This was a
father/son project with my son Evan. He picked out the kit and we worked on it
together. I have to say this is probably the worst fitting kit I've ever put
together. Gaps, mis-matches and sink marks pervade everywhere. About the only
good thing in the whole box are the decals (by Cartograph).
Click on
images below to see larger images
We worked on it off
and on for several months. Evan cut all the parts out and sanded them. I would
hold them together and he would apply the glue. The nose needs to be
weighted quite a bit because it would be a certain tail sitter if not. (see that
big radome in the back?) Lots of putty is needed on this one. That's part of the
reason it took longer than usual. Don't even ask about the cockpit window fit. I
would have tried to do a better job here but my son wanted it done and on
display in his room so I fit things as best I could.
Evan chose the
paint; it's AeroMaster intermediate blue over a base coat of flat white. Evan is
partial to the three toned schemes of navy Hellcats and TBM's so that's why he
chose the blue. It may not be scale but it's his airplane and I have to admit it
doesn't look bad. The decals went on very well after a clear gloss coat was
applied. Once they had dried I installed the landing gear and gear doors and
gave the entire model a shot of PolyScale satin clear.
Perhaps one day I'll
build my own E-3A and go a bit further with the fixes on the kit but for now
this one is fine. It sits proudly on the bookshelf in Evan's room (right next to
my Trump A-10 and Monogram B-17G I gave him).
Evan
& Dad
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