Academy 1/72 A-10A from “Operation Iraqi Freedom”

[DavidsScaleModels]

This second commission build is the Academy 1/72 A-10A from "Operation Iraqi Freedom" I will be using the kit decals for the aircraft from the 75th Fighter Squadron of the 23rd wing. This will also be mounted in a display case. It will be mostly "out of the box" build with the exception of using Master Model's brass gun barrels and pitot tube.

I started the week off by assembling and detailing the cockpit. I used some scrap photo etch parts for the ejection handles, some other details, and some 3M cloth tape to make the seatbelts. The cockpit tub, the nose gear bay walls and the engine housing all had some rather deep mold marks which required putty to fill.

The cockpit was attached to the nose gear bay section and mounted into the fuselage. The fuselage had a few areas requiring putty as well. The fit was pretty close but some areas had minor gaps. This was prevalent on the top side of the nose. While the putty was drying on other sections I measured the brass gun barrels housing and drilled out the barrel shroud just under the nose to fit the barrels inside the shroud.

I am currently building up the wings, tails, and engine assembly. I should have the aircraft mostly together so I can the base coats of the light ghost grey and dark ghost grey of paint.



You can see all the photos and details from start to finish in the build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-72-a-10a-from-operation-iraqi-freedom/

 

[blakeh1]

I have that kit almost completed. It was kind of a disappointing kit and I wound up setting it aside. Lot of seam work needed and the engines just look off
Looking good so far though
Good luck with the rest!

 

[DavidsScaleModels]

The second week of the A-10A was spent getting the aircraft ready to paint. To start with I had to drill out the gun shroud to fit the Master Models brass gun barrels. I then painted the barrels and the housing with Tamiya's X10 gun metal. I then assembled the wings and added all the hard points on the underside. The brass pitot tube was installed into the wing as well. The engine section was assembled. I had to do a lot of filing on the exhaust. The kit exhaust was very thick so I thinned the exhaust. The exhaust section was then painted using Vallejo's Jet exhaust Metal paint. The engine pods did require some putty on the outside seams.

While some paint and putty were drying I started looking at the armament. It is nice that all the bombs and missiles are one piece however there are a LOT of deep mold marks. On the Maverick missiles I cut off the nose so I can make the lens and I drilled the tail end to match the rocket exhaust. All of the mold marks on the armament were then filled with putty.

I then attached the nose, wings, and tails to the fuselage as well as other details. I need to install the engines and then I can start painting the fuselage base coat of paint. I am finishing the painting of the engine intakes, cleaning and painting the weapons, landing gear, and some of the finer details. I should have everything painted this upcoming week and the start applying the decal.

You can see all the photos and details from the start in the build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-72-a-10a-from-operation-iraqi-freedom/