SPA Modeler

The nose looks good to me!

Thanks, gents. What a bear that was, but not as bad as leveling the sides of the fuselage. In the end I saw no way around doing this.



Here is a photo I took last night, which was done more so to check the part I am making at the tip to support the pitot tube. However it is possible to see not only the seam work but the reshaped fuselage sides. I used a cross sectional diagram as reference.

Just catching up with this Bruce whilst I have a spare few minutes in the hotel - Great progress thus far it's really good to see you gluing things together.

That nose looks great!

portman wrote:Just catching up with this Bruce whilst I have a spare few minutes in the hotel - Great progress thus far it's really good to see you gluing things together.

That nose looks great!

Thanks, Stuart. If you will overlook the filthy keyboard which I must clean tonight then here is another view:



I intend to use the styrene pitot from the Trumpeter and invest in a brass replacement for the newer kit which also has a more substantial support.

Inflight Refueling Probe Covers—



This is not an engraved feature of the Monogram kit, so I am thinking about making an outline from plastic or card stock, then scribing it. I found a good view on the Vigilante trainer in storage at the Udzy Center of NASM—looks like they rolled it out for a photo shoot.

Sounds like you have a great plan for the refueling probe door.

Thank you—that means a lot. The refueling probe is such a prominent feature I feel it must be included. Also if anyone has any intention to build the Vigilante series, NASM published good photos on its site. The trainer is not on display unfortunately.

After watching your pair of these, I am really wanting to get one in 1/48. But I’d much prefer to have the A-5A over the RA-5C. One day...
Thanks for the heads up on reference photos.

Sounds like a good plan.

Thanks, gents—

Better details of the cover (squared edges, locking tabs) as well as corrected shape. The rectangle beneath is not part of the cover but I bet it is an important access point to the entire refueling system.





If anyone can make an A-5A from the current 1/48 Trumpeter kit, it is you, Carlos. That would be a very interesting multi media project. A very good idea!