1/48 Hasegawa A-7E VF-46 Clansmen. Completed!

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Completed pics.

No AM with the exception of very old decals that fought me like nothing has ever fought me before. MRP paint throughout, Light Ghost Grey fuselage with a few shades lighter mix with white for weathering, and finally, a little bit of Gunze and Vallejo paint for details.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is where this build thread started"......"...............

I am building this for someone, so don’t shoot me for it being non-LSM! 
 

This is an old 1988 issue kit that was actually purchased in Japan by the owner, we talked a bit about the schemes, he originally wanted the box art plane, but the kit decals are very yellowed, and probably brittle. The plastic in the kit is also very brittle from age/heat/attic storage. We ended up settling on a desert storm aircraft, and the rest of the build is box stock. 
 

So far I have the cockpit 90% completed, but I still have to do a little more weathering and touchup.

 

 

[Bomber_County]

It’s not a sin to build a non-LSM........Glad I did for the F4 as I’d never have fitted in the cabinet........the pit looks great.......I have a dilemma with the F4, not sure if I’m going to add harness’s as I haven’t any, will you be adding them on the A7? 

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On 6/7/2020 at 6:27 AM, Bomber_County said:

It’s not a sin to build a non-LSM........Glad I did for the F4 as I’d never have fitted in the cabinet........the pit looks great.......I have a dilemma with the F4, not sure if I’m going to add harness’s as I haven’t any, will you be adding them on the A7? 

The owner is not going to want to purchase any, so my option is to scratch build them, I still need to do it. Not sure how I should go about doing it.

[Lee Drennen]

That’s looking nice 

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I’m struggling with this plane. One thing I’ve discovered, I am not taking any more commissions for old models that spent years in attics. So far I have had to sand, heat, and bend the wing, now the outer wings are warped also, so I have them clamped to flat piece of metal while the glue is drying. The plastic is extremely brittle, small pieces are cracking as I cut them off the sprues, and the plastic is hard to sand too. But, I will finish this kit and in the future, I will insist on newer kits, and in a larger scale that is easier to work.

I also had to make spacers to bring up the center of the wing while having to sand plastic to let the sides go farther down. I tried heating with flame, but the plastic started to melt before I could bend the wing enough. So I used pieces of sprue as spacers in the middle.

[DocRob]

Nice and hard work on the A-7. I will never do commission work. Sometimes I ask friends if they want a kit or being asked by friends, If I would give away a finished kit and often I do. As I don't sell them, there is no warranty .

Cheers Rob 

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2 hours ago, DocRob said:

Nice and hard work on the A-7. I will never do commission work. Sometimes I ask friends if they want a kit or being asked by friends, If I would give away a finished kit and often I do. As I don't sell them, there is no warranty .

Cheers Rob 

Normally I don’t, but as I am out of work, I need something to support my habit. I have already decided that I will limit my new commissions to projects I want to work on.

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Customer decided to do both wings up, originally, he wanted one up, one down. Thankfully he chose up.

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Solving problems today. I found that my windscreen was about 2mm too wide, so I very carefully used tape to pinch it in, while flowing Tamiya extra thin into the gap, doing a few applications. I’m not bullshitting you, I was very nervous. Thankfully, after it dried, there were no visible glue marks. 
 

2nd problem was no money for AM belts, so I improvised with green painted Tamiya tape. Good enough. But the majority of the day was spent gluing slats to the wings one piece at a time, as these were very, very warped and twisted. Thankfully, I was able to get them mostly flat to the wings. 

[harv]

The pit is killer ! Nice work on the rest too....harv 

[Bomber_County]

If I’d have tried to do your trick on the canopy, the damn thing would have fogged all over........looking really nice.......

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Dreaded seam work, if I ever found a kit where you never need to sand a seam, I would buy 100 of them! 
 

Sprayed a little paint to check some seams and found a few issues. I laid down a little Mr Surfacer 500, then I have a wider seam I need to contend with between the top wing and fuselage. Intake is pretty well sorted out, just a tiny bit of sanding along the front lip. 

[DocRob]

6 hours ago, 1to1scale said:

if I ever found a kit where you never need to sand a seam, I would buy 100 of them!

The AMK Mig-31 is very close, you should give a try. Your money seems to be hard earned on this one, though.

 

19 hours ago, Bomber_County said:

the damn thing would have fogged all over

Dip the Clears in a pot of Future and after drying there will be no fogging when gluing and the clarity will be enhanced.

Cheers Rob

[1to1scale]

On 6/14/2020 at 8:31 AM, Bomber_County said:

If I’d have tried to do your trick on the canopy, the damn thing would have fogged all over........looking really nice.......

Extra thin does not fog canopies. Getting the glue on the part you want clear will etch the surface. However, I have been using this technique for 2 year, a dozen models, and only one small mishap. The secret is you need a very good fit, almost no gaps, the extra thin will suck into the gaps and stay there, but don’t flood it, or it will go everywhere, less is more.

[Bomber_County]

13 hours ago, DocRob said:

of Future and after drying there will be no fogging when gluing and the clarity will be enhanced.

Thanks Rob, I ha e some Future but never used it 

55 minutes ago, 1to1scale said:

Extra thin does not fog canopies. Getting the glue on the part you want clear will etch the surface. However, I have been using this technique for 2 year, a dozen models, and only one small mishap. The secret is you need a very good fit, almost no gaps, the extra thin will suck into the gaps and stay there, but don’t flood it, or it will go everywhere, less is more.

great tip, I’ll give a go.......who says you’re never to old to learn.......

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Finally got primer.

[harv]

Getting there, and in style !....harv 

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This build is kicking my but, took twice the cleanup of any trumpeter build in 1/32. Alas, I am getting past cleanup, scribed lost lines, now I’m going to painting stage. That will be another new area i have never delved into, salt stains and corrosion control. I am going to try to replicate this....

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It’s been a few days since I updated, because I am working on part 2 of the commission build (going to the same guy), a 1/72 A-6E, based on the old 1967 tool Hasegawa release. This thing is absolute crap! This makes 1960’s airfix kits look good. Every part of this piece of junk is twisted, warped, and asymmetrical. The canopy was the first thing I tackled because it was so bad. Unfortunately i kept on going, so here I am. Finally shot primer on today, and it’s clear I need a lot more filler. I also discovered that of 4 sets of decals included, all are junk, I had to order a new set. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Have not had an opportunity to work on anything since last Wednesday, but today I managed to paint both birds, light ghost for the A-7 and 3 tone for the A-6.

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All of this is a first for me, I wanted to do salt staining, fading, and corrosion control. Watching a few different people on YouTube, decided on mixing a few techniques.

First step was after I got the MRP Light Ghost Grey on, I tested the monitor masking fluid on the bottom of another aircraft in the same color to make sure it did not etch or stain the paint. After a day, I rubbed it off and all was good, so I set about marking all the common corrosion control areas I could see from photos.

 

 

 

Next step was to mix up a lighter shade of LGG, and spray it through a splatter mask.

 

 

Before I finished, I sprayed a light mist of the color over all the surfaces. 
 

I then started peeling back the mask to get the final effect

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This is what I ended up with, next is decals, a clear, oils, and then a pin wash, lastly, oil, dirt, and soot staining.

 

[harv]

I think your mailing this buddy !.....harv 

[1to1scale]

On 6/23/2020 at 11:23 AM, 1to1scale said:

It’s been a few days since I updated, because I am working on part 2 of the commission build (going to the same guy), a 1/72 A-6E, based on the old 1967 tool Hasegawa release. This thing is absolute crap! This makes 1960’s airfix kits look good. Every part of this piece of junk is twisted, warped, and asymmetrical. The canopy was the first thing I tackled because it was so bad. Unfortunately i kept on going, so here I am. Finally shot primer on today, and it’s clear I need a lot more filler. I also discovered that of 4 sets of decals included, all are junk, I had to order a new set. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh yes, this pig got similar treatment, but I need to do a little touch up on this one.

 

 

 

[GusMac]

Nice results. I used a similar method with the liquid frisket on the 32nd scale Greek SLUF I did last year. It's a little time consuming but I felt it gave you a lot of control over the results.

Your build made me look up the Hasegawa A-6 and boy it does seem to be showing it's age. You've done well to battle that dog into shape.