1/48 Esci S-3A Viking COD

Gallery Article by Alan Kelley on July 20 2003

 

This is my 2nd submission to ARC- a Lockheed S-3A Viking,  built straight out of the box. I am not going to elaborate too much on the construction of the kit, only to say it was a dream to do- the fit was excellent and no putty or filler had to be used. I found it in my local model shop at a real bargain of a price.

 

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This kit had beautifully recessed panel lines, that were just crying out to be highlighted. I firstly, sprayed the whole plane white, with a can of spray paint originally intended for wargaming, but it works brilliantly on models. I then masked off the bottom of the plane, along with any upper surfaces that were to remain white- the top was then painted with Tamiya acrylic Medium Grey. The panel lines were then drawn out using a water-ink mixture that was carefully brushed into the panels. Once dry, the entire plane was spray coated in Games Workshop "purity seal" varnish. I have a bottle of Future( Johnsons Klear) here but have not plucked up the courage to use it yet.

I used the decals supplied with the kit, and from the best of my knowledge and plenty of research on the net, they are inaccurate- perhaps someone can clarify this for me. They represent a Viking from VS-33- the Screwbirds- only the Screwbirds have the tailcode NK- not NH, and the tail artwork also does not look correct.  Someone please set me straight.

Alan Kelley

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Photos and text © by Alan Kelley