1/32 Hasegawa A-4H Skyhawk

Gallery Article by Ian T.M. Holahan on Nov 10 2011

 

This is an Israeli Air Force A-4H Skyhawk that I completed recently using the reissued 1/32 scale Hasegawa kit as a basis.  I had started the model about nine years ago and it sat in a rather forlorn primered state on my workbench so I decided to finish it.  I used the Cutting Edge resin update sets to convert the model from an E-model to an H-model.  The conversion entails installing a new resin humpback, new intakes, the distinctive extended tail-pipe and the 30 mm cannon pods underneath the fuselage.  The fit of the resin items to the Hasegawa kit was not so good and a fair amount of epoxy and filler was required.

 

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I decided to scribe the model as well so I used a Squadron scriber and Verlinden scribing templates to assist me with that process. Once the conversion was installed and the lines scribed, I primered the model with Model Master Primer which cured pretty well during the years at sat on my work bench. The plane was painted with Model Master enamels and the panel lines were then drawn with a Micron Ink pen and shaded with Tamiya Smoke. Fading was done by applying Testors Dullcote that had been diluted with several drops of white paint. Ordnance and bomb racks came from the Trumpeter 1/32 scale F-105 kit and I had to scratchbuilt a new centerline pylon since the original had been lost along the way. 

I scratch-built intake plugs from sheet stock and added handles to them from my armor spares box. I obtained a helmet from a 1/32 scale crew figure and I drilled it out and painted it. It was then placed on top of the windscreen for an added touch of realism.  For my reference for the finish, I used the Osprey "Israeli A-4 Skyhawk Units in Combat" book and I chose to model an A-4H, "253", from the "Knights of the North Squadron".  I used Sky's Decals A-4 sheet for the markings and all the relevant squadron markings and stencils were supplied with the decal set.  All in all this was a very challenging build but the Hasegawa kit definitely captures the sleek, lethal look of the mighty Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. 

Best wishes,

Ian T.M. Holahan

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Photos and text © by Ian T.M. Holahan