Purplethistle can't get enough SLUFs ***DNF***

[Purplethistle]

Seeing as my main Skyhawk build has stalled for want of a Tamiya spraycan I'll crack on with my second build, a 1/72 Esci A-7B, using Humbrol pots and a hairy brush.
I'm hoping to do a VA-46 SLUF aboard USS Saratoga in 1969, but that is going to require some serious decalbashing, so Plan B will be to use the very nice decals from the pretty naff Revell kit if I look like running out of time.

[Purplethistle]

Not a bad little kit, this Esci A-7B. A bit basic 'pit, but the one thing I'm not keen on is the blocked off intake Just aft of the 'mouth'. I've cut this out and will use filler to build up the intake to something a bit more realistic. First photos of blocked intake and initial surgery too blurry to use (curse you, Autofocus! ) others later.

[Purplethistle]

The only thing I'm not keen on with this kit is the intake,
.....and the fact that there is no nosewheel bay, just a space with a slot for the wheel leg
......and no pilot
.......and fear and surprise and and ruthless efficiency...and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope
.......I'll come in again!

Slight change of plan with the filler in the intake....I used chewing gum instead! it stays soft and malleable, it can be stretched, and when you're satisfied with how it looks, just pop the kit in the freezer for a couple of hours to set it!
...and your model is also minty fresh!



Now, as this is going to be a wheels up build, I just need to find a 1/72 jet pilot, it would seem that NONE of my jet age kits has one!

[Purplethistle]

Regrettably, I'm going to have to ground this bird. I have a 1/48 Scooter on the go as well, and they will require too much work to finish both to my satisfaction in time, having run out of gray halfway through spraying both of them, and there being no LMS that stocked Tamiya rattle cans this side of Edinburgh This one was going to require a lot of home made decals, including tartan tail and fuselage stripes, Airwing code letters etc. Without the two week hiatus trying to get more paint it might have been possible. Sorry chaps!