Magic Factory A-4M Skyhawk

Ejection seat with rubber harnesses 

Unpainted cockpit in fuselage half 

Ejection seat and late instrument panel and gun sight. Out of the box parts 

Ejection seat and late instrument panel. Rubber harnesses doesn't seem so bad.. Out of the box parts 

Cockpit done. I was little bit suspicious about rubber harnesses, but they worked ok. 

I would rather have photo etch harnesses as kit has photo etch parts too, but these worked ok too 

Decals worked nicely with raised instrument panel 

Gun sight part has nice details 

Side consoles has good colorful decals 

I like the overall look of the cockpit 

Engine out of the box. Totally acceptable for inside of fuselage 

I added some led wires to make Engine part more interesting 

Not much can be seen from these wires when this engine is inside the fuselage I guess. 

Fuselage halves ready to go together 

Cockpit has also some nice wall detail from the box 

Everything on one fuselage side 

Bottom when landing gear bays are masked up. There were a lot of work with the wings/ landing gear bays, but the fit was nice, no filler needed. 

Top side masked, kit provides canopy masks, but no masks for lights... The hump needed some filler, otherwise the fit of the parts was relatively nice.  

I added some wires to the nose boxes 

Parts from the nose done 

Nose parts ready to be attached left side 

Nose parts ready to be attached right side 

Some pre-shading with blue and brown over white primer top side 

Some pre-shading with blue and brown over white primer bottom side 

Half of the main top colors done, half with preshading. 

Main top colors done. Pre-shading still visible through. I hope it is enough to see after weathering 

Bottom white done. I'm happy with blue pre-shading 

All painting done. There was masks for front fuselage black area too.. But I wondered why the tail yellow areas weren't decals or masks for that. But no worries, I think I got the color right and stripes adequate 

Decals are on. Markings in instructions and real decals weren't exactly same size, so some approximation was done in placement  

I temporarily put air brakes and engine doors on with nose while I was decalling the plane 

Cartograph printed decals are very good. They conform to the wings nicely 

Decals fit to the surface nicely. In my opinion the painted yellow stripes color is very close to decal ywll 

Bottom weathered with Flory model grime and oils. You can see the pre-shading still under the paint and weathering, but I think it is subtle enough 

Top weathered with Flory model grime and oils. Surface details are just good for weathering, you don't have to be careful how you wipe the wash off as the panel lines are sharp and rivets are deep enough. 

Kit had rubber wheels, the idea that I didn't fancy too much. But when they are done I think are more than ok. (left one not weathered and right one has some Flory models wash) 

Scooter is done. It barely stays on three feet with the weight provided.. 

Pain to assemble the Snakeyes, but ordnance is ready 

I should leave like this without weapons. But they came in the box, so it would be shame not to put them on 

Armed up. Top side 

Armed up. Bottom side 

You can see some unique features in this angle: Spoilers, ailerons, moving tail, separate rudder... 

Here is some detail shots of the plane. Nose can be hinged in two stages and access doors can be opened. There is also ladders and intake covers out of the box 

In center section there is access hatch to the engine 

Spoilers and other opened surfaces and rocket pod rear can be seen 

The all moving tail is also done even movable in this kit 

RAM generator can be also opened 

Overview from the top 

There are separate piping in nose wheel well 

There are weapons out of the box. The main wheel well is made in two layers 

Tail hook is working feature