ghodges Posted January 14, 2023 Report Share Posted January 14, 2023 Looking sharper with every post! Gil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfman63 Posted January 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2023 Ten weeks into the Corsair project and I have completed all of the under wing stores. The aircraft will be armed with two AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles, twelve Mk-82 Snake eye bombs mounted on MER’s, and six M117 bombs mounted on TER’s. The inboard hard points will hold the drop tanks. Starting with the AIM-9B’s I cut off the nose and scratch built the IR sensor windows. These were them built up and painted. The MK-82’s required a lot of putty around the fins due to gaps. The M117’s only needed a little putty along the seams. I then built up the MER’s and TER’s and painted them. The kit supplies decals of the placard’s for the ordinance and the mounts. However, I decided not to use them. The decals are very poor for 1/32 scale and the registry of the decal printing is off. The placards look more like blobs rather than actual placards. This was strange as I typically work with 1/48 scale aircraft and similar decals were legible at the smaller scale. I will most likely seek out better quality decals which can be applied later. I then mounted the bombs and missiles onto the racks and painted the drop tanks. I am getting ready to install these onto the aircraft and then do some final weathering. Next I will be getting the display base detailed and wired for the lights and power. More details and photos can be seen from the start in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/1-32-a-7e-corsair-ii-va-37-the-bulls/ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Deliduka Posted January 20, 2023 Report Share Posted January 20, 2023 Excellent work on that ordinance! This will really make this model pop even more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfman63 Posted January 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2023 (edited) After eleven weeks the 1/32 Trumpeter A-7E Corsair II of VA-37 project is completed! For this final week I added the fuse lines to the bombs then installed the missiles, drop tanks and bombs to the aircraft. With the aircraft completely finished I then took the base and aligned the aircraft so the holes for the wiring could be drilled. I then painted the edges black. The main surface was then painted using light, medium, and dark gray to replicate tarmac cement with some weathering where the engine exhaust would be. After the paint dried I measured and scribed the seams in the cement. The rear edge was then trimmed out to accommodate the connector for the power and two grooves were made with a dremel tool to route the wires. I then mounted the aircraft to the base and ran the wires the connector. I added four felt pads to the bottom. I had a brass nameplate made completing the project. The date on the nameplate is the first day I checked into the squadron. As for the kit, it went together very well. Some details like the exhaust area needed better details and there were a lot of badly placed mold marks. The fit was very good. The thing I did not like a lot was the kit decals. A lot of the placards for the aircraft and weapons were just blobs instead of legible placards which was a disappointment considering the large scale of this model. The weapons decals sheet was also off register. The aftermarket decals were nice but very fragile (most likely due to age). Overall I am very happy with the final results. Thank you for following this tribute build and happy modeling! Here is a link to a video of the completed project showcasing the lighting that was added. https://videopress.com/v/wYwmsKmt All of the details and photos from start to finish can be seen in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/1-32-a-7e-corsair-ii-va-37-the-bulls/ Edited January 29, 2023 by Wolfman63 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghodges Posted January 29, 2023 Report Share Posted January 29, 2023 That is a great looking build and display, and a great reminder of your service! It could also prove a very cool legacy to be eventually handed down to your kids so they can proudly display it. Congrats on completing another fine project and for letting us tag along! Gil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Deliduka Posted January 29, 2023 Report Share Posted January 29, 2023 This was certainly well worth the wait; the quality here is phenomenal! Way to go and congrats on getting it finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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