A-10A Thunderbolt II
Trumpeter
1:32
kit no: 02214
build start: January 1 2017


Let's start off by a post with more images than some of my complete builds.... the counter already stands at 53!

Mandatory boxart shot:



But I guess we all know this.  Now I won't bore you too much with the sprue shots. Let's get right into some of the goodiness:

North Star Models AGM-65 Maverick



The detailing here is exquisite if you ask me



Complete decal sheet with more decals than some 1/72 kits. 1 sheet per missile...



And some tidbits

Master-models GAU-8 Avenger

I won't take it out of the packaging yet, I assume we're all familiar with this masterpiece.



ejection seat

Not a clue what brand this is



GT Resin products A-10 engine set



Just look at the beautiful work on this one.

The fanblades are nice and thin and bent, and if you push too hard you'll break em off. So much better than the kit parts



One-piece molded intakes, so seamless, and with some added details on the pipe



And just look at that nice riveting detail on the exhausts



CAM Decals Fairchild A-10A (2) 917 TFW Barksdale 1988

Now first we have the kit decals: 2 sheets for the aircraft, 1 sheet for the weapons. One of the sheets was stuck to the protective paper and those have received some minor damage.  Fortunately, I won't be using them anyway, sharkmouth or not (Sorry Phil).

I'm going for the Hog's mouth, it is after all a Hog and not a Shark...



They don't provide decals for the weapons, but I have other sources for that (like the kit)

This is gonna look so cool on a big hog:



Cutting Edge Super detailed cockpit



Now I'm not yet entirely sure how much of this will be used. This one will for sure



Right after I figure out how much of this resin to remove

It also comes with a nicely detailed bangseat:



And compare this with the brand-I-forgot one:



A definite difference in size and details.  Now the details I can imagine, but are these two different seats?





Verlinden cockpit detailing set



I don't think I'll be using most of this. Look at the tub compared with the Cutting Edge version:



And the seat is a bit bare



On the other hand, Verlinden will have you put on all the extra little bits as separate parts, which might look good in the end anyway.
This for instance might end up a lot better:



Cutting Edge exterior detailing set



These will get binned, no doubt about it: the exhausts



No detailing whatsoever, where the GT Resin Models set had excellent riveting detail.

On the other hand, these chaff/flare dispensers are a definite improvement over the kit



Not to mention this fuel point thingie



Verlinden Exterior detail set



Now I'm not much for opening up all kinds of panels on aircraft, but this might be worth the effort:



Eduard BigEd

And then we have our BigEd set of goodies





3x PE update sets, 1x RBF tags and 1x die cut masking for the canopy.

Trumpeter US Aircraft Weapons



I had heard the kit weapons were mediocre at best, so I got myself this one as well.
One example: the GBU-8:  the kit part has recessed panellines where the weapons set has raised detailing





And this is the comparison of the mavericks. weapons set first, kit second:





The kit version has a lot more riveting detail.  I won't be using these two though.

Squadron vacform canopy

The canopy in the kit also appears to be very wrong, so I got this one as well.  Not yet sure if I'm going to use them, the kit parts look good to me, but I didn't pay attention to the shape, which is apparently where the problem is.





The vacform doesn't have this center seam though, which I don't think belongs there



Reference materials



Not sure how much I'll be paying ttention to this, but it has nice images.

kit parts

Now for some kit shots. Not too many [smile]

First off, this is just the cockpit section: the cutting mat is in centimeters....



Now these parts aren't perfect. For instance, this mold seam is rather ugly



I think this circle thingie belongs here, but not sure (some kind of exhaust?).  And if it does, it's pretty much supposed to be hollow right?



The riveting on the vertical stabilisers, I like



Excellent wheels.



More riveting on the tail parts



And a somewhat nicely detailed nose gear bay



It's a good starting point, not sure if I wanna improve on this.

The kit seat isn't too bad either, but will be a spare



Metal landing gear, to carry the weight of the beast, with rubber tires and a lot of metal detailing bits.



All supplied in a nice hard-plastic protective box



Weapons

Now before the mess begins, I've started thinking on a loadout.  I'm not gonna go "it must be accurate" and more "it must look good".  And for a hog that means "armed to the teeth".  So what I have in mind:

#1:  ALQ-119 jamming pod
#2:  Mk.82 bomb
#3:  AGM-65 Maverick
#4:  GBU-8
#5:  ?
#6:  ?
#7:  ?
#8:  GBU-10
#9:  AGM-65 Maverick
#10:  Mk.82 bomb
#11:  AIM-9L Sidewinders on a dual launch rack

The question is, what to do with the belly stations. I could leave 5 and 7 empty and add the fueltank on 6, or add Mk.82 on 5 and 7 with the fueltank, or just go with Mk.82 on all three.  I've never been a fan of centerline fueltanks though.

There's a good chance I'll just build and paint the needed bangseats and weapons, and make a decision afterwards based on what looks best.


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