Royal Navy FRADU Skyhawk FG.6

[AeroplaneDriver]

Hello Chaps and possible Chappesses!  Long time no see!  It's been a busy year with work, travel, and the new hobby of gardening last year, so I've been away from the bench for exactly one year my phone tells me. 

Now that we are all hunkered how until the Great Plague of 2020 passes I thought I'd revisit the kit I abandoned a year ago.  Back then it was on track to be a real world USMC A-4M.  Since my skills will need a refresh before I tackle airbrushing exact real world camo, I decided on a nice Whiffy RN Skyhawk. 

I'm leaning towards c.1980 FRADU, but all options are on the table.  First big decision...to hump or not to hump..?





I kind of like the idea of the larger A-4M canopy with no hump. 


Thoughts...?

[rickshaw]

Interesting.  Which kit is this, please?

[Zero-Sen]

A-4M canopy with no hump.

[Weaver]

If it's for FRADU then they'd want performance and small size in order to simulate AshMs, so no hump. It could always carry ECM or other electronic 'training aids' in place of the radar and/or the guns. There was a real-life Vietnam-era modification that reduce the ammo tanks to half capacity to slither a briefcase-sized ECM black box in there.

[The Rat]

Welcome back!

[DogfighterZen]

I say "Hump it"!   

[AeroplaneDriver]

I decided on humpless.  I just love the look of the A-4 sans hump.  This will be an inflight build on a display stand so my first foray back into modeling was to spend the night closing up landing gear bays and getting flaps/slats glued on in the closed position.  Feels nice to be back at the bench! 

Kit is the Hasegawa 1/48 A-4M that's fairly common at the moment. 

[zenrat]

Humpless.  Good decision.

[DogfighterZen]

Humpless it is then... I do prefer the A-4 with the hump but i like it with and without so it's a win in my book anyway.

[Old Wombat]

I'd go humpless, the A-4 seems sleeker without it & the RAN stuck as much extra electronics into an unhumped A-4G as was in the humped A-4F, from which they were developed, plus the ability to operate AIM-9 Sidewinders but lost the ability to operate guided air-to-ground weapons.

[Devilfish]

To hump or not to hump.....

Just build one of each....

20190903_205403 by Paul Carter, on Flickr

[DogfighterZen]

AH! There you go...

[TomZ]

Lovely!

TomZ

[NARSES2]

Lovely!

TomZ

Indeed 

[AeroplaneDriver]

LOVE that radar-nosed M!!