dsahling1 Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Its with great pleasure that I get to present Trumpeter's new 1/32 A-6E Intruder to everyone here. For starters, this is an AMAZING kit. The fit is top notice, I'd say it almost rivals Tamiya in this department, on tricky spots were fitting the engines inside (and this is optional) and some of the wing folding mechanisms. There is a ton of very sharp detail throughout the entire model, a resin cockpit isn't really that necessary at all (I didn't use one). The landing gear installation is solid and relatively easy, at least in this configuration I have (resin bombs) the plane is perfectly balanced I didn't use any ballast (you might want to use some with other configurations though). The basic aircraft is OOB, I used Northstar Models 1/32 Mk.82 Snakeyes which have great detail and really enhance the kit in this respect. I also detailed the landing gear with hydraulic lines using lead wire as well as the engine. If you're wondering why there aren't any photos of the engines its because I attempted this and one of the wings snapped off!!! Luckily it was easily fixed and due to the weathering and overall dirty appearance of USN aircraft I dare to you find it. Also, AOA Decals "Sandbox Intruders" decals, kudos to them on this set it has a lot of options, they're thin and tough (I had to really almost scrub the decals with sandpaper to weather them) they also give you some instructions on panel lines to fill in, etc to make a more accurate A-6E. True Details' GRU-7 ejection seats, really nice piece of resin with good detail but they were missing the ejection handles, however, I still would recommend them. For people that love to knock Trumpeter, I say build this kit then try to talk (I'm sure there is some psychopath out here on the forums whose going to point out a 6 inch wire isn't molded on the wing folds and therefore the kit is completely unbuildable or a panel line is 1 scale inch out of alignment and therefore the entire plane is "inaccurate." I modeled this after an A-6E that was involved in the Libyan attacks of 1986, there weren't many reference photos of this specific one (I only had 2) so I had some fun using my imagination on weathering and touchup painting. Some people think the TPS is boring, I would argue differently, that if you enjoy airbrushing and weathering then they are an absolute blast to paint. I used mostly Mr. Color paints with some Tamiya acrylics, an oil wash for highlighing detail and some weathering & blending. For painting I used my usual method of going very slowly and detailing almost all parts & panels with various shades of browns, tans, and greys before misting the base colors to blend it in, the demarcation lines between the two greys is subtle and on par with how it looks in real life (if you look close there is very little uniformity to the paint finish, this keeps it interesting to the eye. I hope you enjoy checking it out and have as much fun as I did building it.Dan Zero77, mywifehatesmodels, geedubelyer and 11 others 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petrov27 Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 very well done - kudos on a fine build!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reconspit Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Stunning, cool, expertly done..., i love it, awesome work man... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Gorgeous build, Dan! I'm not much of a jet guy, but I like that a lot. May I publish it on the website? Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allthumbs Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Great looking Echo model! Nice work Dan. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 absolutely a great build, like it very much!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNoAF Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Beautiful and the decals are superb!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 WOW ! Very well done.The weathering is spot on !......Harv :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsahling1 Posted July 26, 2015 Author Share Posted July 26, 2015 Kev, absolutely! It'd be an honor to have it published! Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Bettencourt Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 I am just about speechless!!! What a fantastic build. Consider taking some pictures under natural light. Really nicely done. Thanks for sharing. Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Love the weathering - few (certainly not me) are able to achieve such a realistic highly weathered effect. Looks awesome! Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngtiger1 Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Great work buddy. It's a one kit I'm really hoping to add to my collection. Btw, post more pictures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsahling1 Posted July 26, 2015 Author Share Posted July 26, 2015 I'll try to take some more photos in a day or so, I only have my iphone for a camera and the lighting in my apartment isn't that great, I should be able to have access to a better camera soon. I'm really a novice when it comes to cameras and lighting, does anyone have some basic suggestions about how to take better photos? For the weathering basically what I do is prime and then make a rough outline of the camo as it would look fresh from the paint shop, then I "mottle" the base colors with thin white, then "mottle" more with various tans, brown, and greys. Then i'll mist the base colors until I'm satisfied with the coverage. Then I select different greys to duplicate the "touch ups" done by the crews. (it really doesn't matter what specific colors) (I do have some photos of the painting process, but not many I'm not much of a WIP guy). After that I will use a very light grey or off-white to highlight or lighten areas to draw attention to them. The more random the better when it comes to USN aircraft. ClumsyDude 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywifehatesmodels Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 FANTASTIC! For photos, I would just get it outside, to indirect sunlight (overcast days are perfect for taking photos). If possible, you could even shoot it against a distant backdrop (treeline, etc.) and keep the camera at ground level to give a forced perspective feel to it. Heck, even in a parking lot would work, but the indirect sunlight will work wonders, no matter what camera you have. GREAT model! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Intrusive. Well done Dan, its magnificent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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