1/48 A-7B VA-93

[Stikpusher]

So after taking up residence in my new home in AZ for a week, today I finally sat down at my bench and did a bit of modeling.
With a permanent companion, I’m gonna call Klaus, after Klaus Meine from one of my favorite bands, The Scorpions




I don’t have my airbrush set up yet, so I did painting the old fashioned way, with a brush. This is gonna be a basic build OOB, and I should have my airbrush up and running by the point of external painting.

I am using Monogram’s A-7 kit, which is a B model



And Eagle Strike decals to make this A-7B from VA-93 off of USS Midway during Operation Linebacker in spring/summer 1972



Aside from the decals, the only change that I will make is to the ordnance load out for an Iron Hand configuration.

So today my basic work was using Tamiya Yellow Green on the exhaust area of the fuselage interior, and Testors square bottle acrylics- Dark Gull Gray in the cockpit and White in the intake.





Gonna need some more coats of white before it is acceptable... my brush painting skills have atrophied...

[LyleW]

Hooray, Carlos!

[Stikpusher]

Hooray, Carlos!

It’s about damn time!

[speedgraflex]

Seeing the scorpion reminds me of my grandma keeping a pair of scorpions as pets when she lived in India. That’s a beautiful preserved specimen and a fitting companion for your latest chapter. What to write? Superlatives, really, really! Great to have you back building and great to see a white box Monogram Kit and great to read about square bottle paints being brushed on again! What a blast!!! I am not familiar with “Iron Hand configuration,” but this photo purportedly comes from the same time period and features a lot of ordinance!! (“Kitchen Sink configuration?”) Wasn’t a toilet added to a bomb rack and dropped...?



Oops. It was a Skyraider which took that dubious honor!

[Floki]

Glad to see you back to building! I hope retirement treats you well.

[Stikpusher]

Seeing the scorpion reminds me of my grandma keeping a pair of scorpions as pets when she lived in India. That’s a beautiful preserved specimen and a fitting companion for your latest chapter. What to write? Superlatives, really, really! Great to have you back building and great to see a white box Monogram Kit and great to read about square bottle paints being brushed on again! What a blast!!! I am not familiar with “Iron Hand configuration,” but this photo purportedly comes from the same time period and features a lot of ordinance!!

Yes, the A-7 was quite the bomb truck. It could haul a LOT of ordnance. Iron Hand is SAM suppression. The primary weapons for that are Anti Radar missiles such as the Shrike, and Cluster Bombs to finish off the launchers and control vans.

Glad to see you back to building! I hope retirement treats you well.

Thank you! So far, so good on this retirement thing. It just feels a bit odd not having to go into work not quite having yet turned 55.

[speedgraflex]

[Medicman71]

Very cool! Can't wait to see more.

[Stikpusher]

Very cool! Can't wait to see more.

Thanks. I’ll get more benchtime later here today. I was able to add another coat of white to the intake before bed last nite. It helped, but white sure is a beast to hand paint. Doubly so with acrylics.

[LyleW]

Good looking subject!! The plane, not the builder. Anyway, have some fun. I'm sure there are many things needing your attention.