The 'Scooter' or Heinemann's Hot Rod (as some like to call it) is another one of my favorite planes.  However, it has to look a certain way. It has to have the ECM 'hump' and it has to be loaded with ordanance.  I also like to see them coming in low (tree top
 height) on their attack run. One of my favorite images I have of the A4 is a pencil drawing I saw of a flight of four coming in at tree top height over Viet Nam loaded for bear. I wish I could find this drawing but alas all I have is the memory. But it's this memory that has been burned into my mind of how I want my Scooters to look like.

Click on images below to see larger images

This is another of my 'display' models. The LHS didn't have any larger scale of the A4E/F with the ECM 'hump' or with ordanance so I picked this one up. The kit went together very well. I didn't even bother detailing the cockpit. At 1/72 it's very tiny. This
 made finishing and painting much simpler anyway. Not much filler or sanding was needed. Hasegawa gves you the option of a straight or 'bent' IFR probe. Of course I went with the 'bent' one. It's much cooler.

Painting was rather easy. The upper surfaces got a coat of gull grey and the bottom was white. I freehanded the flight control surfaces by hand with white as well as the anti glare panel on the nose.  Hase give's you markings for a Navy bird as well as a
 Marine attack version. I went with the markings for VMAT-102 out of Yuma, AZ. I've always liked their unit's markings and they came with the kit. The entire red tail is one decal and it went on surprisingly well. The only ones that needed some micro-sol were
 the stars and bars on the wing where the stall fences are.

 Probably the most time consuming effort was painting all the Mk 82 bombs. I'm sure this Skyhawk is at it's limit. The ordinance loadout may not be entirely correct but I like the look. And that's what counts.  I'll be more accurate on my upcoming 1/32 scale A4-F.  This little one has just whet my appetite.

 Jeff