Trumpeter 1/32 A-1H Skyraider "Miss Eileen", 1st SOS, NKP RTAFB 1969
By Rich Carrick
Here's one of the scratched wingtip drop-down lights found on USAF machines - made from pewter sheet and clear thermoform:
The rudder locking mechanism - note that the rudder is angled left, hence some slack for the wire on that side:
I hand painted commander's stripes - they look better to me than decals, but 3 mil too far forward compared to the other side - uh-oh! Nice red dive brake interior. Dragon's head decal a little too far forward. Zotz decal originally had a small red square just ahead of the dragon's tongue. I finally figured out that Zotz must have thought it was part of the marking - it isn't. In fact, the little red mark is the red reflective strip found on either fuselage side.. behind the dive brake you can just see the 'towel rail' antenna, which I made from flattened sprue (note - the real thing isn't round but 'flattened').
I added Verlinden dry transfer data stencils to each weapons pylon for extra realism. You can just see the red trim tab in this photo - I saw that 'Miss Eileen' had this feature in a photo of the real aircraft found in the Wayne Mutza book.
Dirt, dust and oil… the red wing jury strut was made from plastic rod and brass wire. Strangely, Trumpeter don't seem to include these in the kit, but for folded wings they are essential.
The engine was built and assembled in stages. Mount first, then engine, then exhausts, then attach that lot, add cowling and finally prop. The prop is from AMS resins and is a big improvement on the kit parts.
The folded wing was one of the last things to be attached. Various levers and wires had to be added at this stage:
I didn't go mad on the underside weathering as it will mostly be hidden…but leaking oil is a must. If anything, this is TOO clean.
The landing gear struts have red painted locking mechanisms to prevent the gear from accidentally being retracted whilst the aircraft is parked. These were simple to make from pieces of pewter sheet. Remember to put RBF tags on stuff like this! Mine are from HGW.
The canopy had a huge mould seam right down the middle. I removed this and after a few dozen polishing sessions this is how it turned out. There are one or two minor flaws visible in the right light. However, I decided against covering the transparencies in future at this late stage as I didn't want it to go wrong. With me, future always seems to either pool (causing blemishes) or go wrong in some other way. I just don't trust myself / it enough to risk ruining the only canopy I have. In any case, it looks OK to me.
Oh yes - the yellow grab handles are another feature missing in the kit - I made mine from stretched sprue held in the right position whilst it cooled. I attached them VERY carefully with simple plastic cement.
And some more images of the model…
© Rich Carrick 2014
This article was published on Saturday, November 15 2014; Last modified on Wednesday, August 31 2016