1/48 Tamiya A10-A Thunderbolt II

Gallery Article by Kris Pete (ARC-Bigasshammm) on Feb 16 2011

 

First submission on ARC. I built this as part of the Desert Storm GB that's currently going on. The only aftermarket part used was a Black Box cockpit for the Monogram kit because Tamiya's attempt at a cockpit was sad. Aside from that the kit was a dream and the fit was perfect. No filler was used anywhere on the model and the optional wheels up gear doors fit perfectly. Kit decals were a dream as well. Had some trouble with the nose teeth but managed to get them to snuggle down after several solvent applications. A little paint touch up was needed to get the decals to join up in the middle.  

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This was my first attempt at mounting an in-flight model. I posted a thread in the tools n tips section of the ARC forums and got many suggestions. Thanks to all for those. I ended up using the "In-flight Modeling" tutorial on the main ARC page by Ken Middleton as my guide. It was easy as could be and completely pain free. 

She's not perfect but she's probably one of the best models I've done to date. I switched the unit patches around on accident while decaling and just generically painted the ECM pod. The wooden base will be finished this summer when it is warmer out. I'll either add a 144th A-10 to it or buy a patch from the 76th TFS. Hope everyone enjoys it. These are the best pictures I can take with my ability.

Kris Pete

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Photos and text © by Kris Pete