Subject: Re: Gallery Article - A7D Corsair II
From: "Steve Bamford ARC" <[email-masked]>
To: "Aibara Darius @Consult" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 11:02:21 -0800

Hi Darius,
Thanks for sending in your A-7D article.  I'll add this to the line-up.

Steve Bamford
Aircraft Resource Center
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com

Live like there is no tomorrow;
Love like you've never been hurt.
Work like you don't need the money.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

----- Original Message -----
From: Aibara Darius @Consult <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 12:26 AM
Subject: Gallery Article - A7D Corsair II

Gallery Template #05
"1:48 Esci A7D Corsair II"
by "Darius Aibara"
--------------------
Steve Bamford will insert full sized version of photo 01.jpg here
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Esci have produced some reasonable 1:48 scale kits of modern military jets
and their A7D and A7E kits are not too bad - certainly not up to the
standards of the Hasegawa (and now Revell) kit but as the cost is likely to
the 25% of the latter then the Esci kit certainly scores highly in the value
for money stakes.  I obtained both the A7D and A7E kits second hand.  The
plastic is silvery grey and the parts have raised panel lines; the
undercarriage is basic, the cockpit rudimentary and the weapons/stores best
discarded.  Having said that the separate cockpit access ladder and pull
down steps are a nice touch and the canopy parts are thin, clear and nicely
detailed.
The fuselage is split vertically and into front and rear sections, the
joints between which require filling to avoid unsightly steps.  I joined the
front and rear sections of each fuselage half before joining the halves
together to minimise the "step potential".  The kit provides decals for the
cockpit instruments so I scratch built a new console using plastic card with
holes drilled for the instruments and used the decal behind it (a bit like a
photoetched panel/film combination only much cheaper).  I replaced the kit
seat with an Aeroclub white metal Escapac seat.

Click on images below to see larger images
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click-able smaller version of photo 04.jpg here. Clicking on that photo will
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photo 05.jpg here. Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized
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The wings are moulded so that they can be posed folded, I assembled them
unfolded.  The stores pylons have the correct profile but are on the thin
side.  The kit provides oversize "Snakeye" bombs with a poor representation
of a MER.  These were not even worth keeping for spares so I binned them,
instead using spares box TERs and slick bombs (all ex-Monogram).  After
priming I brush painted an all over camouflage pattern using Humbrol enamels
and used Superscale decals to represent an A7D of the 120th FIS/140th FW
Colorado Air National Guard as based at Buckley ANGB, Denver circa 1981.
Steve Bamford will insert full sized version of photo 02.jpg here
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Photos and text © 2003 by "Darius Aibara"

 <<A7D Corsair II.zip>>

Darius Aibara
TPS Consult

Tel:  020 8256 4090
Fax: 020 8256 4082

www.tpsconsult.co.uk

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