I just started building the Hobby Boss 1/48 scale A-6E Intruder for the Grumman Campaign, and thought that I would share my build with those of you that aren't signed up. Ok, that was a shameless plug to get some of you that were on the fence to join the fun.

This is just my 2nd 1/48 scale jet, and I'm still somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer size of the model, as well as the number of parts contained in the kit. My build plan is to basically keep it as an OOB build but do some enhancing as I see the need for. The only AM additions that I've purchased are the excellent Wolfpack Martin Baker GRU-7 seats @ $9.99 for the pair, and the Fightertown Decals for the A-6A/A-6E colorful Intruders sheet #1 @ $19.99 from Spue Brothers. Looking over the in house Hobby Boss decals, they look just as good both in registration and thickness as the Fightertown decals. I just wanted to do a different scheme then most others that are building this new model. I'll still need to use their extensive stencil sheet as the Fightertown sheet doesn't have any stencils.





I finally was able to spend several hours over the last few days (I'm on another weeks vacation) at the bench, and actually made some decent progress on the A-6E.

The instructions start with the basic cockpit construction, so that's where I started as well. Checking the dozens of cockpit pictures I've amassed, the Hobby Boss cockpit is really well done, and with enough detail to make it look pretty decent. There are still a few areas that could use a little extra detailing such as both sides of the seats up against cockpit bulkhead are basically void of any details. And a lot of the complex plumbing has been omitted from the shelf behind the seats.

The two Wolfpack Martin Baker GRU-7 ejection seats needed some filing to fit. Since you'll never see those areas, the loss of detail wasn't a issue for me.

Using reference photos I added home made braided lines, and two different dia. solid lines to represent both electrical and hydraulic lines. My intention was to just busy these areas enough, but not spend countless hours trying to duplicate nearly every line there.

Next up is painting and some weathering of the cockpit.
Joel

JA
Terrific start on the A6 Front Office and glad you went with the Wolfpack seats - they sure look mighty good. Don't forget to start making a few trips the the Grumman Memorial Park to photograph the A6E.
Keep 'em coming
Bro

Bro,
Thanks. Planning on my 1st trip later this week.

Just primed the pit with Testors Lacquer based Gray primer. Will let it dry for a few hours, then will shoot some Tamiya XF-54 Dark Gray 2:1 with XF-2 White. Tamiya makes a dozen or more Grays. From the pictures I have, the cockpit looks almost like Dark Gull Gray.

Joel

JA
Sounds good but make sure the lacquer based primer has time to really dry on the resin seats.
Bro

Pete,
I'll play it safe and let everything dry overnight.
That will give me tonight to really figure out the right color for the cockpit.
Joel

Hi Joel,
I'll be following this closely.
I've stalled on my 1/72nd Tamiya 'truder.
So I hope you can inspire me jump start my build.

I was silly enough to decide upon unfolded wings so lots of filling and sanding

Chris

Chris,
Welcome to the party. I'll do my best to get your Mojo flowing again as Mal would say.

Nothing wrong with wanting the wings extending in ready flight position. I did that on both my Tamiya F4U-1 & 1A builds. The trick is to use plastic shims to help line up the wing sections. I also used way too much putty on the Birdcage, so it took a ton of work to get ready for paint. On the 1A I tried to use as little putty as I could get away with. Came out much better.

Honestly, I'm not sure how I'm going to handle the wings at this point. I've got enough on my plate right now with trying to figure out how to deal with the intake seems.
Joel

Hi Joel, a great start, your cockpit is looking great.And this
one don t have a prop too
It is a very nice kit, i was able to take a close look into the
box, it is a candidate for my shelves too, so i will follow
your build closely

Bernd

Bernd,
Ya, once again no prop. But I've got to confess that I kind of like 1st and 2nd generation jets, just not the current crop of propless fighters, especially those without the need for a pilot. My ever changing build plans are one prop, then one jet. Might change to two props to one jet if I try to balance it out by time.

The box is huge !! There must be at least 4 sprues just of loads, so I'll have plenty for the spars box.

One nice thing I have going for me, is the the old Calverton Naval Air station that use to be a Grumman's plant has a A-6E and a F-14A on display. The only issue is whether or not they let you get up close. I already have dozens and dozens of pictures of the overall aircraft.

Joel

Joel, yes you are right, nowadays fighters look boring and without a pilot even more.
It is good to have places like this in the "neighbourhood"
The next places for me are the aircraft museums in Wernigerode
and Hannover it is still great for me to see the real ones.
It must be great to have a sight on a F-14 !
These box is huge i take a second look at it, i couldn t believe
this kit is 1/48 !

Bernd

Bernd,
I can't imagine the size of the 1/32 scale Trumpeter kit. It must be huge!
Joel

Hi Joel, there is a slight miss understanding, i ment the
box is huge like a 1/32 kit, so big i had to order bigger
boxes for the shipment
For a 1/32 A-6 i need just a new warehouse

Bernd

( this is not an advertisement, still private fun )

Made a fair amount of progress in the cockpit. All that I have left to do is paint and weather the Wolfpack GRU-7 ejection seats, and the two joysticks. Thought that I'd share my progress with you.

One thing that I'm still having an issue with is using the on camera flash. While I can make the corrections for over exposure in post processing, the dry brushing and washes consistently vanish, or at best are almost visible. The final set of cockpit pictures will be done the old fashion way. No flash, two flood lamps, and my sturdy old tripod for rather longish exposures.

The IP and hood were air brushed with Tamiya FX-69 Nato Black, rather then plain old Tamiya FX-1 Flat black, as it's just to stark black in scale. The Natio Black has just a touch of gray to soften it up. As for the instruments, they're all decals from the Hobby Boss decal sheet. I really need to stop procrastinating and buy a decent punch set. I had to cut out each decal separately, and the smaller ones were done as pairs so I could hold them with a pair of tweezers. Took forever is an understatement.









And here's a picture with the ejection seats just for effect.



Joel

Ok Joel,

You've done it(I dug out my 'truder)out of the hangar,found all the bits and pieces I need to complete her,from the various storage containers I put parts from various builds(Why?don't ask).

She is currently parked next to the new mould Airfix 172nd MK1 Hurricane early.
which is currently being painted,by hairy stick and rattle cans no less,still haven't gotten an airbrush yet.

Now that I have a photo bucket acct,all I have to do is practice getting some good pics,with my Samsung Galaxy 3
tablet.

Then Bobs your uncle.


Chris

Chris,
Way to Go!! Looking forward to following your A-6 build, as well as you pictures of your current Airfix Hurricane MK1.

You can get decent pictures with your cell phone if it has a flash. Just use one of the free editing programs to clean up the "rough edges". Learning how to use Photobucket for posting pictures here will take about 30 seconds max.
Joel

Hi Joel

Sorry to be a Nuisance,but do you know if the E variant has the Red outlined landing gear doors.

I can't find a definative answer.
I'm probably using google wrong (terms)

Chris

Chris,
Yes they do. As far as I know all Navy aircraft that have white gear doors, have them outlined in Red. Here's 3 pictures of the main and front landing gear doors from a A-6E.
Joel

What an awesome build this is so far. The cockpit detail is remarkable, especially the instrument panel. I do like the way that you use wires to add extra detail here and there. Makes the build your own.

You absolutely should invest in a punch set for the instrument faces. Roll Models sells the Waldron set for $48.

WRP035 Precision Punch & Die Set: 0.160, 0.120, 0.089, 0.081, 0.059, 0.039 inch sizes, Waldron Tools

Brian,
Thanks so much for stopping by and posting your most positive comments. My work is nowhere near what your is, but I'm always trying to kick it up a notch or two.

And thanks for the led on the Waldron set. Will be heading over to that site in a min or two. All I've seen to date is punch sets at Umm for $60 each, and you really need two of them. Ouch!!

Joel

Hi Joel,
Thanks for the quick reply it helps alot

chris

Hi Joel, great detail in the cockpit, on this type of aircraft
it is rewarding, when finished you can see all !
Tank you for the great pics

Bernd

Bernd,
Thanks for your most positive comment. And yes, the large canopy and side by side seating does afford you a great view of the overall cockpit. Something that is the complete opposite from most jet aircraft.
Joel

Hi Joel, a few years ago, i did Italeris A-6E in 1/72 and after
all, i regretted using the kit - cockpit.Not bad, but .....
Taking photos of detail work is not easy, have the same problem
and my camera "see" errors, i didn t see with my eyes : - /
It would be interesting how much weight you have to put in

Bernd

Finally, I've gotten enough work completed on the A-6E for a small update. It's not that I haven't been plugging right along, but at this stage of the game, a lot of the work just doesn't translate well into photos and an update.

Glued the cockpit to the right fuselage side, then installed the intake assemblies into both halves, the front wheel well assembly, ( which is shaped to be part of the intake housing on both sides. I'm assuming is for support issues), and the arrestor hook housing.

Here's the one intake assembly ready to be glued into position.



Then I closed up the two fuselage halves and used Tamiya Extra thin to glue them together.



After a few days, I removed the tape and checked the fit. It was ok, but there were issues along the bottom and top spine, and the intake areas just didn't align very well no matter how hard I tried. Now I'm not saying it's all Hobby Boss's fault, as I'm sure that I could/should have done a better job of it.

I decided that I didn't want to have the nose radar bay in the open position, and that was where I would be gluing in what ever weight was needed. The directions have a symbol for added weight, but so far I still haven't found out how much they're calling for. There is a large access panel that installs in the bottom of the nose cone right in front of the front wheel well that will allow for the weights to be added at a later date. So I glued up the two halves of the nose cone, then glued it to the fuselage. In hindsight it would have been much better if I glued each half directly to their respective fuselage half, as the fit is less then stellar.





Since I want to display the model as a land based aircraft waiting for the crew chief's inspection on the tarmac, this will allow me to have the flaps and slats in the down position, I built and installed the inner wings with the brackets still in place, then glued them to the fuselage. One side fits better then the other, but both sides needs some filler. For one side I just used Vallejo white putty to fill the seam.



While the other side needed sheet plastic shims to close the gap.



Next I glued the engine exhausts in, then their respective access covers, which just didn't fit flush. They will need much work, and like the intakes, quite a bit of rescribing, of which I'm terrible at.



I also needed to use some plastic sheet shims to close a small gap between the intakes and fuselage on both sides.


Here's one picture of the cockpit and IP installed.



And a few of the overall fuselage.





Joel

Hi Joel, you left the bad fit behind, very nice.Some years ago i had the same problems, on the same spots with my Italeri A-6. I hope your windscreen fits better ( this part, where i nearly ruined my one)The layout on both kits are very similar.

The wingfold mechanism looks pretty good, from the box.
This is a real big aircraft for this scale...........
Aviation related modellers are like aircraft carriers, space
is precious

Bernd