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CTA Entry - jgrease - Hobby Boss 1/48 A-7 - DONE!

Re: CTA Entry - jgrease - Hobby Boss 1/48 A-7

Dang check this out!

http://www.alternatewars.com/SAC/SAC.htm

Has the A7 on here, just glancing over it's not a lot of detail but enough. Looks like the MER was outside stations and TER in the inside, stations 3 and 6 would have been wet for fuel.
 
Re: CTA Entry - jgrease - Hobby Boss 1/48 A-7

Wow - Last page! Well I finally have an update after all this Sandy mess. Here's what I've accomplished in the last few weeks. I've painted the white sections of the fuselage, as well as some of the weapons. I pre-shaded with black over the primer, and now I've put a first coat of gull grey on the fuselage as well. Here's the plane as it stands:
IMG_2030.jpg

I've tried too get the photos to show the shading, but it's hard to see. I've got touch up to do under the wings. I also still have to paint the missile rails grey, as well as the starboard half of the tail sensors. Here's the bottom:
IMG_2031.jpg

I'm not going super white, since I'm fairly certain the white areas wouldn't stay white long. After touch-ups, I'm gonna Future the fuselage and try some salt weathering up top. Based on stuff I've read, I'm using a SAM-suppression load out:
IMG_2029.jpg

I'm sure it's meant for an -E model, but this is my one and only A-7 in 1/48, so I'll make it how I want it. ;)
And last but not least, I've been brush painting the green tint on the windscreen. I should have sprayed it, because I'm not happy with it:
IMG_2032.jpg
:angry:
 
Re: CTA Entry - jgrease - Hobby Boss 1/48 A-7

HARM, Sidewinder, GBU, MERs, MK82s but that one thing, can't make that out. Is it suppose to be a gun pod?
 
Re: CTA Entry - jgrease - Hobby Boss 1/48 A-7

Gee, something about this kit that looks awfully familiar... :hmmm
Looking good. I forgot to punch out the third set of holes for the outer hard point. Soooooo it will be short some stores...
 
Re: CTA Entry - jgrease - Hobby Boss 1/48 A-7

The pod is an AN/AAR-45 LANA Pod, used as a thermal imaging sight. It was used on A-7Es, but as I said earlier, I will not be building an appropriate plane for it anytime soon. So I've actually gotten a lot done in the last couple of weeks, just haven't had a chance to show it here.
So, to begin with, I finished painting the grey and the white, as well as the blue trim:
IMG_2033.jpg


And the bottom. You can see the pre shading here:
IMG_2034.jpg


Next came decaling. The Squadron decals were very nice, with legible stenciling:
IMG_2035.jpg


I was very happy with the stenciling up front:
IMG_2036.jpg


More details in my next post.
 
Re: CTA Entry - jgrease - Hobby Boss 1/48 A-7

So today I took the plunge and tried salt weathering. I used the technique described here. Everything Chuck details works as promised. So I put another coat of Future on top of the decals, let it dry a few days, and then wet the plane down with the small pump sprayer. When the plane was dripping wet, I covered the top of it with sea salt from a grinder. I dried it with a hair dryer for 5 minutes or so, and went back to the paint booth. Next, I put some of the gull grey in the airbrush cup, added a few drops of white and thinned it down until almost watery, more like a wash. I then sprayed the top of the wings and the fuselage, avoiding the national insignia, but letting a little creep onto the walkways and white parts of the wings. I hit it with the dryer again, then washed off the salt. The effect is terrific, and this one experience gave me a lot of ideas for future attempts. Some of the patches were almost too big to scale, so I sprayed some more of the grey wash on top of the blotchier areas. Next I touched up some of the black walkways where the grey effect was too much, and I was done:
IMG_2039.jpg

You can see where some of the patches stand out behind the canopy. I left out the one step where you go back with q-tips soaked in thinner and bring the lines back out. I also didn't spray on the grime Chuck uses, but I may try on another project in the future. I am hoping to tone it down some more with a good wash tomorrow.
Another shot towards the tail. It's hard to make out in places with the camera and the lighting, but the effect is there:
IMG_2037.jpg


And a final shot with the ordinance painted as well as Futured:
IMG_2038.jpg


I gave the plane another coat of Future as well, so a good wash tomorrow. Next will be attaching the pylons and finishing the iron bombs. Thanks for looking.
John
 
Re: CTA Entry - jgrease - Hobby Boss 1/48 A-7

Thanks Paul. Speaking of weathering, I sat down to give everything a wash today, with some wildly different results. I started with Warpigs Wash on the pylons. That went well, and I decided to try some Vallejo wash on the horizontal stabilizers, and that was a horror show - the wash is very aggressive, and was extremely difficult to remove after only 5 minutes on the surfaces. I tried cutting it with water, Vallejo thinner, and nothing made it any easier to work with. I then went back to the Warpigs Wash for the undersurfaces of the wings, and again I had nothing but issues removing the excess. Frustrated with my mixed results, I resorted to making my own wash with a little Testors rust, flat black, and mineral spirits, which was much easier to use over the surfaces of the wings and fuselage.I'm not completely happy with it, but it will do. I will post pictures tomorrow after I mount the pylons and the gear doors.
 
Re: CTA Entry - jgrease - Hobby Boss 1/48 A-7

Fantastic stuff. Nice to see you take the plunge and experiment too. Very cool (y) (y) (y)
James
 
Re: CTA Entry - jgrease - Hobby Boss 1/48 A-7

Thanks James. I still haven't posted pictures because I'm doing some painting. LANA pod is mounted to its' pylon and mounted on the plane. Sidewinders painted, decaled and mounted to the plane. CBUs are painted and decaled, waiting for the pylons to dry then I will get them on. I still have to paint the bombs, the little rack things that hold them on the TERs, and the missile rail for the AGM. I hope to get them painted tomorrow. THEN I will post pics. Honest.
 
Re: CTA Entry - jgrease - Hobby Boss 1/48 A-7

Well I am just about done on this one. I just finished a matt coat (Vallejo - all I had in the house), and now just a few small items left. Here's a quick pic:
IMG_2042_zps5f057b8b.jpg


I just have to finish the bang seat and some canopy work. I repolished the canopy after I pulled the tape - all kinds of paint and wash residue crept under the tape. It won't be a contest winner, but I have learned a few things from this build about weathering and washes. Two more pics, and the next photos will be the completed aircraft:
IMG_2043_zpsc9882584.jpg


IMG_2045_zpsaaea4614.jpg


I like the kit, and I am happy with the look of a worn a/c all beat up.
 
Re: CTA Entry - jgrease - Hobby Boss 1/48 A-7

It's turning out great jgrease! I love all the ordinance on it! (y) (y)
 
Finished at last! Had some problems with the canopy - I had to remove the part that goes in the back of the canopy otherwise I could not pose it open. Lots of crap on the clear part of the canopy as well - removed it and repolished as best as I could. Added RBF tags to the CBUs - I know the sidewinders needed covers for the noses if I added them, and I wasn't doing those from scratch today, so I just put those two on to give it the "flavor". Aside from the canopy issues, I like the kit, and I like the end result:
IMG_2046_zpsaffa24e4.jpg


IMG_2054_zpsb74a751b.jpg


IMG_2062_zpsa950b175.jpg
 
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