1/32 Trumpy A-6E Intruder - "Raygun 501"

[doogsatx]

So, I swore off 1/32 jets over a year ago. But, well, I had some wins at work to celebrate and...it's an Intruder...and I really wanted it.



What can I say? I love the Intruder. Strangely, it's probably my favorite aircraft that's been in active service during my lifetime, edging out the A-10, Strike Eagle and F/A-18D in the Fast-FAC role. It also belongs to that special class of old aircraft (and ships and tanks...) who had their last hurrah over Iraq, and who crushed it. The Intruder is an obvious standout here, but so's the A-7, the F-4G and RF-4C, OV-10D...

Anyway, the chance to build a giant Desert Storm Intruder is too much for me to pass up. Thanks to the wonderful AOA Decals sheet, I'll be doing "Raygun 501" of VA-35. Apart from having cool tail art, the Black Panthers were actually the first Navy squadron to drop on Iraqi targets, and the first to use night vision devices in combat.



Aftermarket is a bit anemic...but I'll be throwing some goodies the Intruder's way:

- AMS Resin FOD covers. Nice splash of color and a lot of time and seam cleanup saved.
- AMS Wheels. Again, 1/32 kit with stupid vinyl wheels. WHY?
- True Details GRU-7 bang seats
- Eduard Exterior Detail (for the A-6A...I figure plenty of details carry over)

Loadout is still a bit up in the air. Right now I'm leaning toward 4 x Mk.20 Rockeyes on MERs on the outer stations, an AGM-88 HARM on the inboard port station, and drop tanks on the ventral and starboard inboard stations. The HARM is a bit of a mystery. Lots of indications that HARM capability was part of a SWIP upgrade that many Intruders didn't receive until after Desert Storm. But VA-35 did - as it was able to use NVDs over Iraq. And there are pictures of another squadron, VA-75, loading HARMs onto A-6Es during the conflict. So...I'm going with possible.

The kit Rockeyes are sadness, so I'm going with the AMS aftermarket ones - could only get my hands on eight total, hence 4 per side. Stranger loadouts have happened.

I'd expect a slightly slow start, with all the other builds I've got going on, but this one has me all excited, so...stick around!

[coro69]

so i have the older model in my stash and i also think this is one of the most interesting wings i will definitely follow... i am excited to see it growing...

[TRM]

Very col Doogs!! Count me in!!

[JimD]

[wbill76]

I think Jimmy stole my chair...

[JimD]

Plenty of seats to go around.

[Rick]

Outta my way!!!!! I'm bringing my lazy boy in for this one! Great to see you back at it Doogs. And with my favorite jet of all time! I was seriously really close to going into NFO school at college ROTC and trying to get a RIO seat in one of these. Nice!

Rick!

[deafpanzer]

I think I want to watch the Flight of the Intruder movie again... count me in!

[JimD]

Andy, that's on my DVR lol. Found it a couple of nights ago and recorded it. Gettin hyped for this one.

[doogsatx]

LOVED Flight of the Intruder. Criminally underrated. And in my opinion the movie is better than the book (though Callie's handled better in the book).

Anywho, got my AMS Resin Rockeyes yesterday and they are a peach. Not looking forward to the pour stub tango, but the detail on these things just blows the kit Rocks out of the water.

[dupes]

Wow. Those are hot. How much do each of them set you back?

And I don't remember - what 1/32 jet build made you swear off of 1/32 jets?

[deafpanzer]

WOW! Huge improvement on the AM set... DAMN! Worth every penny only if your wife approves. LOL

[doogsatx]

Mar 26, 2015 12:46:46 GMT -5 dupes said:

Wow. Those are hot. How much do each of them set you back?

And I don't remember - what 1/32 jet build made you swear off of 1/32 jets?

They were $18 for a 4-pack, so about $4.50 per Mk.20. Bit pricier than I'd have liked, but considering I only plan on doing the one big 1/32 jet, I want it to be good.

As for what put me off 1/32 jets, that would be Academy's F-16I, which I'd intended to build as a Greek F-16D. Got it to this point before I just couldn't any longer. Such a PITA of a kit.

[dupes]

Ohhhhhh right. I remember now! Is it still like that?

[JimD]

<abbr>They are so dang big...I think if you're going to have one this is the most impressive kit to do it with too.

Those resin bombs are yummy.
</abbr>

[Rick]

Big bombs - very good! No comparison to the kit blombs. Those will look real purty hanging under those wings. Whatever happened to your 1/48 intruder? Issues with it or just a case of bigger is better ?

Rick

[JimD]

Mar 27, 2015 11:17:20 GMT -5 Rick said:

Big bombs - very good! No comparison to the kit blombs. Those will look real purty hanging under those wings. Whatever happened to your 1/48 intruder? Issues with it or just a case of bigger is better ?

Rick

I wasn't gonna say anything...I thought that one lost steam beacuse of the intakes...and my understanding is that the HB kit is a downsized Trumpy...however...the FOD cover makes that a moot point...I believe he posted those on FB...just not here yet.

[doogsatx]

The 1/48 Intruder is still hanging out in my display cabinet just shy of closing up the fuselage. The intakes were actually sorted by the arrival of some resin seamless replacements.



Had a few minor issues to sort out - the IP hood seems to interfere with fitting the windscreen, and for some reason I can't get the inner wings to seat right up against the fuselage...and I need to sort some engine stuff out before I deal with that. So it kinda ran out of steam but will certainly be picked up again. Now that I'm doing the big E, it frees me up to perhaps do something different with that one, such as a desert camo Intruder.

As for why I'm tackling the big one instead of picking up the smaller one - it's just calling to me!

Looks like the wife and kids are probably heading to the in-laws next weekend for Easter, so I'm planning to try to plow through some of the cockpit prep work this next week and then dive into the painting and detailing while they're gone.

[dupes]

Mar 27, 2015 12:51:45 GMT -5 doogsatx said:

Looks like the wife and kids are probably heading to the in-laws next weekend for Easter

Looks like I may be in the same boat - gotta love a bachelor weekend as it pertains to bench time!

[doogsatx]

Mar 27, 2015 13:14:10 GMT -5 dupes said:

Mar 27, 2015 12:51:45 GMT -5 doogsatx said:

Looks like the wife and kids are probably heading to the in-laws next weekend for Easter

Looks like I may be in the same boat - gotta love a bachelor weekend as it pertains to bench time!

Yes! As long as I'm not too snowed under by honey-dos, my goal is to go see Fast & Furious 7 (love that summer movies start coming out in April now!), try to get on the mountain bike for a bit, and then, all bench all the time.

[Rick]

Doogs, I Got plenty of those losing steam projects myself. I'm sure we all have a few of those. Sometes the calling of a new beast is to much to resist.

[doogsatx]

Working from home today. Took a break to do some thinking and somehow wound up soaking and setting out the Intruder sprues...



Detail on the Intruder itself is great. The weapons sprues are a mixed bag, however. Seems to me like they were lifted from prior kits perhaps. But I'm definitely loving the instrument panel. It's easy to see where the 1/48 Hobby Boss kits got their looks.

[4bogreen]

Impressive build Doog! I am not a 1/32 guy, but you always make such nice models...

[doogsatx]

And the Intruder is officially underway!

Got the cockpit tub and aft deck glued together last night. Just like I remember with the 1/48 Hobby Boss, the angled fit looks intimidating but the parts line up nicely.

Also got the intakes together and test-fitted the AMS FOD covers. Some trimming down of the resin pour block is recommended, but once it's whittled away just enough, the covers fit nicely. Wish I could say the same about the intakes...rough joins top and bottom that will certainly require clean-up work. I seem to remember this from the 1/48 kit as well.



As for size...the Intruder is not small.



For kicks, I set it beside the Zulu Viper.



More to come...

[wbill76]

Definitely a big old bomb truck! Looking forward to seeing this one come together Doogs.

[doogsatx]

Nothing like building engines that will never be seen! Fortunately knowing that means I can just skip all the detail and focus on the structural elements (needed to get the exhaust out the back). They're big suckers, too!



Most of last night was spent mucking with internal elements. There's a lot of bracing work inside the fuselage that has to be seen to. The cockpit and arrestor hook hollow both span the fuselage halves, and while it's too early to do anything with the cockpit, I got the arrestor hollow glued down to one of the halves. Also got the brake bays installed (the fit on the brakes themselves is phenomenal, so phenomenal I have to figure out how to glue them down without making a mess of things). There's also a massive subassembly that forms the nosegear bay as well as the central belly of the aircraft. This has a large piece that glues onto it that locates it between the fuselage halves - and there are still more elements that have to be glued into the halves to do said locating.

It's tedious work, especially having to shave little flash seams off of every single piece, but it will result in one hell of a beefy airframe I think.

On the outside, I got the stabilators and rudder together. Fit is solid all around, though the starboard stab has a habit of popping out at the front without steady pressure. Not sure if I'll muck with it or just let the cement do the job when the time comes.

Either way, with the control surfaces fitted, the tail of the beast suddenly becomes large and rather heavy. I have no idea how much weight it's going to take to make this one sit on its nose. Good thing that it's got metal landing gear and lots of space to stuff lead sinkers.

[doogsatx]

Got the Intruder's seats yesterday. True Details GRU-7s. I ordered these with crossed fingers - True Details stuff can be kind of inconsistent I feel - but these seats are the business. The different placement of the lap belts, the fabric texture on the cushions...love it! Can't wait to get to painting these lovelies.

[dupes]

WOW! Those are hot! Looks like TD stepped up to the plate with these bigtime. Need to dig through my big Tomcats to see if I'm lacking seats...going to go this route for sure.

[TRM]

Nice job on the Intruder so far Doogs! "Big suckers" are the understatement!! They look great though...as do those seat!! Can't wait to see you paint them up!!

[Bat242]

I will certainly be following your build here with keen interest, let you take point as I have the A-6A and these kits are impressive and was worth waiting all those years for Trumpeter to finally get around to releasing them. I got the Avionix cockpit set which is a beaut and figure they ought to have one for the 'E' before long.

With all the features it has, the kit lends itself to a wide variety of diorama ideals. I'm hoping to see some Marine Corps markings like VMA-(AW)242. Go Bats!