And so it begins....

First photo of the Dragonfly. Commenced the PE implementation into a very small cockpit tub...



My impression of the kit so far:
- Panel lines are way too shallow, I'll have to rescribe most of the plane if the panels are to be seen after the primer coat is applied.
- The 3-part seats are nice for the scale. Should look good with PE harnesses.

The panel line problem is interesting as the other academy kit of the A-37 (the actual Vietnam version) was molded in a grey plastic and, from memory, the panels were better scribed. This is the "Blackeagles" version and is in white plastic and the panel quality is very "fine".

Will get an image of the box art up tomorrow when I have better lighting.

Cheers
Wiz

Hhmmm... strange problem. One answer could be that the plastic is another type than the previous kit and therefore does not capture the lines as well(?)
It could also be that the mould has simply worn down a little bit. This is of course only a possibility if the Vietnam version was the first to be released.

Good luck with all the scribing.

Looking forward to see the box art and further work on the model.

Box art and a picture of my first attempt at the SEA A-37B



I'll be using the decals from another Academy kit.

The completed kit was a bit worse for wear after my pro-communist kitty-cat took over its airfield... twice. Never should have a bought a half Russian Blue :-)

Cheers
Wiz

This is coming along slowly. Cockpit tub is finished with the exception of the joysticks. PE belts and instrument panel came out OK.



Cheers
Wiz

It looks really nice - especially considering it is 1/72.

Keep up the good work

Thanks Jesper

Having built a couple of 1/72 kits with P.E parts, I can really appreciate the detail and amount of work you have put into that cockpit.
Looks great so far, keep up the good work.
Do you have trouble with Academy decals at all, in all the kits I have built i only ever used them once, and hated them :-) .
Andy

@Andy - When I built this kit previously, I didn't have too many problems with the decals. They majority went on ok and there was no disintegration when put in water. They maybe a little thick if anything. There are some decals which go over the fuel filler caps on the wing and tanks that didn't settle down. They ended up silvering but I only used Model Masters decal solution, with no solvent. I have been using Mr Mark Softer on other models and found this works a lot better so I am hoping that this problem won't occur agan...

Thanks for the comments, I tried something new with the PE. I painted it black first, using acrylics, and then gave it a gloss coat of lacquer. I then painted the grey in acrylics over the top and once dry used Isopropyl Alcohol and a 000 paintbrush to reveal some of the black underneath.

Thanks for the comments.

Cheers
Wiz