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The 'Scooter' or Heinemann's
Hot Rod (as some like to call it) is another one of my favorite planes.
However, it has to look a certain way. It has to have the ECM 'hump' and it has
to be loaded with ordanance. I also like to see them coming in low (tree
top
height) on their attack run. One of my favorite images I have of the A4 is
a pencil drawing I saw of a flight of four coming in at tree top height over
Viet Nam loaded for bear. I wish I could find this drawing but alas all I have
is the memory. But it's this memory that has been burned into my mind of how I
want my Scooters to look like.
This is another of my 'display'
models. The LHS didn't have any larger scale of the A4E/F with the ECM 'hump' or
with ordanance so I picked this one up. The kit went together very well. I
didn't even bother detailing the cockpit. At 1/72 it's very tiny. This
made finishing and painting much simpler anyway. Not much filler or
sanding was needed. Hasegawa gves you the option of a straight or 'bent' IFR
probe. Of course I went with the 'bent' one. It's much cooler.
Painting was rather easy. The upper
surfaces got a coat of gull grey and the bottom was white. I freehanded the
flight control surfaces by hand with white as well as the anti glare panel on
the nose. Hase give's you markings for a Navy bird as well as a
Marine attack version. I went with the markings for VMAT-102 out of Yuma,
AZ. I've always liked their unit's markings and they came with the kit. The
entire red tail is one decal and it went on surprisingly well. The only ones
that needed some micro-sol were
the stars and bars on the wing where the stall fences are.
Probably the most time consuming effort was painting all the Mk 82 bombs.
I'm sure this Skyhawk is at it's limit. The ordinance loadout may not be
entirely correct but I like the look. And that's what counts. I'll be more
accurate on my upcoming 1/32 scale A4-F. This little one has just whet my
appetite.
Jeff
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