Cry (HKM A-20G) Havoc and let the fly the decals of (miniature) war(planes)!

[jeroen_R90S]

On 7/18/2023 at 1:04 AM, ChuckD said:

Yyyyyyyyyyyyyup.  Does it show?

Not at all!

Where I work (healthcare IT) there are a couple of collegues who are also scale modellers (mostly cars, and some ship modellers, too)

Nice work on the A-20! I wish I had more time and space, it's a really tempting model!

 

Jeroen

[ChuckD]

Hi, all.  Just another quick update during my busy schedule.  I'm hoping things slow down a bit in the next couple weeks so that I can get some bench time.  But, it's been a busy place here and likely will be for another week or two.  Also, I've been kinda intentionally slowing down on the build because I was waiting for this...

 

 

I received my review copy of these today and to say I'm beyond pleased is an understatement.  If you've used Eduard's Brassin or wheel sets in the past, you'll know how good they are and these are no exception.  The kit wheels (shown later) were referenced from a modern restoration aircraft, so the wheels and tires are nowhere near correct for a WWII aircraft.  So, if you're doing a WWII model - and few A-20's saw service outside that period - these are a must have.

 

In the typical sturdy, well-packed box you get a number of goodies.  Here's the overview:

 

The mask sets are cut neatly from thin yellow tape sheets, similar to Tamiya tape.  

 

The instructions, as always, are clear and well illustrated.  Note the different symbols denoting replaced parts as well as the option for including a hubcap as needed for your build

 

Now, the part you all really wanted to see. 

 

Here you can see the mains.  Their diamond/crosshatched treads are crisp and clean - to the point where I might hit them with a sanding sponge to soften the sharp edges up a bit.  The manufacturers markings throughout all the resin pieces are super crisp too.  I also appreciate that they have small pour stubs that don't wrap around the sides of the tires like many other sets do.  Those always require awkward cleanup while these should be a snap.  

 

Now the nosewheel.  It was slick with no tread, but the detail of the markings is laser sharp.

 

The PE hub caps are also included and feature very small attachment points which promise a very easy cleanup.

 

This was interesting to me.  I've used a number of Eduard wheel sets before and the hubs themselves have always been of poured resin.  While that worked fine, there was always a ton of flash to clean up in the holes around the spokes.  Here, Eduard has switched to 3D printing and the detail is outstanding.  The mounting pads for the hub caps are super crisp.  

 

The back side will require the removal of a number of small supports, but a thin razor saw should do the trick without an issue.  I'll report on cleanup later.

 

 

Here you can see the difference between the Eduard and kit wheels.  The Eduard set is about 2-3mm wider in diameter than the kit wheels.  There's a little bit more detail to the inner hub on the kit pieces, but none of that will ever be seen anyway and the resin pieces have the detail where it matters.

 

The smooth tread of the resto/warbird wheels vs the crosshatch of the wartime tread.

 

Comparing these two, the kit tire (likely a faithful reproduction of what was actually on the reference aircraft at the time) looks like something you'd see on a camper trailer.  The Eduard kit blows it out of the water.

 

In the end, while I did receive a copy of these gratis for review purposes, I can't recommend them highly enough.  If I end up doing another HKM A-20 kit, these are a no-brainer and will be part of the build without question.  These should be hitting our favorite retail haunts within the next few weeks, give your A-20 some love and get her a new pair of kicks.   
 

That's all I've got for today.  I likely won't be able to update for another week or two as I've got quite a few things coming up on my calendar.  But I'll be back soon and we'll get this bird across the finish line.

[MikeMaben]

[ChuckD]

So, after much searching, I think I've finally narrowed the build down to this scheme:

 

 

 

 

 

STINKY, a 3rd BG/12 BS A-20G-30-DO seems to check all the boxes.  I've got a couple pictures of it, the nose art and decals will be achievable without too much trouble, and, most importantly, it has the right cowls.

 

The trouble in recreating this specific airframe would appear to be the external bomb racks.  I've posted the thread below to cast a wider net, but does anyone have any sources for a set of external racks?  I dug through my Trumpeter Dauntless kit to see if I could pilfer the wing racks from that, as I figured they were fairly generic parts, but they are not.    

 

 

[ChuckD]

Psst!

 

Hey!

 

Psst!  Hey, guys!

 

Don't tell anyone, but I sneaked a few minutes at the bench when no one was looking.  I hear the Fun Police have an APB out on me.

 

I knocked down the treads on the tires just a bit and I think they look quite a bit better.  Upper tire shows aging, bottom shows out of the box.

 

The 3d hub looks great and assembles easily.

 

The hub separates from the base plate easily and cleans up nicely with a little scraping with the back of an xacto blade.  Make a bit of a mess tho.

 

The PE goes on well too.

 

The gap on the hub needed a little filler, so epoxy putty to the rescue.  Left shows the gap, right shows the filled gap.

 

I opted to dry fit the canopy as it's really a snug fit.  Doing so will let me pop it on and off whenever I want to display the cockpit.

 

I painted the back of the recognition lights, stuck em in and masked them. Despite saying it a few times already, these truly were the last pieces before priming. 

 

And today, she's primed!  Next comes pre-shading, then real, actual paint!  I know I can't believe it either.

Now, back into hiding!

 

[LSP_Kevin]

Looks great, Chuck! Can't wait to see it with some paint on.

 

Kev

[Uncarina]

Go Chuck go! I’ve been taking extensive notes throughout your build, and appreciate you showing us the way.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Vandy 1 VX 4]

Thanks for the updates It looks great!!!!!

[TimW]

Looks absolutely outstanding!

 

Tim W

[HB252]

Great job!!!!

 

I loving the nose, looks like a bad ass bird

[Out2gtcha]

Looks fantastic so far!

[Troy Molitor]

 

 

Looks fantastic so far! X2!  Great efforts going on here.  

[ChuckD]

Yeah, yeah, I know I said I was done building (er... several times), but the bomb rack thing was annoying me.  All the reference pictures of my chosen subject show at least one small bomb rack under each wing.  So, not having one wouldn't do...

 

...and buying one wasn't really an option as there's nothing really close enough out there in the aftermarket world...

 

...so, we're going old school today.  Let's scratch these suckers.

 

After studying some reference photos posted in the thread I linked above, I decided to take my best stab at it.  I don't have drawings, so it's a scale approximation, but I'm pleased with the results.

 

First the paper template sketch.

 

And the base units themselves cut from plastic card stock.

 

Gussying them up a bit with PE bolt heads from the spares bin, some stretched sprue gussets for strength, and some holes.  

 

I found some sprue gate nubbies on a Rye Field sprue in the spares bin that were exactly the diameter I was looking for, so I cut them to length and glued them on. A little tab of spare PE serves nicely for the connection points.

 

After punching the mounting pads out from more plastic card, I glued the whole thing to the wing.

 

Once secured to the wing, I drilled a hole in the access panel just aft the rack and added the release wiring from stretched sprue.

 

The other side...

 

Again, it's not perfect, but I'm very happy with the results and I think it'll add quite a bit to the finished result. 

 

Next update will be paint.  I promise.  

 

 

[Dennis7423]

Outstanding addition, really looks the part!

 

- Dennis S.

   Mount Juliet, TN USA

[ChuckD]

1 hour ago, Dennis7423 said:

Outstanding addition, really looks the part!

 

- Dennis S.

   Mount Juliet, TN USA

Thanks!  Any bets on how many times I'll knock them off before I finish the build?