Academy 1/48 A-10C – Commission # 3 with Lights!

[DavidsScaleModels]

This next commission build is another A-10. I will be using Academy's 1/48 A-10C "75th​ FS Flying Tigers" kit. The scheme will be how this aircraft looked in 2014. I will be adding Eduard photo etch detail set, Master Model brass gun, Ares resin ejection seat, and I will be using eight LED's and some fiber optics to illuminate the aircraft. It will be mounted on a wood base with a hidden battery and switch to turn the lights off and on. The LED's are from Evan's Design and are their PICO size LED's one of which is a flashing red. This will be for the upper and lower lights of the fuselage. The LED will hook to two fiber optic lines so the flashing lights will flash together.

I started off building the nose gear bay. The kit bay is very detailed and very close to the reference photos. The strut itself was modified using the Eduard photo etch set. The nose gear strut has two landing lights mounted on it and the kit has them as separate parts. I drilled out the lens portion. I then cut a small slit along the bottom for the wiring. The PICO size LED's fit perfectly inside the light housing. These were glued in using acrylic gel and then the clear lens from the kit was attached to the front. The lights were then mounted to the strut and the wiring was then routed up and through the rear bulk head when I installed the strut into the bay. I also added some detail wiring on the strut and the nose wheel.

Next I turned to the cockpit. The Eduard set includes all the panels for the cockpit tub and the instrument panel. I cleaned up the tub and instrument panel then painted and applied the photo etch.

I am working on the Ares resin ejection seat now and then I can assemble the forward section of the fuselage.

You can see all the photos and details from the start in the build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-a-10c-75th-flying-tigers/

 

[blakeh1]

It's a great kit

Love what you did with the lights

also, if it helps...

 

[mark2]

Looking good so far.

 

[DavidsScaleModels]

The second week of the A-10C I was able to get the forward fuselage together. I also added a couple of lead weights so the aircraft will sit on the landing gear correctly. Part of the forward fuselage is the lower panel and the upper panel behind the cockpit. Both of these panels have flashing red lights. The kit does not provide clear parts for the light lenses. I trimmed off the plastic of the lenses and used .75mm fiber optic lines to make the lenses. I then made an optical driver for these. This allows both lights to flash in sync.

While the optical driver was drying I looked at the tails. These have two navigation lights. Reviewing reference photos the lights do not shine outward but rather upward to shine across the outside surface of the tails. Instead of using fiber optics I cut odd the molded lights and drilled thru the tail. This allowed me to use PICO LED's and aim them upward. The light housing was then made out of acrylic gel. With this section painted black and then a top coat of dark ghost grey so the LED only shines upward. The final effect matches the reference photo.

Moving back to the forward fuselage the optical driver for the flashing lights was then mounted inside and the panels were mounted onto the forward fuselage. One of the nice things about this kit is the aft fuselage. It is one piece which makes routing wires easier. I routed all the wires from the front to the open section that the engines will mount to later on.

The next step was to add the wing tip lights. This was the second challenge. The wing tips curve down on the aircraft. Due to angles I could not use fiber optics to illuminate the wingtip lights. Just like the tail lights I cut out the molded lights and installed the red and green wingtip lights into the wingtip and again used acrylic gel to make the lenses. A small channel was filed to route the wires into the wing. I then applied a thin coat of putty to the backside and sanded it flush making the LED and wiring hidden from the inside view. The wiring was routed along the inside of the wing. I then added the power lines through the main gear bays. These wires will look like the hydraulic lines down the landing gear struts and go into the wheels and come out the bottom of the tires which will go to the battery inside the display base later on. I then assembled the wings and added the photo etch details for the CHAFF blocks.

Finally I cut off the aft navigation light and used a .75mm fiber optic line to create the lens. I then used a small diameter styrene tube to make the optical driver and house a PICO LED. I am now working on assembling the wings onto the fuselage and get all the wires routed to one location under the engines. I need to then detail and install the main landing gear and then finish up the wiring then I can start adding the finer details to the aircraft fuselage.

You can see all the photos and details from the start in the build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-a-10c-75th-flying-tigers/