A-7D Oklahoma-ANG
First, imagine
this...... You're out on the family farmstead, working on some equipment,
getting ready to work the ground after a good harvest. The sun is shining,
a slight breeze is kicking dust up around the grounds. Out
of the corner of your eye, movement; at the most, 200 feet UP.
You look, just in time to catch the design of a helmet inside the canopy of
an A-7D. Just as your brain catches up with your eyes, the air starts
ripping apart as the sound cone arrives. Just a split second after this,
the pilot knifes over, and instantly, is 90 degrees and miles from where he was.
This pilot is also probably laughing about what he just stirred up.
Sound exciting?
That was me 20 years ago, growing up on a farm in Northwest Oklahoma. This heart
stopping excitement happened several times a summer. Sometimes you
caught them before they caught you, sometimes not. The family farmstead
was, apparently, used as a waypoint for the Oklahoma National Guard when
they flew the A-7 and a few times with their current ride the F-16.
As a side note, and
on another modeling subject, I plan on making a B-1 from Wichita, KS. Why
you might ask...... Because my town was also "bombed" into the stone
age a few times. Apparently, the town looks like an enemy encampment?,
cold war missile control station?, maybe the street lights make a giant X?
Who knows....... Life is always exciting up here.
Click on
images below to see larger images
Now, onto the model.....
This is the Italeri
model of
the A-7D. I thought it was very close to the real deal. Since this
was a quick build in-between major projects, I just built it OOB. I don't
seem to recall any fit issues anywhere. The plane just kinda fell
together. I did not like the fact there wasn't any intake trunking.
I could've made some or even purchased an aftermarket piece, but I was not in
the mood to go to that much trouble. The only thing I had issues with, was
the refueling port. Where the instructions wanted me to put it, and where
it actually went made the fit bad. I had to add plastic and resand the
contours. For something different and for the first time, I hung fuel
tanks and practice bombs. It almost hurt for me to do that. I have
an aversion (almost an allergy) to things that don't go BOOM.
The practice bombs are from a resin set of WW2 RAF bombs. The package
(don't remember the manufacturer) came with bombs ranging from 500lb down to the
25lb. You can't imagine the joy I was feeling when I found out that I
didn't have to make the bombs myself. I was even considering purchasing a
few of the Hasegawa armament sets, and cutting the dummy bombs out of the
launcher that comes in the set. This load out was copied from a picture I
found that was taken when the unit was sent to England for training. For
further realism, I made sure the plane I was modeling had actually been to
England. It had, phew...
This model is/was
also on display in the Tulsa Airport along with other planes that were flown or
built here in the great state of Oklahoma.
Well, that's about
it. A quick build to keep me in practice, nothing note
worthy........ No major issues or problems.
Thanks for looking
and don't throw rotten tomatoes!
Douglas Conrady
Click on
images below to see larger images
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