Construction
I built this Skyhawk to reflect the second prototype built Bu.
No.142083, in one of the more colorful paint schemes it wore during it's testing
career. The build was done using extensive research material and documentation
supplied by a friend of mine. I used the Hasegawa A-4B kit in 1/48th scale as
the basis for the build, with a good number of modifications. Construction began
with the removal of the in-flight refueling probe on the right side of the
aircraft, and the rescribing the missing panels there. The cockpit was built
next, being generally box stock, with the exception of the seat. The seat on the
prototype pre-dated the ESCAPAC model found in the production versions of the
Skyhawk, and head a different headrest, as well as a few minor detail
differences. The headrest was corrected using Milliput, and sanded to the proper
shape, while small bits of styrene corrected the other minor changes. Staying
with the cockpit, the canopy had quilted padding applied to both the sides and
rear, and this was duplicated with Sculpy modeling compound, shaped with
toothpicks. The completed padding was carefully glued to the inside of the
canopy using small amounts of CA glue, and painted Dark Gull Gray, per the
photos I had. The instrument panel and consoles were painted, washed and
drybrushed as usual. The fuselage halves were assembled next, and the job of
modifying the nose to reflect the instrumentation probe were began. The separate
nose halves were assembled and the area ahead of the first panel line was
removed with a razor saw. To build the new nose I used the forward section of a
1/48th Hasegawa F-15 drop tank cut back to the approximate size of the remaining
Skyhawk nose piece. I drilled a hole out through the end of the tank section and
inserted a fairly large diameter sewing needle to represent the probe. Next,
Milliput was applied to the front of the tank and tapered out about 1/3 the
length of the needle, again going by the reference photos. Much sanding and
contouring later I had the appropriate curving transition around the full
circumference of the new nose piece. The next step was to attach this to the
Hasegawa nose and blend the less than perfect junction with CA glue. Several
panel lines were then restored and the nose area was complete. Moving on to the
fuselage, the prominent vent on the spine was filled and sanded smooth as it was
not present on this aircraft, and later a piece of silver decal was used to
represent what appeared to be a thin cover over that location. The position
light on the spine of the fuselage was also removed at this time, and the area
sanded smooth. The cannons were not present on this aircraft so the solid pieces
Hasegawa supplies (but tells you not to use) were installed instead of the
cannon fairing pieces. These were blended into the wing roots, as was the clear
piece supplied for the light on the left wing, as this was not present on the
aircraft and the area would be painted over. The wingtip position lights were
dealt with in the same manner. The slats were built in the deployed position, as
is typical of a parked Skyhawk. Only the inboard and centerline pylons were
installed on this aircraft, and the drop tanks that would go there were
assembled next. The blanking plates for the chaff/flare dispensers under the
rear fuselage were installed and puttied and sanded smooth at this time.
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Painting and Marking
The eye-catching scheme consisted of natural metal and Day-Glo
with white wheel wells, gear, and drop tanks. The first step in painting was the
application of Floquil Primer from their railroad color line. This was then
polished out in preparation for the Alclad II Aluminum, applied next. The inside
of the slats received Alclad's Dark Aluminum, and the wing access panels were
painted with Alclad Steel, and finally the exhaust (left off until the end) was
painted with Alclad's Jet Exhaust. The areas that were to be Day-Glo were masked
and first painted with Floquil Reefer White, as the Day-Glo paint is very
transparent. Painting it directly over the Aluminum would have made it too dark
and "dirty". The wheel wells, drop tanks and gear were also painted
white at this time. The Day-Glo color is a mix of Model Master's enamel
Fluorescent Red and Guards Red. The anti-glare panel was next masked and painted
black, and the walkways on the wings were masked and painted gray. A light coat
of Future was applied a week after painting, to allow the various types of paint
to fully cure. The speed brakes, canopy, and the gear doors have Day-Glo stripes
on them, and these were done by airbrushing the Day-Glo color onto white decal
paper, and cutting out the stripes. The remaining markings were mostly pieced
together from the spares box, including the Bu. No. that was tediously placed
number by number. The "083" on the intakes was taken from a Superscale
number sheet, and the numbers were sliced down the middle, and separated.
Final Details
After the decals were applied. a second very light coat of
Future was applied to seal them, and then a dark gray wash was applied. Pastels
were applied to simulate the stain from the bleed oil hole on the left side of
the fuselage, and the walkways were lightly dirtied in the same manner. The tail
hook was installed in it's lowered position, and the gear, doors, speed
brakes,and drop tanks were secured at this time with CA glue. A light coating of
Poly Scale semi-gloss was applied to blend everything together nicely. Finally,
the main canopy was secured with CA glue, while the windscreen was installed
using Microscale Kristal Klear.
This was a certainly a very enjoyable build of a unique and
interesting subject.
Joe
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