I used the 1/72
scale Fujimi A-4B Skyhawk and the whole kit is generally out of the box.
The only exceptions are the two antennas on the top of the aircraft, and
the AIM-9B Sidewinders which came from an old ESCI F-5B kit. The decals
are a combination of kit decals and Aztec's Latin Eagles V Argentine Navy
Skyhawks decals. I finished it with Testors Model Master paints. I
airbrushed the bottom of the aircraft and used a spray can for the topside
grey. I weathered it with a combination of thinned Model Master black
acrylic and dish soap. The aircraft depicts A-4Q 3-A-309 of 3 Escuadrilla
de Caza y Ataque in the air defense loadout aboard the aircraft carrier
Vienticinco de Mayo just before the Argentine invasion of the Falkland
Islands. The 25th Anniversary of that invasion is on 2 April of this year.
Click on
images below to see larger images
This aircraft
was damaged in a fatal accident on 23 May 1982 after an unsuccessful
attack against the British fleet in San Carlos Sound. The aircraft
suffered from an apparent electrical failure and the bombs didn't release
during it's bomb run. The aircraft made a hard landing back at it's
operational base at Rio Grande and blew a tire. The A-4Q missed the runway
arresting wire and slid off of the runway. Apparently believing that the
bombs may come loose and destroy the plane, Capitan de Corbeta Zubizaretta
ejected, but his parachute never completely opened properly and he
perished. The aircraft suffered little damage and was repaired just before
the Argentine surrender in June with a new brown and black camouflage
scheme.
John
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