Jasonb13 Posted April 10, 2011 Posted April 10, 2011 (edited) Hi all... I've really been looking forward to this GB, ever since I got my hands on this kit... The A-10 is probably my all time favourite aircraft, so this kit is something I'd really like to do well, we'll see if my skills meet my hopes! This is the 2 seater version, only one was ever made. I'm doing this completely OOB and I'm not too worried about getting the Gunship Grey exactly right, or only putting on ordinance that it would have used in real life. I'd just like the kit to look good when it's finished! It's a full box, over 11 sprues, 4 of which are ordinance alone... There's great detail in the cockpit and especially the seats. You get Vinyl tyres and even thread for the 'chocks'. The GAU-8 Avenger Cannon around which the A-10 is built is very detailed in the kit, in fact there are 19 pieces needed to build it. However, 95% of it is hidden in the aircraft when finished and there's no way to show it ( I'm not taking a knife to this kit! ). That said HobbyBoss very nicely give you two muzzles, so I'm thinking I might put one onto the kit, and build the Avenger separately and display it beside the aircraft, I'll see how I'm getting on. J. Edited May 13, 2011 by Jasonb13
Peter Marshall Posted April 11, 2011 Posted April 11, 2011 Interesting and it's a nice kit to boot - should be fun to watch.
It'sAllGoneHorriblyWrong Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 Look at all that plastic. 7 weeks? It would take more like 7 months at my sort of build rate... Andy
Jasonb13 Posted April 13, 2011 Author Posted April 13, 2011 Yep there's a lot of plastic there, just over 300 pieces! *But*, I won't be doing all the ordinance. *And*, I'll be building this and nothing else. Depending on how much time I have to dedicate to it, I reckon I'll get it done in a month. We'll see! How long it's taking me will probably help me decide whether to build the Avenger separately or not... J.
Graham77 Posted April 13, 2011 Posted April 13, 2011 I like the look of this one, it and the Apache both fall into the Ugly but Awesome category for me, it'll be good to see how it all comes together Graham
rowmk9 Posted April 13, 2011 Posted April 13, 2011 Nice choice Jason! The A-10 is mean as and I'll be looking forward to seeing this one progress. The 2 seater A-10 is an unusual bird and one does wonder what they would have been like had been put into service.
Jasonb13 Posted April 13, 2011 Author Posted April 13, 2011 Thanks lads! Yep, the A-10 is something else, it just looks the part, menacing or something. Exactly like the Apache as you say Graham. Have wanted to start this kit for a while so I'm counting the hours 'til Sunday. Have all the paint ordered and delivered and just itching to get started on the cockpits. Just need to figure out the easiest type of weight to put into her ( the A-10 is a real tail-sitter ) and how much weight she'll need! J.
Jasonb13 Posted April 18, 2011 Author Posted April 18, 2011 Everyone seems to be flying ahead with their builds, so I thought I should put up at least 1 pic to show I'm doing something! So here are the two ejection seats, pretty much done. Starting on the cockpits now. Looking at my pace so far, I'm beginning to worry that Andy might be right, and I could have bitten off more than I can chew in 7 weeks. But, I've some time off next week, so I'm hoping that'll help! J.
Jasonb13 Posted April 18, 2011 Author Posted April 18, 2011 Thanks, neat work is the best I can hope for, I just don't have the practice & skills yet to make something as good as the stuff I've seen on here! Found some pics online that showed the bottle in green, handles in yellow / gold etc.... J.
rowmk9 Posted April 18, 2011 Posted April 18, 2011 Looks good to me! and you're not starting late on your build, I've not even started mine yet! Still have to finish a spitfire and a Fw190 for two threads I'm running outside of this GB. Are you gonna have a full loadout? if so you'll need a week at least for getting all that ordinance done!
Jasonb13 Posted April 18, 2011 Author Posted April 18, 2011 I've pretty much decided that I probably will use each hardpoint ( except for the centre one, fuel tanks do nothing for me! ) but I won't be putting the biggest 'multiple' ones on ( like the 3 Mavericks or 6 Mk 82 bombs ), so while it'll be almost fully loaded, it won't be crazy. But it's still going to have about 11 hanging off it! J.
Jasonb13 Posted April 19, 2011 Author Posted April 19, 2011 My first issue with the kit, and I'm still on Step 1! When I first looked at doing the Instrument Panels ( which are raised, but come with decals ) I was a bit worried. While the Nav / WO panel was relatively smooth, with only one real raised bump, and the details kinda matched with the decal, it looked a big bigger than the decal. And the Pilot's panel had lots of raised detail, and different to the detail on the decal. Nevertheless, I ploughed on, put on the decals and used my MicroSol and hoped for the best. But the best was not to be... I'm really not happy with that at all, so I reckon I'm gonna get those decals off, dry brush the panel with some light grey and then add in the green for the screens myself. Is there a good way to get off the decals, should I just 'scrape' them off? Thanks! J.
rowmk9 Posted April 19, 2011 Posted April 19, 2011 (edited) well it's not a disaster! but I can see why you'd want to have a go at the IP again. You could try more microsol on the decal and then gently attack it with some tweezers, or possibly an old toothbrush might be a good idea. I'd go for the mid grey drybrush option as well, like on my SR-71. The decal MFD's look a little odd anyway, seeing as most screens are dark when they are turned off, which is what they would be if the plane was on the ground parked up. I spose it depends how you're modelling her, in flight or not. To get 'switched off' screens I'd just drop in some varnish/Klear to the displays to make them look like glass. Edited April 19, 2011 by rowmk9
Jasonb13 Posted April 19, 2011 Author Posted April 19, 2011 More MicroSol and a tweezers worked a treat on the Pilot's Panel, but the WO Panel put up a fight ( probably because it was relatively flat! ) and I had to attack it with a scalpel. I'm hoping there'll still be some raised detail left by the time I'm finished with it! You're right of course about the screens. The kit comes with a Ladder ( and no way to cover the access panel where the ladder is attached to without scratch-building ) so it will be on the ground. I suppose technically the systems could be powered up, for maintenance or pre-flight. I'll see how it looks with 'dark' screens first. That actually brings me to another choice I'll have to make further on. The Canopies hinge to one side, but there's no way to do that with this kit, apart from just gluing one side of them and hoping they stay like that. But, with the ladder in place, it'll look silly having the canopies closed. So I'll have to figure that out as well! Anyhow, back to the IPs, another coat of black to tidy them up again and then time for dry-brushing. Thanks for your help! J.
Jasonb13 Posted April 19, 2011 Author Posted April 19, 2011 As usual, I'm spending as much time taking pics as I am building! I think I feel I can't mess up anything while I'm taking pics... Anyhow, I stripped down the IPs, did a bit of dry-brushing and applied some Future and while it's a lot plainer, I'm much happier with it. So the two cockpits are done, with the Pilot's one in the 'Titanium Bathtub' ( surely a phrase invented for the A-10 ) and the WO's without one. I'm sure he was delighted with that! They're not bad by my standards, I'd kinda hoped for better but they get the point across. I'll have to learn more about washes for cockpits before I try them out. I'm not going to build the Avenger Cannon ( for display outside the A-10 ) until near the end of the build ( in case time becomes an issue ) so the next steps for me are the undercarriage and wings, though it'll probably be a couple of days before I get near them... J.
daz greenwood Posted April 19, 2011 Posted April 19, 2011 Looking good Jason. I'm thinking of getting one of these to sit alongside on my single-seater so I'm watching with interest.
Jasonb13 Posted April 19, 2011 Author Posted April 19, 2011 Thanks Daz... To be honest, I think you've pretty much seen all the differences between this and the single seater! Sure, there's an extra canopy and the top of the fuselage is a little different, but from what I've read it's pretty much the exact same as HobbyBoss's 1:48 single seater apart from a couple of extra sprues.... I had read excellent things about this kit, but so far the IPs have disappointed me, and there has been some flash / fit issues. All managable though ( and even more so to someone more experienced than me ) and I'm hoping it'll all be smooth when it matters : fuselage and wings! J.
daz greenwood Posted April 19, 2011 Posted April 19, 2011 Thanx Jason. The 1/48 one looks nice in the box. I can't wait to build it, but I don't think I have a good enough skills base yet.
Jasonb13 Posted April 20, 2011 Author Posted April 20, 2011 That's exactly my fear as well Daz, but in the end I just couldn't resist. I love the A-10, I made a 1-72 one when I was a kid it was my all time favourite, I even painted it! The way I see it, I can always build another one later on when my skills are much improved. It's a balancing act - building an aircraft I just love gives me lots of motivation, but also means I'll be more disappointed if it doesn't turn out as good as it is in my mind ( and it never does! ). J.
Jasonb13 Posted April 21, 2011 Author Posted April 21, 2011 Little bit of progress here... Got the 2 main undercarriages put together, and all the flaps / ailerons and the wings. Decided not to build it with the flaps extended ( apparently most A-10s only park with the flaps extended if there's going to be some maintenance done ) but I'm doing them separately because, as a brush painter, I know I'd lose the proper 'gap' between the wing and flap if I painted them all together. This way, I'm hoping, they'll still look like two separate pieces. We'll see! J.
Jasonb13 Posted April 21, 2011 Author Posted April 21, 2011 By the way, does anyone know what colour the wheelbays should be? HobbyBoss painting instructions leave a lot to be desired. I'm thinking either White ( like the undercarriage ) or Medium Grey ( like the cockpit ). Thanks! J.
splinter Posted April 21, 2011 Posted April 21, 2011 Hi J. I must admit you have a very nice subject on your desk - twin-seat A-10. I didn't even know that a two-seater existed at all. But, I take my hat off for building a 1/48 scale kit within this GB + hand painting. Sorry, I can't help you with the wheelbays - it's just not my plane. Anyway, a very good start and I hope we will meet at the finish line...
daz greenwood Posted April 21, 2011 Posted April 21, 2011 Hi Splinter. Only one N/AW-10 was ever built.
Jasonb13 Posted April 21, 2011 Author Posted April 21, 2011 (edited) Yep, only 1 ever built and it only did about 50 hours flying over 6 weeks in late 1979! Still, the A-10 is a cool aircraft and the 2 seater is a nice talking point ( well I think it is anyhow! ). Thanks Splinter, I'm beginning to worry I've taken on quite a big job, but sure it's early days yet! Anyone any ideas about the wheel bays colour? J. Edited April 21, 2011 by Jasonb13
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