1/48 Hasegawa A-7D

by Jake Melampy

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    I have always been a fan of the A-7.  I grew up in Ohio, and was lucky enough to have three Air National Guard units in the state that all flew the A-7.  These guys were frequent visitors to the Dayton Air Show held every year.
    This is the Hasegawa A-7D I built about a year ago.  It has a Black Box cockpit and Expert's Choice decals.  It is a great kit that goes together very quickly without much of a hassle.  The only joint that gave me problems was the wing-to-fuselage joint.  It took a lot of sanding to make the large seam go away.

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The Black Box sets was typical of their cockpits--lots of detail, but not-so-great fit.  It also had the control stick and throttle badly out of scale.  The seat, though, is a little masterpiece. 
    I don't hear too much about Expert's Choice's decals, but they are easily one of the best decals I've ever used.  I didn't have any problem applying them, and didn't even need any kind of solvent.

I didn't do a lot of weathering to this model, as the pictures I have show this aircraft to be very clean. I gave it a very light wash of charcoal and that gave me the effect I was after.  I added an AIM-9 Sidewinder from the Revell F-15E, and made the intake/exhaust covers to add some color. I sprayed on a flat coat and that finished it.

Jake

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Photos and text © by Jake Melampy