US Navy A-5A Vigilante pilots of VHA-7 "Peacemakers" on board the USS Enterprise in 1963
I am roughing out a bit of a preamble. Have you fellas heard or used the term “brain map?” That is usually used when someone makes a photo collage of a project (their goal). In advertising this is usually attached to a board or background. I thought I would begin with a single image as my goal—although I like the markings for “Fleurs” on board the USS Kittyhawk slightly more than “Peacemakers.”
The pilot and navigator are wearing orange flight suits, MA-1 torso harnesses, MK-4 life vests and APH-5 flight helmets. The attitude of the pilot and navigator standing near the aircraft makes me reflect upon the disciplined readiness for action that is a common factor with all pilots. Even as these men pose for the camera, their training remains engraved within them. The line of their spines prove it. These are men of action. Ready to go.
Note the 400 gallon tanks as well. Not part of the kit. I keep circling around the idea to find aftermarket to add these to the model. However the approach I am taking—the vector, if you will—is that of protective build of the kit itself. Not quite out of the box. More of an attitude similar to the pilots in the photo above... an attitude of respect.
I am keeping the raised rivets. Personally the raised rivets look better to me than the holes in the Trumpeter kit. I am going to minimize the raised engraving on the wings and add the paneling lines that are missing by scribing these. Most of my work will be on the tail, and as I made some progress last night on this task, I need to add the documentation here.
