This is
the 1/48 scale Pro-Modeler A-4F Skyhawk (which is really a repackaged Hasegawa
A-4). An Aires cockpit and
Yellowhammer and Victory Productions Blue Angels decals were used, and several
changes were made to the model in order to represent the modifications that the
Blue Angels made to their Skyhawks.
Cockpit
The
cockpit fit together without any major problems. One change I made was to use a small piece of plastic to
represent a sunglass holder, which the Blues placed over the square screen on
the instrument panel. Another
change the Blues made to the cockpit area was to install a harness system to the
ejection seat. However, I could not
find any clear pictures of this harness, so I just used the seatbelts provided
in the Aires set. The Blues
installed a tan padding to the inside of the canopy framing, since the pilot’s
head could hit the framing in high G maneuvers.
I used blue tac to simulate this padding by carefully placing the putty
to the inside of the canopy, then pressing an exacto blade into the putty to
represent the crisscross pattern of the stitching in the padding.
A clear picture of this can be found in the A-4 section of the walkaround
section of ARC. Next, the putty was
painted a light tan, gloss coated, and an acrylic wash was added to highlight
the previously added stitching of the padding.
Finally, Polly S clear was brushed over the padding.
Construction
The model fit
together well, much like any other Hasegawa kit. Wires were used to replicate the hydraulic lines on the
landing gear. I did have some
problems with the intakes. It seems
that the rear part of the intakes (where the fan is) didn’t line up well, so
that on the left intake, the two intake sections align well, but there is a step
on the right side. A cylindrical
ladder tube was attached in the left cannon position, which the Blue Angels used
to place their boarding ladders. Also,
two tabs were glued at the very rear of the rudder, which are evident on some
versions of Skyhawks, and are definitely found on the Blue’s A-4s.
It seems that the Blues painted over the navigation light found on the
leading edge of the left wing, so I did so myself. I didn’t bother with the Super Fox intake conversion that
the Blues used on their Skyhawks, since the difference is very small.
Also, some say that the hexagonal raised plate found on the outside of
the intakes of the model is not present on the Blue’s A-4s, but I have seen
them on their Skyhawks, so I left them. This
plate is just visible on the following picture of A-4 Bureau No.: 154180
Painting
At first, I decided
to try “Blue Angel Blue” in the Testors Model Masters line of paints.
However, I found the blue to be too gray.
After looking at other blue paint, I decided Tamiya’s X-4 Blue to be a
very close blue. I also wanted a
mirror smooth coat of paint on my model. Not
extremely highly buffed like some car models, but I did want a very smooth,
shiny layer of paint. Knowing that
this could really only be obtained by sanding and buffing the paint, I tried to
do this with Tamiya acrylic painta. This
paint didn’t sand or buff well, so I decided to go with Tamiya’s spray
lacquers. TS-15 was virtually an
exact match to the X-4 blue acrylic blue, so I went with it.
This turned out to be the best gloss paint I have ever used!
I sprayed it through my airbrush without thinning and it worked
beautifully. The paint was dry
enough to sand within minutes of spraying, and I sanded the whole plane with
1500 grit sandpaper. Then, I buffed
the paint with fine-cut automotive rubbing compound.
I had many problems with sanding or buffing through the paint, and many
touch ups were necessary, but I ended up with a beautiful, glass smooth, shiny
coat of blue paint. The paint finish looks much better in person than in these
pictures, and it seems to be very similar to the shine found on real Blue Angel
jets. About the only problem I had
with the paint is that it cracks slightly when sprayed on enamel paint.
There were a few areas where I had dried enamel paint, and I can only
assume the Tamiya lacquer crazed by eating into the enamel.
The polished metal of the intakes and exhaust were made from Bare Metal
Foil and the other natural metal was replicated with SNJ paint.
A light acrylic wash was used on the landing gear.
Decals
I used the Victory
decals almost exclusively, since they seemed to be much more accurate to the
real Blue Angels Skyhawks. On the
Yellowhammer decals, the tail numbers are too small, and the bureau numbers are
not accurate for all seasons, since the style of the numbers changed during the
time that the Blues flew the Skyhawk. The
style of the pilot’s name of the Yellowhammer decal sheet is also incorrect
for some years. The longitudinal
yellow arrow under the fuselage of the plane and the pilot’s name were about
the only decals used from the Yellowhammer sheet.
Although the Victory decal sheet includes yellow decals for the fin tips,
they were difficult to use over surrounding surface detail, and if I build
another Blue Angels jet, I’ll likely just use yellow paint.
I wanted to coat the decals with a clear gloss, but decided against it,
as I would have to sand and buff the clear, as I had already done with the blue
paint. Instead, I finished the
model with “The Treatment” model wax, which is really just carnauba wax.
It did add gloss to the decals, but still did not do as good of a job as
a clear coat would. In retrospect,
I should probably haven’t sanded or buffed the blue paint, but instead only do
this to the final clear coat. I
also considered spraying on thin coats of thinned down Future floor polish, as
Rodney Williams did with his Blue Angels F-18, but I couldn’t work up the
courage to spray anything over the buffed out blue paint.
Being my first Blue
Angels plane and my first model with an overall gloss finish, I think it turned
out well and it’s probably my best looking model to date.
I’d like to thank Rodney Williams for explaining to me how he achieved
the awesome finish on his Blue Angels F-18, Nick Monopoli for info about how he
built his Blue Angel Skyhawk, and Cal Cochran for his help with reference
pictures. Thanks guys!
Any comments, critiques, suggestions, etc. are very welcome.
Here’s some links to my previous articles on ARC:
Drew
|
|