

As promised, here a a little update...

First is the correction to the minigun vents (above the windows) and the addition of the wind deflectors (to the front of the window openings):



While showing the fuselage I might as well show the beginning of the cargo bay structural reinforcements. Just a note that the first one here is solid (without holes), just like in the real photo:





Continuing inside, I created the stairs from the cargo bay to the cockpit (it can be seen through the front door):



And here we (Jarrod and I) are starting to drill out the reinforcement ribs that will be seen through the flare and illuminator doors. Even with the clamshell doors closed, these can be seen:



Keeping with the work in the cargo bay, here is the modified night sight that will reside in the front door. I replaced the support bracket with brass. I drill the holes and angled the NOS sight in a more realistic pose:

parts


assembled


And for something completely different, I used the following method to make spinning props:



I believe I spun them on the sandpaper too much and I have to tone down the red just a little as well, but here is my first ever attempt. Perhaps once I clear coat the disks the sandpaper grooves may look better and the prop wash a little darker (?).
They are shown in the photo behind the standard prop, but if used will have thier own central hubs. Basically, either the props or the disks with central hub(?):



Some other things I've noticed are half the door hinges on the side of the fuselage even when the door is removed (notice the kill marks beside the door and the white wiring):



Another deflector by the illuminator door, also notice the black wiring from the illuminator to the illuminator control panel:

And here is another type of vent beneath the fuselage by the front landing gear:

Much more to come on this one.... As always, comments are welcome.

Ben

So, I am leaning towards the A6E from revell in 1/48th, but, since I only get the bench time on the weekends, we will be surprised what comes up at the next session....

Boris,

I'd say a predecessor of the A-10 definitely qualifies.  Welcome aboard and I look forward to your build.

Tim,

The Aardvark is more than welcome!  Bring it on!

Drums,

Thats some good work you've got going on.

lewbud

Boris,

I'd say a predecessor of the A-10 definitely qualifies.  Welcome aboard and I look forward to your build.

Cool!   I'm super excited for my first GB and first Aircraft in a long long time.  As soon as I'm off the 24-hr posting delay, I'll get some photos up.

Boris

I'd like to throw my hat into the ring with two builds. First, an antique Monogram boxscale B-26 Invader and a Revell 1/48 A6E Intruder.

Got the front page updated with your builds Caveman, RealG, Boris, and Tomcat.

Thanks Lewbud!

Closed up the fuselage today. Despite its age, this is a nice kit. Simple. Pretty small parts count. Fit is very good. Raised panel lines are very petite. I'm pretty impressed with it. Now just to sand and polish the seams then I can add the canopy and wings.

.

Edit: Broke off the nose gear just now. This plastic is old and brittle, just like me. Have a new landing gear set coming from Scale Conversions.

The OV-10 is from Academy and the A-7D is the 1/48th  from Hasegawa.  Both will be based from Korat.

Here's a few inspirational Vark' shots I took back then:

Nice photos!  I didn't realize that the stabs fell that much when at rest.  Noted.

lewbud

 

 

Bish

 

 

lewbud

Alright guys, got you on the list.  This is an auspicisious start indeed, although I was hoping Bish would step out of his comfort zone and do a bomb laden Spit.

 

 

 

 

You have more chance of me standing on my head in a Tu-Tu singing La Marseillaise.

 

 

 

 

I'd pay good money to see that. How about the rest of you?

 

Right there with you lewbud - the Aussie dollar is still worth something

What, nobody is doing this?

I've got a 1/32 C and a 1/72 D that I've been working on here and there to make into CAS Vipers.  Trying to figure out how to get a 1/32 scale GPU-5 made for the C.

Attached the wing to the F9F today. The clean up of the fuselage seams took a little more work than I thought. I had to use a rubber band to get some dihedral in the wings. They kinda drooped after they were attached.

Starting work on step 1 which is the cockpit. The instructions have FSN and Model Master codes calling out the paint colors. When researching the aircraft I found several other colors for the same items.

For instance the seats frames and backing in the cockpit are called out to be the dark gull gray as the floor. When checking actual interior photos the seat frames are a lighter gray, O.D., zinc chromate green, and even black. The cushions I found are O.D., rust, gray, dark tan, and pale green. As for the instrument panel and console controls, some are black, or dark gray, zinc. green (other than the gages themselves).

In the cargo, or in this case the gun bay, the canvas doors on the bulkhead show as pale green, O.D., light brown, black..... you get the idea. I guess unless I can trace a specific aircraft to a specific photo it appears that I have several color choices for many items. 

Photos of my work coming soon.... till then enjoy these new found pictures.












Ben

I think I finally have something to show.

First, here is the gun bay with the internal former bracing added. This was done by cutting plastic sheet into 1/8" strips. The strips are then shaped to the curvature of the inside of the gun bay. I did not go overboard because much of it will not be seen when the aircraft is closed and in flight. I did however add those I think will be seen through the larger openings and gun ports. 



Next the inside of the cockpit and gun bay were painted, including the bays floor and ceiling. I used a thin line micro sharpie marker to outline the internal skeleton framing. My thought was even though it is a little extra or over the top on detail, it will look more appropriate when closed and that detail will catch the eye and perhaps not look to excessive. One thing of note is how the kits ceiling is a very, very basic flat sheet with minor details while the photos of the actual cargo/gun bays are a complex combination of curved and box bracing many inches deep. 

Painted model parts (notice the flat ceiling):


actual photos of aircraft ceiling:




Here is the assembled flare launcher that will go in the right rear personnel door. I added a stick of flares in the cradle using soft aluminum rod cut to length. I painted it using the color call outs of the instructions along with some color from what I identified in source photos:

kit:




actual:


Here is the cockpit bulkhead, looking at the cargo bay side. Once again I painted it with a combination of instruction call outs and source photos:



Now here is the cockpit attached to the bulkhead, painted in the same manner. I modified the instrument panel and console based on source photos. The nav. radio operators table top is a wood decal cut to the shape. The panel and console details were painted based on real images and a couple decals added to the cockpit side of the bulkhead:



Here it is placed in-between the fuselage halves:



And YES, it will need pilots / figures,....so I purchased the Hasegawa pilot and ground crew set.





Last but not least, here is the professor who has helped me through the build process:



Till next time, please provide your comments....

Ben and Jarrod

After procrastinating I did a dry fit and performed the balancing act to figure out how much nose weight the Academy A-10 needs.

Here's some updates to my AC-130.  lots of cutting out little holes to put the mounts for the cannon.  I plan to scratch build a primitive cockpit, just can't black out the windows even if it's a 1/144.

John