1/48 Hasegawa A4D-2 Skyhawk

by Joe Volz

--------------------

 

Construction

I built this Skyhawk to reflect the second prototype built Bu. No.142083, in one of the more colorful paint schemes it wore during it's testing career. The build was done using extensive research material and documentation supplied by a friend of mine. I used the Hasegawa A-4B kit in 1/48th scale as the basis for the build, with a good number of modifications. Construction began with the removal of the in-flight refueling probe on the right side of the aircraft, and the rescribing the missing panels there. The cockpit was built next, being generally box stock, with the exception of the seat. The seat on the prototype pre-dated the ESCAPAC model found in the production versions of the Skyhawk, and head a different headrest, as well as a few minor detail differences. The headrest was corrected using Milliput, and sanded to the proper shape, while small bits of styrene corrected the other minor changes. Staying with the cockpit, the canopy had quilted padding applied to both the sides and rear, and this was duplicated with Sculpy modeling compound, shaped with toothpicks. The completed padding was carefully glued to the inside of the canopy using small amounts of CA glue, and painted Dark Gull Gray, per the photos I had. The instrument panel and consoles were painted, washed and drybrushed as usual. The fuselage halves were assembled next, and the job of modifying the nose to reflect the instrumentation probe were began. The separate nose halves were assembled and the area ahead of the first panel line was removed with a razor saw. To build the new nose I used the forward section of a 1/48th Hasegawa F-15 drop tank cut back to the approximate size of the remaining Skyhawk nose piece. I drilled a hole out through the end of the tank section and inserted a fairly large diameter sewing needle to represent the probe. Next, Milliput was applied to the front of the tank and tapered out about 1/3 the length of the needle, again going by the reference photos. Much sanding and contouring later I had the appropriate curving transition around the full circumference of the new nose piece. The next step was to attach this to the Hasegawa nose and blend the less than perfect junction with CA glue. Several panel lines were then restored and the nose area was complete. Moving on to the fuselage, the prominent vent on the spine was filled and sanded smooth as it was not present on this aircraft, and later a piece of silver decal was used to represent what appeared to be a thin cover over that location. The position light on the spine of the fuselage was also removed at this time, and the area sanded smooth. The cannons were not present on this aircraft so the solid pieces Hasegawa supplies (but tells you not to use) were installed instead of the cannon fairing pieces. These were blended into the wing roots, as was the clear piece supplied for the light on the left wing, as this was not present on the aircraft and the area would be painted over. The wingtip position lights were dealt with in the same manner. The slats were built in the deployed position, as is typical of a parked Skyhawk. Only the inboard and centerline pylons were installed on this aircraft, and the drop tanks that would go there were assembled next. The blanking plates for the chaff/flare dispensers under the rear fuselage were installed and puttied and sanded smooth at this time.

Click on images below to see larger images

Painting and Marking

The eye-catching scheme consisted of natural metal and Day-Glo with white wheel wells, gear, and drop tanks. The first step in painting was the application of Floquil Primer from their railroad color line. This was then polished out in preparation for the Alclad II Aluminum, applied next. The inside of the slats received Alclad's Dark Aluminum, and the wing access panels were painted with Alclad Steel, and finally the exhaust (left off until the end) was painted with Alclad's Jet Exhaust. The areas that were to be Day-Glo were masked and first painted with Floquil Reefer White, as the Day-Glo paint is very transparent. Painting it directly over the Aluminum would have made it too dark and "dirty". The wheel wells, drop tanks and gear were also painted white at this time. The Day-Glo color is a mix of Model Master's enamel Fluorescent Red and Guards Red. The anti-glare panel was next masked and painted black, and the walkways on the wings were masked and painted gray. A light coat of Future was applied a week after painting, to allow the various types of paint to fully cure. The speed brakes, canopy, and the gear doors have Day-Glo stripes on them, and these were done by airbrushing the Day-Glo color onto white decal paper, and cutting out the stripes. The remaining markings were mostly pieced together from the spares box, including the Bu. No. that was tediously placed number by number. The "083" on the intakes was taken from a Superscale number sheet, and the numbers were sliced down the middle, and separated.

Final Details

After the decals were applied. a second very light coat of Future was applied to seal them, and then a dark gray wash was applied. Pastels were applied to simulate the stain from the bleed oil hole on the left side of the fuselage, and the walkways were lightly dirtied in the same manner. The tail hook was installed in it's lowered position, and the gear, doors, speed brakes,and drop tanks were secured at this time with CA glue. A light coating of Poly Scale semi-gloss was applied to blend everything together nicely. Finally, the main canopy was secured with CA glue, while the windscreen was installed using Microscale Kristal Klear.

This was a certainly a very enjoyable build of a unique and interesting subject.

Joe

Click on images below to see larger images

Photos and text © by Joe Volz