|
KIT: |
Monogram 1/72 A-1E Skyraider |
|
KIT # |
6807 |
|
PRICE: |
$2.80 (back in 1981) |
|
DECALS: |
One aircraft |
|
REVIEW & |
|
|
NOTES: |
|
|
HISTORY |
The spAD is one of those aircraft that seemed to last in service forever. Designed for WWII, fought in Korea and again 15 years later in Vietnam, it was finally pulled out of service due to a lack of spares more than anything else in the very late 1960s. Even today, it is not unusual to see the aircraft at airshows as these oil-leaking monsters are much beloved by their owners and fly quite frequently.
The A-1E was, like all Skyraiders, originally a Navy design used as a trainer and as a COD (Carrier Onboard Delivery) aircraft. Unlike most trainers, this one was able to carry a full load, same as the regular ADs (later A-1s). During the Vietnam war, the A-1 was looked upon as an angel of mercy by downed aircrews. Their main task was to loiter above the crew on the ground and keep the bad guys away from the rescue helo. The A-1s ability to stay on station for hours, relatively slow speed, and to carry a wide assortment of ordnance designed to deter the enemy helped ensure the survival of a number of aviators. It was replaced by the A-7D, an aircraft that just wasn't as well suited as the A-1.
|
THE KIT |
Monogram's kit of the A-1E is one of the few 1/72 aircraft
that Monogram did back in the late 1960s/early 1970s. These kits were all easy
to build, had minimal parts, and pretty good detail for the time. They also all
came with stands, something one just doesn't see in kits today. There is some
ordnance but not nearly enough. Basically you get three drop tanks and are on
your own to find other things to fill the built in bomb racks.
|
CONSTRUCTION |
Construction starts with the interior. Again, there is a pretty
good one, but there isn't much detail in it. It is basically a one-piece affair
with consoles molded in. Just add the seats! There is a decal for the instrument
panel. I painted this dark gull grey. The fuselage halves are next and the
interior is easily trapped in there. I then glued the wings together. There are
no real wheel wells in the wings, just some pegs in which to insert the landing
gear. The tail planes are a single piece and fit rather well.
I then glued the wing on to the fuselage. Fit was fairly good here as well though a bit of filler was used on the underside. Next the canopy was glued on. I should have tinted the rear windows green or blue, but back when I built this kit, that wasn't a skill I had! The next thing to be added was the engine cowling. There is no engine detail at all. Navy A-1s have a spring loaded cover that fills the cowling opening when the engine isn't running. Fire up that big old fan in the front, and the airflow pushed back this cover so the engine can get cooling air. It isn't unusual to be unable to see the engine on planes that are parked on the ground. This cover is what is molded on the front. The exhaust stubs are part of the cowling.
The landing gear and wheel wells were painted white as these were ex-navy planes and that was the way they were painted.
|
PAINT & DECALS |
With
the kit at this stage, it was time to paint it. It gets the normal SEA scheme of
two greens and a tan upper and light grey lower. I used Gunze Sangyo acrylics
for the paints and did the scheme freehand. Frankly, it isn't as tight as I'd
really like it, but the only other option was to mask off the colors. Now I know
that some like this and some don't. I'm a bit ambivalent about it and do kits
either way depending on how I feel about it at the time.
The kit decals, for one of the first Skyraiders sent into Vietnam in the early 1960s, were not used. I have built this kit using the kit decals and they work just fine when placed on a glossy surface. Anyway, I wanted something a bit different. Back in 1984 when this kit was built, there were darn few aftermarket items and most of those were decals. The 1/72 A-1E was not one of those subjects blessed with an aftermarket sheet. So, I used decals from other sources, basically a Microscale insignia sheet for the insignia and a Scalemaster sheet for the tail codes and serial numbers, cutting out each individual letter and putting it in place. I used the Microscale System to get the decals to snuggle down on Gunze's semi-gloss paint. Then it was sprayed with Pactra clear matte.
Before unmasking the canopy, the engine exhaust stain was sprayed on the side using flat black. I have never seen a clean A-1 as I think they are pre-grunged before leaving the paint shop!!
|
CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES |
The masking is taken off the canopy and then the last bits are
added on. One thing that has been lost over the years is a horseshoe shaped
antenna on a mast on the canopy. The prop was painted black and the red/white
stripes painted on the tips. Ordnance was a problem, but thanks to the Hasegawa
weapons sets, I was able to find a couple of bombs and things to add to the
underside. A bit of touch-up painting and I was done.
|
CONCLUSIONS |
This really is an easy kit to build, just like Monogram wanted when it designed it. There is enough room for the experts to detail the heck out of it and it still looks good right from the box, despite its raised panel heritage! It is odd that there have been a lot of 1/72 A-1 kits released in the last 30 years, but this is still the only 1/72 A-1E. Recommended to all skill levels.
July 2000
Review kit courtesy of me and my wallet!
If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly by a site that has over 1,000 visits a day, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.