Royal Navy Skyhawk

[AeroplaneDriver]

I thought I'd start a proper build thread for my project.

As mentioned in my other thread, my build is a 1/48 Pro Modeller (Hasegawa) A-4F (the Blue Angel boxing) that will be built as a RN machine.

The backstory will come with the finished build, but it will either be a FG.5 in Kosovo or Afghanistan or an earlier FRS.3 nuclear strike variant.

As I type the fuselage is glued with the cockpit, engine fan assembly and engine tailpip installed.  The wing upper and lower surfaces are glued and drying also.  In the interest of time it will be an inflight model with gear, flaps/slats, brakes retracted.  I actually prefer the way the A-4 looks 'clean' so hopefully it will look spiffy on a stand.

Still thinking about the weapons fit, other than the FRS.3 would have a WE177 on centerline.

Anyhoo...here are the first pics, of the cockpit.  The MDD ESCAPAC seat has been replaced by a Martin-Baker Mk.10 for UK service.

[Eddie M.]

Wow, very impressive! B) Looks like the real deal to me. B)  
  Eddie  

[AeroplaneDriver]

Well it's about time to call it a night, but I've made good progress over 8 hours of building.

Major assembly is complete, and some seams have been smoothed.  This is my first 1/48 Hase kit, and I must say the fit is pretty damn close to perfect.  All but two tiny areas needed nothing but sanding.  The two areas that do need a tiny bit of filling are easily fixed with a dab of CA.

A final pic for the night, taken a few hours ago, but it still looks about the same.



If all goes to plan tomorrow I'll get the intakes, gear doors, etc on, mask the canopy then do the painting.  Thursday should be decaling and weathering before going back to work on Friday.

It sure is nice to be building again.  I forgot what a stress reliever it can be to lose yourself in a model.

[AeroplaneDriver]

Good progress today, but not without a hurdle.  I completed construction up to painting by early afternoon, so I decided to head out to the LHS for a Tamiya rattlecan for the painting.  I planned on an overall light gray scheme.  Unfortunately after driving to one of the two hobby shops within 25 miles of home I found that they had closed down!

To go to the other would have meant driving another 75 miles, so I decided to make do with what I had at home.  So instead of a light gray scheme, I have a dark gray (RAF Ocean Gray).  It's not as dark as EDSG, and I think it's a good color on a warplane, so I'm prety happy with the outcome.  With decals for color I think it will turn out OK.

I think it will end up being a 1999 Skyhawk FG.5 in the Balkan conflict.  Weapons fit will be either Paveway IIIs or Mavericks, either would be teh result of a crash program to bring a more useful weapon to the UK forces than Paveway II and BL755 during the conflict.

I also painted a pilot today since it will be an inflight display.  To make a Monogram 1970s USAF pilot look more UKish I sanded the visor coveroff the helmet and removed the O2 hose.  I made a new hose of fine wire solder wrapped in stretched sprue and attached it to the side of the mask the way the UK masks.  I cut the head off (sick, huh?) and reattached it looking back over his shoulder.  To position the head I atached more solder to the head into a hole in the neck then drilled a hole down through the neck into the torso and out the back. This allowed me to position the head without gluing once the solder was pulled tight and glued.   the seperate O2 hose looks pretty good in this setup, much better than the hose originally moded as part of the figure.


Anyway, a few pics.  I thought about going lumpy-bumpy with this A-4 like I did with my other RN Skyhawk, but I really love the clean lines of the A-4F, so all I added was a bump under the nose and the cannons.  They are the IDF DEFA cannons from a Hobbycraft A-4, here representing a similar installation with Adens.

[Brian da Basher]

Nice work there AD! It's great to see you back at the bench!

Brian da Basher

[nev]

That cockpit is outstanding!!!      

[AeroplaneDriver]

Well she's done!  I figure about 53 hours total since I started.  It'll take me a little while to get pics up, but it will happen tonight.

I've got a tiny bit of work to d oon the base, since I decided to do something to give a little more interest than the typical stand.

Pics coming soon!!      

[AeroplaneDriver]

Time for pics.  Before I post them I'll go ahead and admit to an error in the pics;  I forgot the refueling probe  :dum:

It has since been added, and I'll post some new pics in a day or two, but for now here she is:


******************

Royal Navy Skyhawk FG.5- 899NAS, HMS Ark Royal, Kosovo-1999.

The A-4 first entered service with the RN in 1963 as the FG.1.  The type proved poular and in the early 1970sthe RN replaced their 58 FG.1s (A-4C) with 66 FG.3s.  The FG.3 was basedon the USN A-4E, with the distincitve avionics hump.  A rolling upgrade program starting in the late 1980s resulted in the FG.5.

The FG.5 is the ultimate UK Skyhawk.  Powered by a dry Turbo-Union RB.199, the FG.5 had greater thrust and lower fuel consumption than the A-4E.  Advances in avionics miniaturization led to the removal of the avionics hump and the fitting of a Hughes APG-65 radar system.  A Martin-Baker Mk10 ejection seat was also fitted, replacing the Mk.9 seat in the FG.3B.  The 20mm cannon were also replaced with 30mm Aden guns in a semi-external installation under the forward fuselage, similar to the Israeli DEFA installation.

The RN's Skyhawks went to war in the 1991 Persian Gulf war aboard HMS Eagle, and again in the NATO campaign in Kosovo in 1999, flying from HMS Ark Royal.  To address the limitations of the UK's Paveway II LGBs an Urgent Operational Requirement led to a umber of Skyhawks operating over Kosovo with the TIALD/Paveway III combination.

This aircraft is depicted carrying a centerline TIALD laser designator/IR imaging pod, two Paveway III LGBs, and two AIM-9L Sidewinder AAMs.   A paveway has just been released, and its fins have just deployed in this display.

[BlackOps]

A.D. I had forgotten just how good you are! Man you gotta build more! Awesome work, especially for a week build!  

[Captain Canada]

Ya, nice work ! The finish one that bird is just amazing !

 

[Supertom]

Damn that was fast.

Damn that looks good.

[Glenn Gilbertson]

Great modelling and backstory - looks really good.
 

[Rafael]

WOW, A-D!!![/size]

This is a fantastic model!!!

I loooove the notion of having Skyhawks modernized and uprated. And serving up to this day, too!!!  

Great detail on cockpit, and armament selection. The TIALD and ADEN installations are great ideas!!

Excellent!!!

Rafa
(Good to have you back in plastic, A-D, you were sorely missed)

[nev]

Aaaaand Nick is back with another contender    

[rafi]

Great and fast job, fantastic!  

Rafi