1/72 Academy A-10K RAF Tankbuster

Gallery Article by Keith Diamond on Jan 7 2010

Silly Week 2010

 

This is my 1/72 Whif concept of a RAF A-10.  I built this aircraft because I wanted a solid sand colored A-10, and I always liked the look of RAF Tornados and Buccaneers from the first Gulf War.  I didn't use Desert Pink, but I preferred this shade of sand.  It also gave me a good excuse to throw on some nose and ladder door art.

In addition to the Academy kit, I used some AIM-9s and an ALQ-119 from the Hasegawa weapons set.  The ejection seat is from True Details.  The seat is an ACES II, but more closely represents the type found in a F-16, not an A-10, which is the exact opposite of the their version of the same seat in 1/48 scale.  After installation, I also noticed the seat seemed to be undersized as well.

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I used a Pro Modeler wash, although I'm still learning how to use it effectively.  It didn't stick in the panel lines as well as I had hoped, but it dirtied up the aircraft much better than I had expected.  As with my other models, the base is made from a wood base bought at Hobby Lobby.  I stained the base, then applied a polyurethane coating over it.  The tarmac was made from scribed plastic sheet painted with Rustoleum texture paint.  It was then painted with Testors Canadian Voodoo gray, and a Promodeler wash was applied.

The decals are a mix of kit decals, aftermarket (forgot the brand) and homemade.  I used the markings of the "Flying Canopeners" for added humor.  Some of the homemade decals blurred, notably the "Wet Martini" nose art, and the kill marks on port side.  The ladder door art is my favorite bit from this build.  I downloaded the sketch from the internet a long time ago, but I like to joke that its of my fiance and our dog.

Hope you guys like the A-10!

Keith Diamond

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Photos and text © by Keith Diamond