1/48 Hasegawa A-4 Skyhawk

Gallery Article by Nick Monopoli on July 4 2003

  US Independence Day  

 

Skyhawks are a favorite here on ARC, so I won't say much about the actual building. The special thing about this pair is the fact that I built them for, and with the cooperation of, the pilots. Casey and Paul were both part of the Black Diamond Squadron during the Vietnam War. They were enthusiastic and very helpful when I asked them if I could build their respective airplanes. Paul supplied a color photo of NP 694, and Casey informed me that the Blue Angel A-4's had an eyeglass holder mounted on the instrument panel to hold their aviator sunglasses. I would like to thank them both for providing me with the most enjoyable build I have ever done.

 

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The eyeglass holder is in there, but you can't really see it. I didn't know how to display the glasses so I just draped them over the edge of the canopy. They're just for fun anyway. I couldn't find thin enough gold wire to make them true to scale.

Hasegawa surely makes the BEST A-4 kits known to man. Thanks to Bare Metal Foil for their wonderful product. The struts, gun barrels, and all the silver on the Blue Angels is foiled. Not to mention the decal film for the custom decals on 694. And thanks to Yellowhammer and Meteor Productions for the great Blue Angel decals. They were perfect!

If you want to renew your enthusiasm for modeling, find a pilot to build for!!! And if you really want to make it fun, give them the plane when you are finished!!

Nick Monopoli

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Photos and text © by Nick Monopoli