Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, Revell 1/72 (kit No. 04356)

Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, Revell 1/72 (kit No. 04356)
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The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin turbofan engine, straight wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). Commonly referred to by the nicknames "Warthog" or "Hog", its official name comes from the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, a World War II fighter-bomber effective at attacking ground targets. The A-10 was designed for close air support (CAS) of friendly ground troops, attacking armored vehicles and tanks, and providing quick-action support against enemy ground forces. It entered service in 1976 and is the only production-built aircraft that has served in the USAF that was designed solely for CAS. The A-10 was intended to improve on the performance of the A-1 Skyraider and its lesser firepower. The A-10 was designed around the 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger rotary cannon. Its airframe was designed for durability, with measures such as 1,200 pounds (540 kg) of titanium armor to protect the cockpit and aircraft systems, enabling it to absorb a significant amount of damage and continue flying. Its short takeoff and landing capability permits operation from airstrips close to the front lines, and its simple design enables maintenance with minimal facilities. The A-10 served in the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm), the American intervention against Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, where the A-10 distinguished itself. The A-10 also participated in other conflicts such as Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada, the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, and against Islamic State in the Middle East.

The A-10A single-seat variant was the only version produced, though one pre-production airframe was modified into the YA-10B twin-seat prototype to test an all-weather night capable version. In 2005, a program was started to upgrade remaining A-10A aircraft to the A-10C configuration, with modern avionics for use with precision weaponry. The U.S. Air Force had stated the F-35 would replace the A-10 as it entered service, but this remains highly contentious within the Air Force and in political circles. With a variety of upgrades and wing replacements, the A-10's service life can be extended to 2040; the Air Force has no planned retirement date as of April 2018. In this article we will analyze the build of this wonderful aircraft from the Revell kit (04356).

Construction

The Revell kit is a rebox of an Italeri earlier release and is considered to be the best A-10 kit in the 1/72 scale. The cockpit is satisfactorily complete for this scale, with instrument panel and the side consoles that have beautiful detail. The instruments are depicted in decals and give a realistic result. The exterior detail is very good with fine recessed panel lines and rivets. A large number of parts is about various weapons including two large fuel tanks. The decal sheet comprises markings for two aircraft. To upgrade our model we used the Verlinden resin set, originally designed for the Hasegawa kit but suitable for the Revell also.

We started our build from the cockpit, where we assembled all the parts and painted them. Humbrol No.140 gray was used for the floor and the side walls and black acrylic Vallejo for the instrument panel and the side consoles. With matt light gray and the dry brush technique, we showed all the detail while some switches were painted in red and yellow. Regarding the pilot ejection seat, our only action was to make seat belts using thin strips of paper masking tape and highlight the detail by careful painting. Great care is needed to place some lead weight into the fuselage nose before gluing the two halves together. The rest of the assembly proceeded smoothly with the use of putty at minimal quantities, while the only negative point of the kit is the engines, and their exhausts, as the detail and the fit was not the best. So we decided to put FOD covers on the engines air intakes, using some Milliput epoxy putty, painted blue.

Painting

Before we started painting, we sprayed our model with a primer coat to spot imperfections and to apply easier the camo paint on the plastic. The first color sprayed was the Humbrol No.117. Having dried well for several days, we then used an airbrush with a 0.2mm tip by free hand and the second color was sprayed, Humbrol No. 149, and following the same procedure, the final third, No. Humbrol 32. The painting was complete tackling details such as electronics, landing gear, ladder and engine covers. These covers were painted in blue, following some Google research, in order to give a different color to our model. Several coats of glossy varnish (Future) were airbrushed, to polish our model before proceeding with the application of the decals. We used an aftermarket decal sheet of Hi Decals for a Desert Storm aircraft. However, their quality was not as expected, as they were old prints, making their placement a true nightmare. With the help of Agama's powerful Hypersol liquid conditioning fluid and with a lot of patience we managed to place them even though the result was not what we wanted. With another two gloss coats of varnish, we sealed the decals and then we started the wash process. With black and brown oil paints, as well as AK Interactive Paneliner, we emphasized the whole detail of our model. The Paneliner left us very positive impressions. Very easy to use, performs well on the camouflage and is easily wiped with a little toilet soft paper. Finally, we added all the weapons, plus two more coats of Galleria (Winsor & Newton) matt varnish for a uniform finish.

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Μοντελισμός - Κατασκευές
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Μοντελισμός - Κατασκευές
Μοντελισμός - Κατασκευές
Μοντελισμός - Κατασκευές