jeaton01
Well-known member
Not the worst resin kit I have done, but there were moments. The vacform canopies were not the best fit, but enough fiddling got them close. The decals were very thin and liked to fold on themselves, I think they were done on an ALPS and I redid a couple on my laser printer. Alclad 101 Aluminum rubbed with SNJ aluminum powder was used for the metal parts, Alclad white aluminum for the fabric covered areas. The interior of the A-18 was not replicated very well, with a solid floor that did not come close to fitting, but there were very nice PE seats included. The A-18 had no floor, just runners for the pilot's feet. The gun receivers were visible below them on both sides of the pilot. Must have been exciting to fire all four. The engines were well cast but were more like an R-985 than an R-1820 in size, so I replaced them with un-geared R-1820's from Mark Tutton, aka Starfighter Decals. Very nice engines.
There should be external hinges on the rudder like the P-40 but my plan to put them on after decaling got changed by the nature of the decals. The kit comes with a large loop antenna but it was not usually on the operational airplanes.
The best reference I found for the A-18 was an article in the December 1971 Wings by Walt Boyne.
I wish I has a P-36 in 1/72 to pose with it, the P-39 is the closest I could come age-wise, and of course the Bell YFM-1B Airacuda, like the A-18, another design based on mistaken conceptions and whose time was past before it ever arrived.
There should be external hinges on the rudder like the P-40 but my plan to put them on after decaling got changed by the nature of the decals. The kit comes with a large loop antenna but it was not usually on the operational airplanes.
The best reference I found for the A-18 was an article in the December 1971 Wings by Walt Boyne.
I wish I has a P-36 in 1/72 to pose with it, the P-39 is the closest I could come age-wise, and of course the Bell YFM-1B Airacuda, like the A-18, another design based on mistaken conceptions and whose time was past before it ever arrived.
