1/72 Curtiss A-13 Strike Shrike

[Brian da Basher]

There's more than one way to mangle the venerable Stuka! I built this from the 1/72 Airfix/MPC Stuka using the engine and prop leftover from an Airfix P-40E and the wings from a Williams Bros'. Douglas World Cruiser. The spats were scratched from Airfix Me-109 rocket tube halves and plastic card. The canopy is scratchbuilt from clear plastic card leftover from packaging. The wheels are from the P-40E, but for the life of me, I can't remember what kit I swiped the tailwheel from. The forward guns were scratched from landing gear struts and the rear guns are from a 1/72 Airfix Ar-196. The struts are all from spares, the RDF loop is a 1/144 prop ring and that enormous bomb is leftover from the Glencoe Martin MB-2. The entire model is brushpainted in acrylics using Polly-Scale blue and red, Testor's white and a mix of Liquitex artists' acrylics and gesso. Decals are a mix from my vast stash, but the squadron insignia comes from the MB-2 kit. The tail stripes are hand painted.

Brian da Basher

[Brian da Basher]

Here's another shot. I really like inter-war aircraft and few were more colorful than those flown by the U.S. Army Air Corps! This little project took me about two and a half weeks all told. Here's another pic.

Brian da Basher

[Brian da Basher]

Why would you want a Stuka kit without a canopy? Well the price was right and I knew I'd figure something out! Here's a shot of the undersides. These are just teasers. Go see more on the Airfix GB thread for, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story!

Brian da Basher

[AeroplaneDriver]

Whoa!!

Thats a beauty Brian!!

I've never been that interested in the inter-war period, but the more I see stuff like this the more interested I become.  

 

[Captain Canada]

Wicked ! Would probably turn a few heads wondering what the heck it was.....looks pretty real to me, for all I know about a/c from that period.

Great stuff !

 

[Tophe]

Very nice result, like coming straight out from a box... while scratchbuilt that much... Congratulations, both for the perfect result and the originality of the subject.  

[Maverick]

30s..... and What If...  how cool is that Brian... hat's off  

[NARSES2]

Brian that is a classic WIF. It really does look enough like a Shrike competitor to fool people who don't know the period in detail - brilliant stuff

Chris