Bromo with an Intruder

[bromo]

Well here we are i will be building the following

Raised panel lines but a lot of detail especially in the cockpit, below is a pic of the decals and the Eduard etch set which should help add more detail to the cockpit

All i have to do is ensure i get enough bench time, more of a problem than actually building the thing.

[bromo]

Well my build will not be starting today a very early start at work 6 am, then the job went badly pear shaped, numerous sheared Hi Tensile bolts in an assembly that carries up to 32 tonne on a unit that is 10 months old and trying to get anything on a Saturday afternoon in the UK seems impossible these days, oh when we led the world in engineering those days are long gone ( This unit is not designed or built in the UK I would like to state I cant say which country due to obvious reasons but the design is pants shall we say and leave it there. Plus I have raging tooth ache so I have had to restrict myself to instruction surfing.
The colour call outs only give FS numbers so lets have a look at the Humbrol conversion charts I have FS 16440 Glossy Gull Grey, FS36231 Matte Dark Gull Grey,FS33613 Matte Tan , so off we go FS33613 = H 148 Radome Tan no problem in the stash next FS 36231 = H140 Gull Grey ,FS 16440 = H183 erm no longer available so off we go on an internet trawl it seems the colour I need is H 129 Satin US Gull Grey so off to Hobbycraft to purchase H129 and the Tamiya equivalent to H140 XF54 I prefer to use acrylic on interior painting as it dries quicker on the external surfaces I use enamel as it gives a better brush finish, although I am soon to come into the airbrush age with the purchase of a compressor and airbrush set.
In the mean time I plan to use rattle cans for the white areas and the hairy stick for the gull grey, I am in two minds about the Eduard etch as 31 days to build a 1/48 jet when I have been building a 1/48 Tornado for over 3 years may be extending myself a bit far
Well a lot of words I know, no pictures I know, and no building I know but tooth ache permitting tomorrow will have pictures and building.

[Dazzled]

Damn.

I hope the toothache gets sorted soon mate.

And the crane, of course

[Chris]

Feel better dude, and great choice of kit.

[bromo]

Thanks Dazzled the tooth ache has gone eventually, after looking after Mrs Bromo and the youngest Bromette for the last couple of days as they had a sickness bug i finally managed an hour tonight so not vast progress but some glueing and painting has taken place Hi Chris the A6 is one of my favourite aircraft.
First a picture of all the parts

The cockpit tub for some strange reason also has the base of both ejector seats moulded with it not a problem for this build as i am including the crew,how you would go about removing the bases to fit aftermarket resin seats i do not know anyway with a coat of XF54 on it looks nice and busy as standard just some detail painting to do

The cockpit walls have some nice moulded in detail on both sides this has been base coated and all the sprue attachment points sanded smooth on both halves
As it is fairly cold here at the moment i am working on the kitchen table using the kit box lid as a kind of work tray

And finally i started painting the crew Mr Grafton and Mr Cole DIY jobs allowing i hope to have all the cockpit finished by Thursday night and the fuselage together by Friday

So far i am impressed by this kit it has some very nice detail although there is a fair bit of flash on the parts. I paid £25.99 + delivery from Hannants for it but i believe they have it on special at the moment with a 1/3rd off so for under 20 quid you get a nice EA-6A intruder which correct me if i am wrong but i dont think anyone else kits this.

[Jagewa]

Nice Bromo, big thumbs up for including the crew, they look good figures too.

Cheers
Jim

[bromo]

Nice Bromo, big thumbs up for including the crew, they look good figures too.

Cheers
Jim

Thanks Jim, i seem to have a thing on US Navy builds for including the crew the F14 Bombcat has the crew they were very nice mouldings and the crew on this build with the different head and limb positions seem to make a difference to the final result.

[bromo]

Okay latest update (2 days on the trot ) the cockpit tub is complete and the bang seats installed a generic use of red,yellow,white and silver for switches and knobs makes things look nice and busy i think

The instrument panel is done i used the kit decals which are shall we say strange,using white for the screens!! well i have fitted them all and it is different to say the least let me know what you think

The forward undercarriage bay is formed with the belly insert this went together very nicely no fuss at all and includes a high amount of moulded detail,

A coat of white paint and a wash will finish this off nicely i think.
The next picture shows the two belly inserts the main one with the front undercart and the rear one with arrestor hook, the arrestor hook insert has to go in first to aid glueing as it has no real location lugs hence a number 1 on the instructions, the large insert has positive location tabs to aid alignment

So far i am really enjoying this build and everything is going together fantastic although the next stage of joining the fuselage halves may change my mind, must remember nose weights.

[Dazzled]

Looking great so far Martin. Glad you're feeling better.

Darryl

[Martin R]

Nice work on the cockpit!

regards,

Martin

[bromo]

Thanks to Darryl and Martin i was beginning to think i was all on me own here well another update that's 3 in a week unheard of for me i know, a world record.
Well Mr Grafton and Mr Cole are finished and installed in there office for some weird reason i chose orange for their flight helmets as the instructions said white or any colour you like

The next job was to install the intakes the instructions tell you to do this after the fuselage halves are together i chose to tackle it before as if any extreme pressure is required i dont have to worry about the fuselage seam i also dealt with the boarding ladder insert at this time as well. Reading some reviews on the nett these were the evil parts but i have to say with lots of test fitting they went in okay,some sanding will be required but no where what i expected.

Remembering lots of nose weight it was time to join the fuselage halves and..... they went together a dream no problem at all

next up to do was join the wing halves together and the first use of filler on this kit the wings include the jet tail pipes and the moulding of these is poor to say the least so a bit of filler is required to smooth things out nothing major though

Here is another shot of the pit from behind showing off the fetching orange bone domes i wish this kit came with helmet decals like the Academy F14 Bombcat did that would finish things off nicely

and a final picture of where we stand tonight at close of play with the tail planes going on

So far this kit has really made me happy the fit has been fantastic and as i said earlier in the thread for the price it can be bought it is a real bargain so go on treat yourself.

[AndrewR]

Looking good Bromo

[bromo]

Thanks Andrew

[Clashcityrocker]

Nice big kit. Looking good.

Nigel

[Jagewa]

Great work, liking the orange bone domes. Strange way of doing the exhausts with the wings.
Cheers
Jim