SWS A-1J Skyraider by Zoukei-Mura, Inc

[Dagger6actual]

Alright...I got things pretty well cleaned up and ready for primer and paint. I sometimes leave a piece of spru attached for a handle as you can see
.
This part is two things together, one will be interior green and the other silver...so I decided to seperate them for paint..

This is how they will come together

Tonight the primer will go on and my paint should be here in a day or two...hope I'm doing this right, Thanks for looking in

 

[Chris S]

Tidy work there Dagger ,the inside of the fuselage looks nice ...love the detail .

Chris.

 

[Dagger6actual]

Thank you Chris...by the way...the Dauntless...saaweeet!
Here is a video I just figured out how to post. My intent was to show some of the manual on this bird. My humble work area...airbrushing is done in the garage by order of the commandant (wife)
http://youtu.be/bZY6LXStbCk

 

[Chris S]

Thanks Dagger ..to kind ;D . I looked at your vid , the manual is the same as the P51 I like the layout in them ..very detailed .The cover on the P51 manual is done the same as the original flight manual for the real one ...again ,a nice touch .

Chris.

 

[letsgobrowns82]

Great work so far, looks like there is some nice detail in this kit. I'll definitely check back on this one.

 

[Dagger6actual]

Am just finishing some research on this build. It will be of this plane

 

[Dagger6actual]

That plane was flown by Byron Hukee in June 1972 on a SAR mission with a very unique weapons load. He has written a book and it is now in Osprey Press's series on Combat Aircraft. The title is USAF and VNAF A-1 Skyraider Units of the Vietnam War. The original art cover is Byron flying this plane, A-1J 142028, on that SAR mission in 1972.
The photo shows it sitting on ready alert at Bien Hoa. I think this is how I'm going to show it. With panel open for machine gun access, a piece of ground support equipment, a pilot figure and maint guys. Maybe a jeep with some stuff in the back.
However, the "official" weapons vehichle as they called it was a small blue pick up!!
Anyway...some primer going on the cockpit bits...will have photos this evening. Hope you enjoy the histoy. I'll add more later.

 

[Dagger6actual]

I actually have been doing some work on this build. I've had some "technical difficulties" with photos and video. Here is one of a short series of videos on this...http://youtu.be/rgti2H52nPA

 

[Chris S]

Cool ,nice to see one in camo rather than Grey

What photo issues are you having ? ,went to watch the vid but its proccessing ?

Chris.

 

[Dagger6actual]

Hi Chris...well I had a poor camera that wouldn't do macro (close ups well). I found a Canon Powershot SK160-IS. It does HD video and 16GB stills. Good macro and its small and fun. I can use it for a lot. Now I have to learn how to edit video.
This computer is old and I'm off today to find a small PC to put by my model table. Seems like everything is a work in progress.
That video should be ready to view now. It took over an hour to load to Youtube. Don't know if it was the size of the file or this antique computer....
I'm putting up some stills today and a couple more videos...

 

[Dagger6actual]

Got an email asking about paint not sticking to the plastic...I wash my kits when I first get them. I put some fairly warm water in a pan with a little dishwashing liquid. That stuff cuts grease well...here is one shot of the process,
I put the racks of sprue in the wash and agitate them around a bit
Then they get a good rinse in cool water
Then its a good pat dry with paper towels and we're ready to work!
After handling a model while building I'll wipe it down with an alcohol wipe before painting.
As you can see this kit has a LOT of parts!!

 

[Chris S]

Nice vid Micheal ,interior parts are looking good ....Keep it coming .

Chris.

 

[Dagger6actual]

Sure enough I've gotten the vids out of sequence...will correct that.
When mounting the wing spars I noticed a little thing. The front spar fits really well, BUT something didn't seem right during one of the dry fits so I pushed in a little harder and SNAP! It went all the way down...
The other thing I discovered is with the Oil Cooler...I looked at evey photo from the kit manufacturer...the front of it doesn't sit "down" so to speak...I tried everything shor of rebuilding it...but all the pics in the instructions shows it this way so I just went with it.
If you ever build this kit pay attention to these two things....hope this helps...

 

[Dagger6actual]

beginning the engine....here is what the finished product is supposed to look like

the parts on the sprue...notice how much cutting and trimming is needed on this fragile piece

will begin putting these bits together and painting them...

 

[Dagger6actual]

this kit has such great detail...it is a shame that when the cylinders are assembled this great piston detail will be hidden

outside of cylinders...

Back to trimming, prime and paint...any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for looking in!!

 

[Quaralane]

Looking like some very nice progress.

I was able to fix the links in the pics to make them work

 

[Dagger6actual]

Have some color on the engine parts..

 

[Dagger6actual]

Time for one more dry fit...front engine cylinders

Rear cylinders

Here is what is supposed to be mounted to join the two cylinders ...part C9...tiny little bugger

The motor mount

 

[Myke]

Engine looks fantastic! Pretty amazing OOB engine. Zoukei-Mura really put together some amazing kits.

 

[Dagger6actual]

thank you Myke! Glad you're enjoying the M1 by the way!
Here is the finished engine...well finished as far as I can before mounting it in the plane...


Most of the engine will be covered but I needed the practice...I think one engine access panel will be open.
Next is the wings and landing gear...like the cockpit I have to wait for some parts that are ordered!
Any comments / suggestions are welcome!