My A-10 'Hog

[Eric]

Update #1: Finally got started on the 'Hog last night. Began with the cockpit and was startled to see how small both the cockpit and pilot were. Clearly, they've been the same size for years, but in my absence from the hobby, I had forgotten that fact.





I painted the pilot in a base coat of camo olive drab (all paint used so far is Testors, since it's readily available and relatively cheap in price). The paint scheme in the directions called for a gloss black helmet, with flat black faceshield, oxygen mask, and hose. I decided to go a different route and painted the oxy hose/mask a flat black, the faceshield a gloss black to better mimic the "sunglass" look and went gloss yellow for the helmet. I searched the interwebs for helmet colors, but couldn't really find a yellow version - found reds, blacks, whites, etc. - but no yellow. The directions also left off the "hand" color and in lieu of giving him gloves, I went au natural and went gloveless. I used an acrylic dark tan for the skin color.

DISCLAIMER: While looking at the pictures, I noticed some paint flubs that I'll more than likely fix later on tonight. Given the size of the parts and my feeble eyesight, I wasn't able to make out the errors.





On to the cockpit. I used a base coat of acrylic dark gull gray, which was essentially a primer coat since mutiple colors were painted over it. The instrument panels on the left and right sides were hit with a coat of acrylic flat black, the seat (which came in three different pieces), were hit with some enamel olive drab and camo olive green. Flat black was used on the paint stick. I went with the drybrush method in trying to highlight the red "pickle" buttons on the stick. I wasn't sure how they came out until I saw the pics. I think it looks legit. Since the drybrush method worked on the stick, I tried to use it on the instrument panels. It looked like poop when I was finished, so I just painted over it. I think I'm going to need a bit more practice. There are decals for the instrument panels - left, right, front - so I'm just going to use those. I was able to highlight some of the equipment in the cockpit but the scale was so small, I was hesitant to go to terribly crazy. Again, there are some paint flubs that I'll hit again tonight, but all in all, I don't think it looks all that bad...certainly not for my first cockpit in six years.







The plan for tonight is to fix the few paint flubs, insert the tub into the airplane halves sans pilot, assemble the body halves and begin paint/assembly on the turbines. Thanks for following!!

[Twokidsnosleep]

One of my favourite planes. Your pilot and cockpit look good
You could dry brush silver on those instruments and then highlight colour with a sharpened toothpick...looks better than a decal IMHO
There is a video of Paul doing that on ISM somewhere in the techniques area I think

[Eric]

Update #2: Tonight's work yielded mixed results. I was able to get the tub installed between the two fuselage halves, but that required some work and some tension. The fit wasn't quite right and the directions left a lot to be desired in terms of where/how to apply cement. Had some alignment issues, as well, as some of the body lines didn't quite match up. I feel as if I'm going to need some filler - not a lot, thankfully - along the fuselage seam, but am hesitant to add it. Love to hear you guys input on that. Anywho...off to the pictures.

The first three pics are of the cockpit tub. Yesterday, I mentioned putting the decals on the left and right instrument panels but after doing that, I found that they didn't want to adhere to the raised surface(s). Instead of the decals, I tried the drybrush method with some flat light gray and it turned out fairly good...much better than the decals (thanks for the suggestion, twokidsnosleep ).





I did decide to use the front instrument panel decal, however. It seemed to adhere quite well and I liked the look of it.



Like I said, I needed some compression to get the tub to sit correctly as the cement dried. One of my shop clamps did the trick.



The difference is seam heights was really noticeable once the two fuselage halves were together. There was a very noticable 1/32-1/16 lip on one side of body.





I "borrowed" one of my wife's fingernail files and began to gently massage the seam, to mixed results.









The nose area of the aircraft is where I found some of the more egregious alignment issues. These are going to require some more massaging.



The last set revolves around filler candidates. Like I said, I'm hesitant to use the stuff, mainly because I've never had to. Any suggestions you guys can provide will be greatly appreciated.















Thanks for following!

[JayCub]

Real shame about the fit issues Eric, im an armor builder mostly and use milliput for the odd gaps, the cockpit detail looks superb, and I don't remember them been that small either when I took up the hobby again, I hope you get It sorted out
Tom

[thing]

Hi Eric, I'm just back in the game as well and have found Perfect Plastic putty by Deluxe Materials to be excellent stuff. I've also just bought some Mr Surfacer which is great for small seams, small join issues etc.

[Eric]

Hi Eric, I'm just back in the game as well and have found Perfect Plastic putty by Deluxe Materials to be excellent stuff. I've also just bought some Mr Surfacer which is great for small seams, small join issues etc.

Unfortunately, I'd have to order that stuff online...my local hobby shop doesn't carry that. They do carry Squadron white and green putties. I'm going to have to stop by after work and pick some up.

[EagleOnyx]

Which kit is this?

[Eric]

Revell 1:48 A-10 Thunderbolt.

[EagleOnyx]

Revell 1:48 A-10 Thunderbolt.

Oh ok That cockpit really has nice detail! You painted it up nicely too. It's amazing how poorly that kits' fuselage halves come together.

[Eric]

Update #2: Been several days since my last update. Work has been crazy (two jobs) and kids have been all over the place, so I really haven't made much progress. Here's what I do have, though...

Last time I left you, there were fit issues with the fuselage halves. Several gaps were evident, and in very conspicuous places. I used some Squadron Green on the gaps and sanded them out. Some of the body/panel lines need to be rescribed and that will be remedied soon.

Underside of the fuselage body


Upper nose


Upper nose, sanded out


Underside fuselage sanded out. Looking closely, you can see a very bad attempt at re-scribing some panel lines. I tried to do it freehand with a hobby knife, but the results look like wallored poop. Looks like I'm going to have to invest in a scribing tool and templates. Lessons learned.



Upper fuselage body. The seem going down the backbone was a really bad fit, as was the fit of the turbine sub-assembly.





I did manage to get the wings attached at the fit was OK. The upper fuselage looks decent enough, but the underside was gappy. I chose to leave it be as the model will more than likely be placed in my oldest son's room and he certainly won't care about that.



I did start on painting/assembly of the ordnance. I gave the bombs a "primer" coat of olive drab while the bomb halves were still on the tree, but it wasn't until assembly that I saw how flashy these little suckers were.



There are 8 total bombs and all were equally (or worse) than this one. I went ahead and assembled all of them and using a hobby knife as a scraper and a sanding board, I was able to get the surfaces smoothed out enough to where I can live with the results.



Just need to hit them with another coat of olive drab and I'll be ready for gloss, decals, and a flat coat. Hopefully, I'll be able to cross the bombs off the to-do list by the weekend.

Thanks for following!

[JayCub]

I think I will skip Revell after seeing the fit issues here and on Alex modeling on youtube, I think that was a 109 or similar, I bought a panther and again fit issues, still it is good to see the progress of what is a fantastic looking plane
Tom

[Eric]

Update #3 - Made some progress in some areas, but maybe a step backward in others...more on that in a bit. Starting with the armament. The 500lb bombs are very nearly finished. Two coats of olive drab and I painted the noses gunmetal, which the instructions directed.



The yellow decals around the nose and tailfins were a pain the arse to get on, but managed to do a servicable job, in my opinion. The Testors decal set helped, too. Not sure if I'll use all 8 bombs on the plane due to other devices I want to put on (missile rack, napalm cannisters, jamming pod, etc).

Next up are the missiles. I was given the option of painting these, too, in olive drab, but chose a gloss white instead. Once I started painting these a gloss white, I instantly regretted it. It took 3 coats of white to get "complete" coverage. They turned out decent enough, but I will think long and hard next time about my paint choices.

After the third coat of white:


After the black pinstripe and decals. I painted the stripes freehand and didn't really have any landmarks to follow, mainly due to the multiple, thicker than usual surface coats. The decals went on with no problem. These were the best looking three of the bunch (there were six, but the decal sheet only came with enough decals for four. How the hell does that happen Revell?) I'll only use these three on the bird.



Now to the aircraft body itself. It was hit with a coat of Testor Modelmaster gray primer, then two coats of Testor Light Gray spray laquer. The camo pattern I chose (the directions includes paint schemes for both Air Force model and a close air support Army scheme. I chose Air Force, mainly due to the apparent ease of the paint scheme implementation). The darker "accent" color is a Testor Modelmaster Acrylic Dark Gray.

First the primer:




The previous filling and sanding turned out OK (for a dresser display model for my son's room), but being my own worst critic, I think it looks atrocious. Oh well...will have to do better with the next kit. Moving on to paint.

Here you can see the initial camo on the turbine housing and the tail fins. I'm having to do the outlines by hand. I don't have an airbrush yet, and probably won't get one until I can further hone by kit-building skills.






Now to the step backwards I alluded to in the opening. I think the lighter base coat of paint is the wrong light gray for an Air Force airplane. The instuctions give an FS code, but my local hobby shop doesn't have that particular color in aerosol, so I chose a color that I thought was close enough to that light gray. I think I'm going to have to repaint the entire aircraft minus the darker camo patches by hand. I'm just not pleased with the overall look of it at all.

I hope each and every one of you had a happy and blessed Thanksgiving and thanks for following!

[Tiger131]

Your making a bad kit shine..this aircraft is on my to do list

[Eric]

Your making a bad kit shine..this aircraft is on my to do list

Thanks for the kind words. It's not a terrible kit, but the fit issues are aggravating. The instructions, too, are a bit vague in spots with aspects of construction. So far, I'm giving this particular kit a C-. It's possible that's too harsh of a grade, and I'll more than likely readdress it upon completion, but my ire and disdain are clouding my judgement right now.

[UKguyInUSA]

I was looking at buying this kit next from Hobby Lobby using my 40% discount voucher, but after seeing the kit issues you've come across, I think I'll give it a miss. But that said, you're persevering well and making a great job of it so far

[Eric]

Thanks, UKguy. I think after this one is finished, I'm going to steer clear of any more Revell models for a bit. My LHS (not to be confused with the local Hobby Lobby) has a decent selection of Hasegawa models, plus they can special order kits with a 2-3 day turnaround.

[Yevgeny]

Looking good mister
One day, if I decide to do planes, this one will be on my list for sure.
Looking forward to see more.

[UKguyInUSA]

Thanks, UKguy. I think after this one is finished, I'm going to steer clear of any more Revell models for a bit. My LHS (not to be confused with the local Hobby Lobby) has a decent selection of Hasegawa models, plus they can special order kits with a 2-3 day turnaround.

Sweet....I've only made one Hasegawa kit to date, but I only started modeling this year. It was their 1/48 Hawker Typhoon Mk.1b "Car-Door" version, which was a really nice kit.

Cheers