Academy 1/72 A-10A from “Operation Iraqi Freedom”

[Wolfman63]

This second commission build is the Academy 1/72 A-10A from “Operation Iraqi Freedom” I will be using the kit decals for the aircraft from the 75th Fighter Squadron of the 23rd wing. This will also be mounted in a display case. It will be mostly “out of the box” build with the exception of using Master Model’s brass gun barrels and pitot tube.
I started the week off by assembling and detailing the cockpit. I used some scrap photo etch parts for the ejection handles, some other details, and some 3M cloth tape to make the seatbelts. The cockpit tub, the nose gear bay walls and the engine housing all had some rather deep mold marks which required putty to fill.
The cockpit was attached to the nose gear bay section and mounted into the fuselage. The fuselage had a few areas requiring putty as well. The fit was pretty close but some areas had minor gaps. This was prevalent on the top side of the nose. While the putty was drying on other sections I measured the brass gun barrels housing and drilled out the barrel shroud just under the nose to fit the barrels inside the shroud.
I am currently building up the wings, tails, and engine assembly. I should have the aircraft mostly together so I can the base coats of the light ghost grey and dark ghost grey of paint.

You can see all the photos and details from start to finish in the build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log ... i-freedom/

[aur0ra145]

Cool little kit, didn't know Academy had made one of these.

[Wolfman63]

The second week of the A-10A was spent getting the aircraft ready to paint. To start with I had to drill out the gun shroud to fit the Master Models brass gun barrels. I then painted the barrels and the housing with Tamiya’s X10 gun metal. I then assembled the wings and added all the hard points on the underside. The brass pitot tube was installed into the wing as well. The engine section was assembled. I had to do a lot of filing on the exhaust. The kit exhaust was very thick so I thinned the exhaust. The exhaust section was then painted using Vallejo’s Jet exhaust Metal paint. The engine pods did require some putty on the outside seams.
While some paint and putty were drying I started looking at the armament. It is nice that all the bombs and missiles are one piece however there are a LOT of deep mold marks. On the Maverick missiles I cut off the nose so I can make the lens and I drilled the tail end to match the rocket exhaust. All of the mold marks on the armament were then filled with putty.
I then attached the nose, wings, and tails to the fuselage as well as other details. I need to install the engines and then I can start painting the fuselage base coat of paint. I am finishing the painting of the engine intakes, cleaning and painting the weapons, landing gear, and some of the finer details. I should have everything painted this upcoming week and the start applying the decal.
You can see all the photos and details from the start in the build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log ... i-freedom/

[digger303]

[Wolfman63]

As the third week of the A-10A finishes I completed the base coat of paint. I then worked on the landing gear. For the nose gear there are two landing lights. These were just molded flat. O drilled them out a bit and used acrylic gel to create the landing light lenses. The landing gear was assembled with the landing gear doors then everything was installed on to the aircraft. I also installed the brass gun barrels under the nose.
Next I applied all the decals. The decals all went one very well. The aircraft was then painted with the matte top coat. While the air craft was drying I turned back to the weapons. I received a comment for a fellow modeler and veteran who worked on the A-10’s on what the typical load out was on them during Operation Iraqi freedom. The weapons supplied in the kit are not very accurate. SO I will be using only two of the Maverick’s, two JDAM’s and will be adding two AIM-9 missiles. The AIM-9’s are resin versions from ResKit. Instead of the ECM pod I am going to add a Litening Pod. This was not available back then but the pod has a connection to the client so I am adding it and using the Eduard resin accessory.
I trimmed the nose off the Mavericks to make the sensor heads using acrylic gel. I then filled the lenses on the Litening pod turret with acrylic gel and later will color them the correct shades. I am now working on finishing up the aircraft. The canopy, HUD, windscreen, and a couple of other touch ups and then I can install the weapons. Once the aircraft is finished I will be starting on the display case over the next week and hope to have this build completed by end of week.
You can see all the photos and details from the start in the build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log ... i-freedom/

[Twokidsnosleep]

These are the coolest aircraft
Love the extras you are adding on
Great project

[aur0ra145]

Looking good! Those AIM-9 fins must be tiny!

[Wolfman63]

After four weeks the A-10A of the 75th Fighter Squadron is finished. The start of the week I completed the Litening pod and installed the boarding ladder, HUD, canopy, and windscreen. I did the final paint touch-ups as well. One of the biggest touch-ups was the top of the tails. The decals were a little undersized so I used some Vallejo dark blue which matched the decal color perfectly. As a final step all the under wing stores were installed.
Next I painted the display base to represent the tarmac of a middle-east air base. This was weathered with some grime and a few shades of sand, yellow, and tan. The reference photos also had a black with white dashes as a foul line of the taxiways. With the base finished I scratch built some wheel chocks and attached the aircraft to the base. A small stand was made to hold the brushed nickel nameplate and it was then attached to the base.
This was a fun project and the kit was a good kit for a 1/72 scale aircraft. The fit was very good and the decals were great. This will be delivered to the client next week. Thanks for following along, Happy Modeling!

You can see all the photos and details from the start in the build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log ... i-freedom/

[digger303]

[Garion77]

Nice job ! my favorite modern plane ! if we can still call it modern Just love it's fire power and noise. The scene in Man of Steel when it comes is just awesome and shows it perfectly.