Grumman NRA-6A Trespasser - Finished Pics Pg 5.

[Weaver]

Thanks Chris.

If one was wanting to build a 1/72 Intruder I would not recommend using this Hasegawa kit.

Today I glued the outer sections of the Viking wings to the inner sections of the Intruders.

I'm surprised that Trespasser hasn't been used as an aircraft name before.  I also considered Stalker and Peeping Tom.
I've just been looking at a cutaway of the A-6 to see where to put the cameras.  What a lot of fuel they carried.  And not much space inside for much else.
Options are sacrifice some of the fuselage tankage for a camera bay, put them in the nose in place of the radar, extend the nose and put them in there with the radar, or put them in an external pod of some sort.
A recce bird needs long range so I think the first option is out.  Even though there would be more fuel than standard inside the longer wings.
Radar would also be nice to keep (i'm sure it would come in handy).
When it comes to extending the nose the Intruder radome is an odd, semi triangularish cross section which will be hard to find a match for.  It could be pushed forwards with the gap being filled with pieces of styrene sheet.  I shall have to examine it tomorrow as now it is time for bed.

It's a shame really that you didn't start with a Prowler: then you could have put the cameras in place of the back seats.

I suspect that in real life, they'd put them in the nose in place of the radar and/or in the rear fuselage in place of black boxes, keeping just nav, but not nav/attack functions, maybe with a small weather/nav radar retained in the tip of the nose (it could even be a 'pimple' radome like a Vulcan's TFR).

Easy alternative: whacking great SLAR pods on the outer wing pylons and tanks on the inners. Make it a USN equivalent to the U-2S/TR-1A.

[zenrat]

It'll be taking high resolution photos with long lenses from high altitude.  Trials showed that cameras in pods on wing hardpoints were subject to vibration.  Not much, but enough to blur the pics.
Internal cameras were proposed for production aircraft, but for the development airframes a belly mounted conformal pod was used.

[Weaver]

It'll be taking high resolution photos with long lenses from high altitude.  Trials showed that cameras in pods on wing hardpoints were subject to vibration.  Not much, but enough to blur the pics.
Internal cameras were proposed for production aircraft, but for the development airframes a belly mounted conformal pod was used.

Yeah, another limitation of the Intruder airframe is that you could only really snap pics straight down from the rear fuselage. A LOROP camera  in the back would be looking sideways through the jetwash. A pod is the only way to get a side view other than using the nose.

[zenrat]

Having previously glued on the intakes anding began in earnest today.
This kit has the worst combination of model kit vices - bad fit and hard plastic.  I attacked it with sanding pads and eventually removed most of the raised detail and got it to the stage where putty is needed for the low points.
Then, I glued a wing on.

[zenrat]

It now has two wings and both stabs. 

Grumman NRA-6A Trespasser WIP  08-08-2021 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

[su27rules]

 

[buzzbomb]

Marvellous.... in my best Richie Benaud

[Gondor]

That is looking good 

Gondor

[Old Wombat]

It now has two wings and both stabs. 

And a butt-ton of PSR in your future!

[zenrat]

Thanks folks.

It now has two wings and both stabs. 

And a butt-ton of PSR in your future!

Yes, but it shouldn't be too onerous as it's simply extending the profile of the Viking wings to the Intruder fuselage.  Much easier than blending a C130 nacelle into a Catalina (for example).
I will, at the same time sand all the raised detail off the wings.

[zenrat]

The current state of play after the second round of PSR.
Trespasser WIP 18-08-2021 01 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

And a mock up with additional parts.
Trespasser WIP 18-08-2021 02 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

[Old Wombat]

 

I like the name; Intruder, Prowler, Trespasser ... It flows!

[zenrat]

Thanks Womby.  I must admit to using a thesaurus for this one.

Stalker was also considered.

[PR19_Kit]

That looks so right it's difficult to believe it's a Whiff! 

[buzzbomb]

Well that really came up a treat. nice work