Trumpeter A-6A "VA-65"

[Isar 30/07]

Hi Jeroen,

 

maybe these pics can help (ruler is cm).

 

 

 

Cheers - Reimund

[jeroen_R90S]

Hi Reimund,

 

Thanks for those pictures, actually, I can both be really organized and dis-organized at the same time -I have already installed this part, it just looks different in the instructions, and gap between the black part that goes into the canopy and the cockpit itself led me to believe I missed this bit.

I'll see if some sprue can close it up, thanks for the effort so I can be reminded of how disorganized I can sometimes be...

 

Jeroen

[jeroen_R90S]

Nearly a month further, and, not much picture glory to show.

I spend a lot of time filling pinmarks and removing mould lines from the landing gear, and have just finished up the nose gear; the rear support bar is still loose as I've glued a section of fuselage halves together that's drying and I don't dare touch....

I'm not very happy with how the wheels look, somehow they look wrong in a way, though I can't really put my finger on it. It appears the rim is too small, or the whole thing too tall, I'm not sure.

Does anyone know how the Reskit wheels compare, other than the improved detail?

I have to say Trumpeter did a nice job, I'll probably add some wiring and hoses, but for an OOB job I'd say nice job Trumpeter

 

As I wrote I'm also closing the fuselage, I finished the cockpit parts and pre-painted the very deep main wheel wells. I then glued the wings on first and inserted the central spar/forward wheel bay on one fuselage half, and reinforced the upper join with evergreen.

After glueing the cockpit area closed first (as it appears in the photo below) I've closed the lower part of the boarding step/nose gear well yesterday and have just finished the lower seam between the engines.

The upper spine will then go next, an finally the tail. So far everything seems to align very well, even though there is almost no lower fuselage to speak off!

BTW, I removed some of the ribbing of the nose (unlike Marcel I had already glued the nose halves together) on the underside and it seems to fit very well so far...

Well, a lot work and little to show so far, but slowly getting there

 

Jeroen

[FreightDog]

Late to the party here, but WOW what attention to detail and dedication on display here. Will be following avidly.

[allthumbs]

7 hours ago, jeroen_R90S said:

Nearly a month further, and, not much picture glory to show.

I spend a lot of time filling pinmarks and removing mould lines from the landing gear, and have just finished up the nose gear; the rear support bar is still loose as I've glued a section of fuselage halves together that's drying and I don't dare touch....

I'm not very happy with how the wheels look, somehow they look wrong in a way, though I can't really put my finger on it. It appears the rim is too small, or the whole thing too tall, I'm not sure.

Does anyone know how the Reskit wheels compare, other than the improved detail?

I have to say Trumpeter did a nice job, I'll probably add some wiring and hoses, but for an OOB job I'd say nice job Trumpeter

 

As I wrote I'm also closing the fuselage, I finished the cockpit parts and pre-painted the very deep main wheel wells. I then glued the wings on first and inserted the central spar/forward wheel bay on one fuselage half, and reinforced the upper join with evergreen.

After glueing the cockpit area closed first (as it appears in the photo below) I've closed the lower part of the boarding step/nose gear well yesterday and have just finished the lower seam between the engines.

The upper spine will then go next, an finally the tail. So far everything seems to align very well, even though there is almost no lower fuselage to speak off!

BTW, I removed some of the ribbing of the nose (unlike Marcel I had already glued the nose halves together) on the underside and it seems to fit very well so far...

Well, a lot work and little to show so far, but slowly getting there

 

Jeroen

Hi Jeroen, great looking update.

 

The NLG tires that I recently photographed are marked 20 x 5.5 inches, which agrees with published data. As you can see, the rims are about 11.7 inches in diameter.

 

I don’t know about the ResKit tires in 1/32, but a friend of mine has the same company’s 1/48 Intruder wheels set and he says that they are very, very close to published dimensions, including the mains.

 

Hope this helps

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 10, 2021 by allthumbs

[jeroen_R90S]

11 hours ago, FreightDog said:

Late to the party here, but WOW what attention to detail and dedication on display here. Will be following avidly.

Thanks, Freightdog! Hopefully it'll help someone out building an A-6A The build logs and input here sure helped me out a lot!

 

10 hours ago, allthumbs said:

Hope this helps

Thanks (again!) Rich, really awesome stuff that's generally not found in reference books. Too bad the closest I ever got to a carrier was in the 90s, when for some reason or other one was nearby in Amsterdam, though I can't remember which one it was!

I can also remember seeing a VA-46 Corsair II with a lot of blue on it on a Dutch airshow when I went there with my father when I was a little kid, but there's nothing here to go and see for real.

 

It's stuff like this that definately well help my model become a lot better as included in the box, and also as I imagined I'll measure up the kits wheels this evening to see what they are like. Maybe it's just the rim part that  looks too proud, but measuring = knowing. I do like the look of those Reskit wheels, though!

Interesting size notation too, not quite like my old Mercedes camper van (6.5x16")

 

Jeroen

[allthumbs]

...happy to help. Indeed, I’m extremely fortunate to live (exactly) 100 driving miles from the Pima Air Museum in Tucson, Arizona, one of the largest collections (400+) of aircraft in the world, including an A-6E TRAM Intruder and a recently retired USMC EA-6B Prowler.

While we’re on the subject, here’s the equivalent data for the MLG wheels/tire...
 

 

 

 

Edited March 10, 2021 by allthumbs

[jeroen_R90S]

Thanks again!

----------------------------

Yesterday evening I also went and checked the AOA decals but while there are tiny stencils for e.g. the tie-down points the bigger black/white (silver?) data plates or something for the gear legs don't seem to be included on my sheet. I'll have to see how to fix that, maybe there's something useful in the spares box...

 

Jeroen

[allthumbs]

A couple of years back, AOA Decals revised their Intruder (High-Vis) Stencils and Markings set to include additional LG placards. It shows out-of-stock now on the company website, but perhaps some retailers still carry it. The updated stencils/markings are also included in the firms more recent Intruder sheets like 32-023, 32-027 and 32-029, all of which are still available.

 

AOA 32-026

Edited March 10, 2021 by allthumbs

[jeroen_R90S]

Thanks, I see Hannants still have the sheets but they won't ship to the EU any more...

And it's also a bit of an expensive way for three black stencils

I now see AOA-32-002 didn't have these either, and it seems my VA-65 sheet is based on that. I'll have to go and see what the sparesbox might cough up

 

Speaking of decals, I still haven't decided on the green camouflage version or  the later grey/white version; when looking at pictures I noticed that in the instructions only the ejection warning are mentioned, but at least on this picture it seems the exhaust warning had it's arrowhead remaining or reapplied as well.

Easy enough to replicate, just something I noticed

pictures borrowed from the Cybermodeller gallery here: https://cybermodeler.com/aircraft/a-6/a-6a_gallery.shtml

It also seems on these aircraft, judging from the other picture, the wing folds were not white but yellow-ish. Interesting stuff! (and is that an antenna underneath the fuselage star insignia? Or an opened hatch? )

 

My kids still want me to do the camouflaged version, though I wanted the 1966 grey-white one... but seeing these pictures again, this scheme is kind of growing on me... (though the version without the green on the intakes) I love the contrast of the green with all the other colours (yellowish wingfolds, red speed brake interiour, orange seat cushions, etc)

 

I keep seeing stuff....

note the spoiler/ailerons (above the flaps) hang down with the wing folded. Now that I've seen it I noticed it more and more. (I really love this shot, by the way, one thing that really stands out for some reason is the three yellow fins of the fuel tanks, but I guess that's just me!)

 

Jeroen

Edited March 10, 2021 by jeroen_R90S

[allthumbs]

16 minutes ago, jeroen_R90S said:

...Interesting stuff! (and is that an antenna underneath the fuselage star insignia? Or an opened hatch? )

 

Jeroen

Definitely an antenna (UHF Comm?), and perhaps one that moved around over the years, finally ending up stuck beneath the LH air intake on TRAM Intruders. Purely conjecture on my part...I could very well be wrong!

 

 

 

 

Edited March 10, 2021 by allthumbs

[jeroen_R90S]

Thanks again, on the pictures it looks like there's an antenna in the intake (near the nose wheel door as well -something to figure out

 

I was able to take some measurements on the wheels, as I'm a metric guy I had to do some basic converting, not 3 points behind decimal

 

nose wheel real thing:

• rim diameter: 11.7 inches -> 297mm
• tyre: 20 inches diameter -> 508mm
• tyre: 5.5 inches width: -> 140mm

nose wheel Trumpeter model:

• rim diameter: 9.9mm -> it should be ~9.3mm
• tyre diameter: 15.9mm -> almost spot on
• tyre width: 4mm -> should be ~4.4mm

main wheel real thing

• rim diameter: 18.7 inches -> 475mm
• tyre: 36 inches diameter -> 914mm
• tyre: 11 inches width: -> 280mm

main wheel Trumpeter model:

• rim diameter: 15,56mm -> it should be ~14.9mm
• tyre diameter: 28.15mm -> it should be ~28.6mm
• tyre width: 8,6mm -> should be ~8.7mm

Note that I took these measurements with my trusty old Tesa dial caliper (0.02mm accuracy when it was new...) and measuring rubber with dial calipers is really not done if done in a production environment -for a plastic model and some quick comparisons it's good enough I guess (also there is some rounding off happening, in the sheet I used the real values. It's not a 60" rubber grinded plotter roller I used to measure )

I did keep the rims in the rubber tyres when measuring.

 

 The dimensions are less visible on the main wheels though, as it's a bigger assembly it does not show up as much as the nose wheel.

 

Jeroen

[jeroen_R90S]

Nose job....

On Doog's video's, as well as @Marcel111s excellent A-6E the nose is first attached to the fuselage halves, and then the halves are joined.

In a very early stage I already glued the nose halves together, so that wasn't possible for my any more.

So I figured out a way, spread over several days, to get the nose on as best as I could.

First the fuselage was slowly closed up and left to dry. When it was dry I did a test-fit of the nose without the bulkhead, and one with the bulkhead inserted. The bulkhead is helps shape the flimsy forward fuseage, yet also fits the nose quite well. It's just that the mating surfaces are very small, and given the amount of weight I'd have to put in the forward part I wasn't sure it would hold up.

After experimenting with stuff underneath the cockpit and/or on the front wheel well, which is doable, I finally settled on this:

I used an M10 bolt with nuts as required -first I drilled a 9,5mm hole in the bulkhead, right through the big box as that would prevent the whole bulkhead from deforming.

I then carefully turned the bolt into the soft plastic (I had to file the hole a bit so it would not be too tight). When I was satisfied with the fit and amount so the A-6 would not tail sit, I turned it out a bit, applied CA to the end, and turned it back in. I then loosened the first nut near the bulkhead a bit and also glued that to the plastic bulkhead "box". If course you need to make sure it does not protrude too much so the nose won't fit over it...

The CA probably isn't needed, but I'd not be really pleased to have this whole lot coming loose in the nose...

I'd have preferred to have the bolt head on the opposite side of the bulkhead with it being secured by the nut, but it is too thick and hits the cockpit.

 

I then glued the bulkhead carefully into place, making sure the fuselage contours were following it carefully -the whole nose without the bulkhead is quite flimsy, so with tape and glueing sessions over 2 evenings this was accomplished -afterwards I shoved some thick Evergreen strips to the back to give a bit more glue area. Probably not needed as well (the upper portion of the bulkhead is trapped in a groove), but just for my own feeling

As you can see it all worked, even without most of the forward "plastic" in place, which adds more weight to the front area:

 

Then the nose was pressed onto the fuselage, the bulkhead seems to help form the nose to fit, as it's a pretty snug fit this way.

The only area needing attention will be the upper bit, as there's a bit of a step, this was flush as well, but when I tried the windscreen on to see if that would still fit, found it it would not, and needed a bit of clearance.

This little step (it looks worse than it feels so far) seems easier to deal with than making the clear parts fit afterwards... (I don't like clear parts...) I need to sand in this area anyway, as the refueling probe light mounting/panel line still needs to go. This part is really flimsy on the separate fuselage halves, so I waited until they were properly joined to prevent damage.

I did have to remove the lower rib on the inside of the nose, as it interfered with the forward part of the nose gear bay and the nose would either deform badly when pressed shut, or leave a gap somewhere. When I removed the inside rib it mostly just presses on:

The sides might need a little bit of sanding, but not too much I suppose. It seems sensible to leave the intakes off as Marcel suggested in his thread, as the seam is now properly accessible and the intakes can be pushed in anyway.

 

I also succumbed and bought 2 sets of Reskit wheels, one for this model, the other for my newly aquired A-6E off Ebay... (I have no idea where I'll be putting that one, not even the box, that sits in my shed now!)

I'll do some measurements on those and update the post above accordingly to make the comparison complete. They look fantastic, though!

 

Jeroen

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by jeroen_R90S

[jeroen_R90S]

a quick update to show I'm still, albeit slowly, making progress...

 

I've assembled the partial engines (left out the middle part) and slowly closed up the lower engine bay panels. They somewhat fit, and I decided to clamp and glue them so that the seams are the most accessible, i.e., on the bottom and not the sides.

Somehow they could fit a bit better, but I had one of the engine intakes not fitting just quite right (hence the strip of Evergreen near the left boarding step opening) and it seems that interferes worse than I originally thought. But as I wrote, it may be work but it's all fairly accessible, and most of it will also be covered by the MER and bombs later on. (and on real A-6s these doors don't seem to fit all that well -maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist :D)

I've also filled the notches and raised panels for the navigation lights as per the AOA instructions, these are for the A-6E TRAM.

The clothespeg helps press down center seams:

 

A long time ago I also filled the three holes for the landing index lights or whatever they're called. I was a bit hesitant to open them up, unti I recently got a Dremel Workstation that I've found very useful for modelling too -it sure saves on breaking those small carbide drill bits, and is much more precise too.

There is one drawback, it does not come with any form of clamping, so even after making a small centerhole for guidance with a needle I had the part slip, so the upper one is slightly off, height-wise. They are spaced differently, but not as much as I'd intended. However, I won't be doing this all over again and am actually pretty happy with how this worked on a small curved part.

There are some blemishes from filling the old lights I still need to fix, but had waited until I had the holes properly drilled. If you slip you need to fix stuff anyway. Despite the little mishap with the top one (that's not really that noticable, unless you take shots like these!) I'm pretty happy. And drilling with the workstation was only 5 minutes of work, and no broken drills, too

 

Jeroen

 

[jeroen_R90S]

Oh, and maybe for interest's sake, the holes are 1,3mm.