Douglas A4D-2 Skyhawk (Airfix)

1
September 26, 2023
Some nice resin goodies from CMK. I hope these will tart up the kit.
2
September 26, 2023
And more resin, this time from Aires. Looks like I will have two choices for the control surfaces - CMK or Aires.
3
September 26, 2023
Photoetch from Eduard and some resin gun barrels from Quickboost.
4
September 26, 2023
A beautiful decal sheet from Xtradecal.
5
September 26, 2023
I'll be doing the scheme for VC-5 Checkertails - even though I suspect it will be fun getting the check to snuggle down over the ribs in the rudder.
6
September 26, 2023
Hmm...nice and small sprue attachments.
7
September 26, 2023
Wow, I'm not sure that's where I would attach to the sprue if I were designing the tooling.
8
September 26, 2023
Or here. Thanks to the Airfix plastic being a bit "soft" I should be able to sand these away without any damage.
9
September 26, 2023
Not much difference between the kit and the CMK resin wheel wells. Might not be worth the effort of hacking away at the kit's wings.
10
September 26, 2023
The CMK resin cockpit went together easily and looks quite nice. And it fits!
11
September 26, 2023
Compared with the kit parts...
12
September 26, 2023
More views - the instrument panel is from the Eduard PE set, as are the side consoles and the face curtain handle.
13
September 26, 2023
The PE rudder pedals will never be seen again.
14
September 26, 2023
The fuselage going together - Note the filled in access panel on the nose. This was not present on the A4D-2.
15
September 26, 2023
Can't have a tail setter! Although not shown, Airfix did a nice job with the intake tunnel.
16
September 26, 2023
Eduard provide PE details for the areas under the wing slats - although I'm not sure this was on the early Skyhawks.
17
September 26, 2023
The fit of the PE, once you get the curvature right, is very good.
18
September 26, 2023
These PE bits are for dropping the wing flaps, which I intend to do.
19
September 26, 2023
And the PE detail underneath the slat itself.
20
September 26, 2023
Wings attached - note that I've cut out the wing flaps.
21
September 26, 2023
I've reconstructed the top half of the split flaps with card stock.
22
September 26, 2023
The PE detail is added to the bottom of the card stock. The dropped portion of the flap, which is all PE, will be added much later.
23
September 26, 2023
And she is setting on her legs. Note the PE tie-down hooks on the landing gear. Will it survive the rest of the build?
24
September 26, 2023
I chose the Aires tailplanes as I liked the airfoil cross section better than the bits from CMK.
25
September 26, 2023
Now it gets messy - Mr. Surfacer, priming, and sanding to try and make the panel lines more "petite."
26
September 26, 2023
The ribs on the rudder are pretty deep - I see lots of decal solvent in my future.
27
September 26, 2023
Eduard provide PE details for the inside of the air brakes so the Airfix moulded-in detail must be filled in or sanded away.
28
September 26, 2023
Hmm...which set is correct for this mark of Skyhawk? I chose 36 and 37 as the other set is the configuration for JATO units.
29
September 26, 2023
Paint! Gunze H315 Light Gull Gray and H11 Flat White. Also some H23 Shine Red. Much fun masking and painting the Corogard on the leading edges!
30
September 26, 2023
I popped on the main tyres to check the stance - looks OK.
31
September 26, 2023
Airfix forgot to add the hinges for the ailerons, so I just painted them in. Lazy, I know - should have scribed them.
32
September 27, 2023
Wing slats and cannons added.
33
September 27, 2023
Best shot I could get of the lowered wing flaps. It's too bad you can't really see the PE very well.
34
September 27, 2023
Stickers! Snuggling down over the rudder ribs wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I had to touch up a few places with paint, luckily it matched well.
35
September 27, 2023
I guess I toned down the panel lines a bit, but I sure wouldn't want to add a wash - they're visible enough as it is!
36
September 27, 2023
A coat of flat varnish, some post shading, and the addition of the drop tanks and gear doors.
37
September 27, 2023
I verified with colour photos that the inside of the air brake well was Light Gull Gray. Only the inside of the brake petal itself was red.
38
September 28, 2023
Adding the HUD.
39
September 28, 2023
Finish with the canopy/windscreen, some antennae, and I think she's done.
40
September 28, 2023
Enjoy the rest of the photos.
41
September 28, 2023
42
September 28, 2023
43
September 28, 2023
44
September 28, 2023
45
September 28, 2023
Scooterville!
46
September 28, 2023
47
September 28, 2023
48
September 28, 2023
49
September 28, 2023
50
September 28, 2023
All told, not a bad little kit. I wish the panel lines were more like the Fujimi offering though.

Comments

20 26 September 2023, 22:21

DerMattes
Looks good so far, watching 👍

27 September 2023, 07:15

Robert Podkoński
Watching too!

27 September 2023, 07:32

Łukasz Gliński
Me 3 👍

27 September 2023, 08:59

Michael Kohl
"May I have one Airfix A4, please?"
"That´s 10€"
"Thanks, and now all the aftermarket there is?"
"Another 100€. My pleasure"

😉

cute plane, clean build.

27 September 2023, 10:48

Bill Gilman
Ha! That's pretty funny Michael. And it's true for so many kits that I build. Luckily, the wife only sees the kits on the shelf - she doesn't know where I keep the boxes full of resin and photoetch. Oh, the extra decal sheets too! Can't forget about them. Cheers, Bill

27 September 2023, 13:50

Bill Gilman
I've uploaded some more photos to show the progress. I'm teasing you guys - the model was finished several months ago, but I just got around to adding it now. Cheers, Bill

27 September 2023, 22:02

Album info

1:72 Airfix kit with a boat load of aftermarket stuff.

Douglas A4D-2 Skyhawk

50 images

1:72

Completed

1:72 Douglas A-4B/4P Skyhawk (Airfix A03029)

1:72 A-4 Skyhawk wheels (late) & paint masks (Aires 7242)

1:72 A-4B/Q Skyhawk Undercarriage Set (for Airfix) (CMK 7436)

Douglas A-4B Skyhawk

US Navy (1794-now)
VC-5 Checkertails 142874 / UE-27
1967 - NAS Cubi Point

LGG, White

All albums

View all albums »