During Desert Storm, the last 2 squadrons of the mighty S.L.U.F. saw combat for the last time. One of  which, was VA-72, the "Blue Hawks". 
    This is Hasegawa's A-7E "Last Mission" kit, which caught my eye at the local shop about 2 years ago. Sometime earlier this year, I obtained a Black Box pit from Jarrod Cunninghdecideddeicided it was time to break down and build it. This is actually my second A-7E, which the first resides (or did) in the Navy recruiting office downtown.
    Kit construction was pretty straight forward, with special care given to the intake, as it has a nasty seam. The Black Box pit took a little extra time to install due to dry fitting and sanding, but eventually fell into place.

Click on images below to see larger images

    The decals are from the kit, and conformed well into all the rivets and raised surfaces using Micro-Set and Micro-Sol. Stretching the red, white, and blueacross accross the top of the fuselage was no easy task, but with care, patience, and setting solution it conformed beautifully. 
    I painted the model using Model Master FS 35237 overall Medium Gray, and again used a reversed shading effect to simulate fading. I probably should have "spot prima lot34; alot more, but felt the finish was to my satisfaction. After the gloss coat, I ran my ink roller bthroughthrought some of the lines, took wet tissue paper, and wiped in the direction of air flow to simulate fuel streaks.
    Everything was sealed with a flat clear coat, and the canopy attached. This is a great kit, and it felt good to complete something other than an F-14 for a chaneven thoughenthough I would like to finish more F-14's!

Enjoy
Brian