A-7E Corsair II by Maciek Zywczyk (Hasegawa 1/48)

A-7E Corsair II

by Maciek Zywczyk

Hasegawa's 1/48 scale A-7E Corsair II is available online from Squadron

Introduction

This is Hasegawa's 1/48 scale A-7E Corsair II, kit no. P12, which I bought many years ago on a trip to Germany.

I love the A-7, so I decided to spend a fortune (70 DM – ca. 35 USD) for it. In the late 1980’s this price almost equalled a month’s salary here in Poland. It was supposed to be build as a highlight in my collection, so I stored the box in safe place and practised my skills. On one of my next trips to Germany I’ve bought Verlinden 544 Super Detail Set. After some years situation changed and many great kits became available in our hobby shops, but this A-7E is still something special for me.

Construction

The cockpit was detailed with Verlinden parts. It was painted and drybrushed with enamels. Construction of cockpit and nose gear bay went straightforward, only air intake was difficult to putty and sand inside.

Gear bays look good, but I’ve detailed them with Eduard photo etched items and wire. Gear legs and wheels were prepared and everything was painted white. After drying I gave them brown – black „wash” (water based paints for children). Tires were painted black and drybrushed.

Electronic bays also benefitted from some detailing with resin parts from Verlinden and wire. The doors were modified photo etched items, as the Eduard set (48 050) was for A-7D version.

After the fuselage halves were joined, I cut out the radome. It was thinned and smoothed from inside with motor tool. Resin and etched parts were glued to the fuselage. After finishing radar antenna, the cover cannot be closed, because plastic is too thick and Verlinden radar is a bit too big.

The inner sections of wings were glued without modifications and then attached to the fuselage. Almost no filler had to be used. All joins were smoothed and panel lines rescribed. Other subassemblies – outer sections of wings, stabilisers, tanks, etc. were finished without modifications.

Painting and Markings

I masked off all painted bits: cockpit, radar, wheel bays, electronic bays and exhaust. As I wanted to finish my Corsair in low visibilty scheme, appropriate decals were needed. Aftermarket items were very hard to find on our market these days. After long search I’ve managed to get Super Scale 48-206 set. Instruction was awfull, painting scheme was incorrect and it was impossible to find out where most of the stencils should be positioned. Thankfully somebody answered my e-mails, so I could start painting process. Kit instructions was used as a reference during decalling process. Camo was airbrushed freehand with Pactra acrylics, it was my first paint job with acrylic paints.

After decalling and clearcoat, all panel lines were darkened with water based paints for children. After another clearcoat all small bits and items were attached and the kit was ready.

Display Base

The display base was made from photo frame. I’ve used US Navy Carrier Deck Diorama Set, an excellent Flightpath product. Only the chain in this set was out of scale, so a smaller one was used.

My A-7 was glued to the base and „fixed” with chains. Some figures came from Fujimi and ESCI, they were painted and drybrushed.

Conclusion

This is a great kit of a great plane. It looks very convincing. One of best Hasegawa products, we get dropped flaps, slats and opened electronic bays out of box. Corsairs may be seen in this configuration on many photos parked on a carrier deck.