Trumpeter A1-j Skyraider Tiny Tim

[sheppy]

Oh well here we are again the start of the next GB Yeah
I have chosen to do the A1-j Skyraider as 1 of my builds due to its use as a rescue escort plane in the Vietnam era.
The smile it must have put on downed airmen to see 2 of these aircraft appear and to know the Jolly Green wasn't far behind to pick them up.
So here we go on with the plastic pawnography.
here is the kit.



















as you can see from the last photo she is going to be a large kit.

The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly AD) was an American single-seat attack aircraft that saw service between the late 1940s and early 1980s. With its propeller it was a unique aircraft between all the jets, and was nicknamed 'Spad', after a French World War I fighter. The Skyraider had a remarkably long and successful career, and was eventually superceded by the A-6 Intruder, a two engined, two seater, carrier based strike bomber.
The Skyraider came too late to see action in World War II, but in Korea the aircraft was the backbone of the US Navy and the Marines. But the Skyraider really became famous during the Vietnam conflict. Although by then Navy squadrons were already transferring to the heavier A-6 Intruder, the Skyraider continued to operate from the smaller Essex class carriers. The A-1 was famous for being able to take hits and keep flying. There was added armor plating around the cockpit area for added pilot protection.
The Skyraider in Vietnam pioneered the concept of a tough, survivable aircraft with long loiter times and large ordnance loads. The USAF lost 201 Skyraiders to all causes in Southeast Asia, while the Navy lost 65 to all causes. Of the 266 lost A-1s, five were shot down by surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and three were shot down in air-to-air combat; two by North Vietnamese MiG-17s, and one by a North Vietnamese MiG-19.
Air Force Skyraiders in Southeast Asia are probably best remembered for their support of search and air rescue missions. Operating under the call sign Sandy, the A-1's ability to fly over a downed Airman for an extended period complemented by its massive firepower. Where as jet aircraft often had to leave an area for refueling or rearming, the Sandies provided nearly continuous suppressing fire until helicopters could extract downed Airmen.

[Hokum]

The Skyraider is a monster. Any plane which can carry the same weight in munitions as a B-17 Bomber isn't going to be small!

EDIT: Found it

Some picture I took of one at Flying Legends!

[sheppy]

Thanks for the photos will come in handy when doing the exhaust stains.

[UKguyInUSA]

Sweet! Another 1/32 scale plane being entered into this GB and a great choice, too! I'm building the same plane but at 1/48 scale by Tamiya. I'll be watching this one closely, good luck!

Cheers

Martin

[LudvigN]

Youre a lucky guy! This is one of my dream kits!

[Nige201980]

Looks a cracking kit mate looking forward to watching it coming together.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Great plane and good topic info
It must have been a bit scary flying this big slow beast into the dragon's mouth; it is a throwback to a P47 Thunderbolt flying tank in a the new age of jet power
They did a lot of target ID and guidance of air attacks forward air control (FAC), so just hung around getting blasted at
all just from a google search, I am no expert at anything

[Willem]

Hi Sheppy. Your Spad looks like a very nice kit and with all those extras too!

Looking forward to following your build.

[rwsmith14]

Great Kit. Builds into a great looking Skyraider. Saw one at a Model show last weekend... it was beautiful. The Aires Cockpit is going to be good.

[Lee]

Beast of a kit

[sheppy]

Glad you guy`s like my choice`s for the kit`s to build for this GB.
No painting for next couple of weeks as planning to get a spray booth so have been doing internals and bits that don't require painting straight away.
So here are some photos of what ive been up to.












also removed some interior detail from cockpit area ready for the resin.






so tomorrow plan to do same with the Intruder.

[felisbarcinonensis]

Nice kit and with a lot of extras!

[sheppy]

Hi all.
So what have I been up to with the Skyraider.
here are a few photos.









As im not having the air brakes deployed I am gluing them shut. But remember if you plan to build this kit they don't give the instructions for having them closed, so if you build this kit with them shut you do not install the internal parts as shown in the instructions you only use the cover.



Well that's it guys. At this point I am considering adding weight to the internal fuel cell as to add deflection into the tyres as there are no aftermarket weighted wheels at this moment.
Any thoughts as to how much weight/should I leave alone.

[longlance67]

wow that is one beast of an aircraft mate, this should be a great project, as for the weighting of the wheels I could only suggest checking out some wartime photos of the real aircraft for ideas


really looking forward to this one


Shane

[Twokidsnosleep]

Cool scene of Skyraiders (and others) in action from "We Were Soldiers"