HK Models 1/32 A-20G Havoc

By Charles Norton

A Man and His Dog - The "Gladstone Flash" in New Guinea - A-20G of the 674th Bomb Squadron, 417th Bomb Group

I'm happy to finally present my interpretation of the Gladstone Flash, an A-20G Havoc assigned to the 674th Bomb Squadron of the 417th Bomb Group in Saidor, New Guinea, 1944.

I've been a military history enthusiast since I was a kid, but my interest has always been the human drama of war. While I've certainly studied the broad campaigns and strategic decisions, they really only help bring the personal stories and dramas into context. As we build dioramas of soldiers rushing forward, or a panzerfaust crew stalking a T-34, it's easy to forget that the guys that lived through this stuff were just like you and me and they all had a story to tell.

So, with this project, I wanted to do something a little different: I wanted to capture something less dramatic, but more personal. And what can be more personal than the bond between man and dog? When I saw the photo of the crew chief with the squadron mascot, it kind of hit me that I had to recreate it. I love everything about it: the happy moment between man and dog, the weathering of the aircraft, the nose art, the unique features (blast tubes, repair patch, and unusual strakes below the nose). So, when I saw it, inspiration hit.

Naturally, I started looking around for figures that may fit the bill... and equally naturally, nothing even close existed. So, I resolved myself to sculpt the figure myself, dog and all - a definite first for me.

According to sources, the man in the photo is Staff Sergeant Richard Hart, the Crew Chief of the Gladstone Flash, the pup is the squadron mascot (for whom I can find no record of a name), and no word on who the fella in the other pic is. The aircraft is an A-20G-40-DO Havoc flown by Lt. William Paterson from Gladstone, MO, thus the name. It apparently survived the war and was presumably scrapped in situ somewhere in the South Pacific. I don't know the fate of Mr. Hart, Paterson, or the dog, unfortunately.

When I built STINKY last year, I had shortlisted the Flash as a possible candidate but ran into a snag with the cowlings. The A-20G kit from HKM comes with the smooth cowlings of the earlier variant, whereas the Flash had the later style with protrusions for each individual exhaust stack akin to the B-25. While I was working through STINKY, our very own Uncarina took it upon himself to do some scratch building to form the later style cowls. I was envious of his methods and vowed that if I could get my hands on a set of cowls like that, I would build the Flash.

Well, as luck would have it, Uncarina started working on it, then decided to shift directions, and put his kit - coveted cowls and all - up for sale for a screaming deal. I bought the kit on the spot, and with his blessing took over the build thread. Check in there if you'd like to see how this whole thing played out. Of course, as it turns out the A-20J/K kit that HKM recently released has the cowls I would have needed anyway. (sigh)

Again, thank you Uncarina for your hard work, generosity, and words of encouragement throughout the project - for that latter part, I'm grateful to everyone who chimed in on the build thread to offer words of encouragement and keep me going. Aftermarket includes a Photo Etch set from Airscale, Eduard wheels, and 1 Man Army stencil masks (super cool, BTW). All other markings are either homemade decals or, far more often, masks cut on my silhouette cutter. Weathering is everything - oils, enamels, airbrush, pastels, etc. This is the second A-20 kit from HKM that I've completed, and I can't recommend it highly enough. It's really a fun build. I have plans for the J/K kit already.

My MO of late has been recreating historical photos in miniature and I've gotten tired of trying to pull the source photos up on my phone or some-such when trying to show the finished product. So, with a little basic groundwork and some ingenuity, that problem is solved.

Check out the build thread for details on how the figure was sculpted. I used a resin mannequin to get the basic shape and scale. The mannequin includes boots and hands, while the head is a 1/35 head from Hornet. The body, clothes, doggo, and hat are all custom sculpted by me using a mix of Green Stuff and Magic Sculpt epoxy putties. I'd guess there's probably upwards of 10-12hrs of actual sculpting work here, though the whole project took several weeks owing to the amount of time it takes the putty to harden.

I make no pretense to be an expert at sculpting (or painting for that matter). This is the first full figure sculpt I've ever done, so while I'm happy with the results, I already see things I want to do differently next time. Shoulder patches are printed decals.

The aircraft is pinned and glued to the base so as not to make an unexpected and unfortunate departure.

All markings including wing walks are masks.

I used Future floor polish mixed with just a dab of olive drab acrylic to recreate the dope tape residue. It was applied (deliberately) sloppily with a fine brush.

If you look closely, you can see markings stenciled on the filler caps and various places around the fuselage. Those are from the 1-Man-Army mask set and they work really nicely. There are better, clearer pics in the build thread.

It's tough to get a photo of the cockpit, but Uncarina did a nice job altering the IP so that it sits more correctly further aft than what the kit calls for.

Reference photos show what appears to be a large (presumably) hydraulic leak streaking down the left nacelle, so I tried to capture that here.

Thanks for looking!

HK Models 1/32 A-20G Havoc

By Charles Norton

A Man and His Dog - The "Gladstone Flash" in New Guinea - A-20G of the 674th Bomb Squadron, 417th Bomb Group

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