Here is it...finally
I can say! This Monogram kit is one I've had sitting on my shelf for a
long time, but I've never attempted it. Now, after lots of work, it's finally
done!
- First, I rescribed all the panels lines, but tried to leave the rivets on!
- Second, I used two kits in this plane, the VERLINDEN detail set and the Black
Box cockpit; use the BB cockpit, it's wonderful, but don't forget to sand
the bottom of the cockpit, because it's tricky to place with the front wheel
well !!
- Third; I've got several fitting problems with the fuselage and the wings, the
front fuselage is glued with cyano. You need putty too, tons of it,
especially in the front fuselage and the right side (nose), where you've got
sink holes.
- Fourth, I decided to lower the flaps, so I cut them from the kit, added
plastic cards on the flaps to extend them, sanded inside the wings to have a
smaller edge, and it looks good at the end!
- Fifth, I never found a solution to improve the faces of the engines, so
I closed them !
- Sixth; the paint is all from TESTOR, I know that the Hogs are not really
dirty, I just try to have different tones in the paint, it looks good but maybe
not "natural ", you be the judge.
- Seventh; the décals are from a SUPERSCALE sheet, n° 48-433, and depict a
bird from the 23 TASS, it's normally a FAC during the Gulf War
- Eigth, and worth...the " play-load "! I never found
information about the FAC load during the war, I know they carried smoke pods,
but about the rest, so I gave it some Mk. 20 Rockeyes. AGM-65 Mavericks,
AIM-9L/M Sidewinders, and two smoke rocket pods. Then I realized that
those pods don't exist ! This is a 7 rocket pod, so I built two of them.
The faces are from plastic cards and were punched, the bodies came from the
napalm bombs in the kit box.
- Last thing !!!! this bird have a heavy....... ( you understand no ?)so at the
first stage of the building i put some weight in the nose, but at the final
stage I realized that it still needed weight! Gee, I used the hole you
have in the fuselage right behind the cockpit to insert more....hope the gears
hold !!
Finally, this is a " big" bird, but it looks great and aggressive, try
it!
Patrick
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