Tamiya 1/48 A 10A Thunderbolt

[Guest]

Made a bit of a start on this one. Probably my favourite plane of all time so was a must build for me. I'm still learning so won't bother adding any after market parts, just concentrating on practising the basics.



Started by putting together some of the front sub assemblies. I was worried about how I could add weight to prevent it sitting on it's tail but it seems the image in the instructions is a bit misleading, and there's actually tons of room behind these parts (and still forward of the main wheels) so drama over.

Some huge sink marks in the cockpit sides needed filling, but apart from that it went together well



Splashed a bit of paint around inside.



I've seen a few videos of this kit being assembled and they mentioned that the top and front of the wheel bay was completely open, allowing you to see inside the fuselage. Someone makes a part to solve this but I thought I'd have a go at making something myself. I don't have many materials so cut up the blister pack that my tweezers came in. It was a bit floppy so added a bit of a brace, and cut some 1mm strips of masking tape to emulate ribs.



No sniggering from the back please :smiling5:

Here's what it looks like in place. I know the "ribs" aren't realistic, or even straight lol, but I thought it looked better than a flat panel.



And how it looks from underneath, with an over-done wash. Normally you'd be able to see right inside from this angle so anything is better than nothing.




Then had a go at the seat, layering a few different shades of green/khaki mix to try and make it look a bit more realistic. No idea if this has worked but to my eyes looks better than a solid block of the same colour.



And placed in the cockpit which is ready for decals. Funny how things look good until you do a close up macro shot! :smiling4: Hopefully the decals will hide some of the rough edges.

[BarryW]

I remember building this one back in the 1970's!!! I enjpoyed it back then but it will be interesting to see it built now compared to what new tool kits are like.

[Guest]

I don't have many materials so cut up the blister pack that my tweezers came in. It was a bit floppy so added a bit of a brace, and cut some 1mm strips of masking tape to emulate ribs.

Coming up with your own solutions is ultimately better for developing your skills, not to mention more satisfying

Funny how things look good until you do a close up macro shot!

Yeah, don’t let yourself be fooled by that. It may show up like a tremendous flaw in a photo, but if you can hardly see it on the real thing, then it’s probably nothing you need to fix.

[rtfoe]

My God...built this to the tune of Girls on Film by Duran Duran. Nice to see it being done here again...nostalgic and quite a nice kit.

Andy, nobodies going to snigger at your attempt at the cover up...cos I didn't cover mine up at the time. In future use a set of dividers to help align the strips.

Cheers,
Richard

[papa 695]

A great start

[Guest]

Thanks chaps, only just been able to get on what with work and the update.

I figured it was an older kit but didn't realise just how old! Ah well, I'm sure I'll have fun wrestling it into shape.

[Guest]

One of the good things about Tamiya kits is that the older ones fit just as well as the newer ones. Buy a 1970s Airfix kit and you’ll have to do at least twice the work as on a recent one, even if you build it straight from the box; not Tamiya.

[boatman]

HI Andy im following your build as well as I always liked the A10
chris

[colin m]

I know the "ribs" aren't realistic

Artistic license. I use it all the time. As you say, it looks better than nothing.

[Guest]

Thanks for watching chaps. Any hints, tips, tricks or constructive criticism more than welcome as I feel my way in :smiling3:

After my other topic about weighting the nose I discovered there was actually a massive space available, it just didn't look that way in the instructions, so I added a few old wheel balance weights.



Held in place by some very strong double sided tape (3M Refix Tape) but I went around it afterwards with hot glue, just to be sure. Looks a bit messy but I'll probably spray some flat black on and it will all be hidden anyway. There's a bit more than the Tamiya recommended 50g so it should sit properly and have a nice bit of heft to it.

I can now move on to sticking the two halves together. I had a proper dry fit of it tonight and it looks like it should fit quite well as long as I work in sections, starting just behind the cockpit and working backwards, then the nose and wheel bay last , taping and glueing as I go.

[Guest]

I’ve not built one of these, but dry-fit first and you’ll quickly see if you will need tape at all (this being a Tamiya kit, I suspect it’ll be very little, if any) as well as where you need to start. Probably the cockpit and wheel well, so the nose would come together then anyway, allowing you to work backward. Then just run some liquid cement into the seam.

[Guest]

I’ve not built one of these, but dry-fit first and you’ll quickly see if you will need tape at all (this being a Tamiya kit, I suspect it’ll be very little, if any) as well as where you need to start. Probably the cockpit and wheel well, so the nose would come together then anyway, allowing you to work backward. Then just run some liquid cement into the seam.

Wow, seriously? Did you bother to read my last paragraph at all? :smiling5:

End of updates. Bye all.

[Guest]

Sorry, but what did I do to cause offense? Yes, I know I pretty much gave the advice to do what you yourself said too. My main point, which I admit I didn’t make too well, is that you probably don’t need to work in sections like you suggested because the fit is likely good enough that the parts will just go together fine.

[Mr Bowcat]

Good call on the extra weight, I did the same on mine and it still almost wants to tip back.

[Guest]

I'm back, sorry about that :smiling4:

As mentioned, I had done a dry fit (several in fact) and found that this thing simply didn't want to go together as easily as I would have expected given Tamiyas reputation. Maybe it's the age of the kit, or just that I'd landed a bad example, but whichever way I tried to fit it together other sections were well out of line. Working the way I'd described seemed to be best, allowing me to get the (most visible) topside fairly nice, then I worked along the underside, finishing at the front wheel bay where the fuselage needed spreading a fair way to allow that component to fit snugly. Worst area was around the front of the cockpit / HUD area. I just clamped it together with tweezers then sat and held it until the glue dried!

Here's how it ended up.



I then started putting the engine assembly together. Most of the insides won't ever be seen but I painted them anyway. Didn't have a suitable colour for the exhaust so nicked some of my sons Citadel Leadbelcher



Also used leadbelcher on the front fans and drybrushed some silver for a bit of contrast



Sanded and filled the many steps between the parts, than added a coat of Mr Surfacer 500. I lost a few of the raised panel lines in the process but I scribed along what was left of them, joining up in the middle to give a recessed line. Won't know how that'll look until I get some primer on but it's got to be better than nothing.




Also got some of the other sub assemblies together and followed the same process of sanding the worst of the steps, filling, then MR Surfacer 500







I was about to paint the inside of the wheel bay but found this huge gap. I'm sure it must be on purpose as surely the fit can't be this bad, but it seemed a bit weird. Maybe those of you that have built this before could shed some light on it. I've looked further along the instructions to see if there's a part that closes this up, but I can't see anything. Will have to do some tricky masking to stop the external colour blowing in here.