A-4 Skyhawk Cockpit

[Magdalena Liendo]

0503/2014 Dave Dollarhide wrote: The "serrated switch" (which I've circled in the attached photo) operated a mechanical lock for the gear handle. The ordies would use this switch all the time to put the airplane in "air" mode when checking out weapons release systems....one hand to move the serrated switch, the other to raise the handle. Of course, when they did that, there would be no hydraulic pressure and the gear pins would be installed, but sometimes they would forget and leave it up. It was one big reason to check that the gear handle was down during preflight...lesson that was reinforced with me one morning....love those gear pins and so did my PC! Hide

White flap lever looks like half of a plastic clothes peg. At moment it looks like the lever is selected for half flap. You can see the "Stop" position label and the "UP position Label. I guess the "Down" label is hidden. Those printed labels were not very sticky and would come off after some time. Contributed to the "FOD" factor in the cockpit

A-4L Throttle Assembly: Tony Yaeger, an aviation parts collector, sent the Association some photos asking for an id on the below throttle assembly. The results of the investigation are:

The Alfa and Bravo had a protected "Air Start" Switch, but not in the configuration shown here.

The Charlie had the "Air Start" Switch but the presence of a "Spoiler" Switch rules out the Charlie.

The "Comm - Mike" Switch configuration rules out the Mike and the T Birds.

The presence of an "Air Start" Switch rules out the Echo and Foxtrot. And there is no "Nose Wheel Steering" Switch, that also rules out the Foxtrot.

Since the Lima was a reworked Charlie, with spoilers retrofitted, this throttle fits the criteria for a A-4Lima.

A-4K "Kahu" Cockpit Comparison. The upgraded cockpit replaces many of the gauges with two display units, and adds a new HUD (Heads-Up-Display). Original A-4G cockpit on the left, upgrade is on the right. Credit Thompson.

In a Skyhawk Driver's Office, you may find various magical tools that he would use to ensure a successful flight. This is a "Flight Prediction Wheel". If used properly it predicted a successful end to the flight. If used improperly................. well let's not talk about such unpleasant things.

The kit is a definite tail-sitter and a clear stand is included on the clear sprue. As with most Monogram kits, everything looks nice in the box, but the fit is questionable. I was to find, however, that with some simple fit improvement techniques, the kit went together far better than it first appeared it would.

After my usual process of washing all the parts with Dawn dish detergent, rinsing thoroughly and allowing them to dry, I began with the cockpit. The Monogram cockpit seems extremely basic at first glance with only three parts. The ejection seat is molded into the cockpit tub which in the age of resin and photo-etch details, feels quite crude.

In keeping with my intention to use only the basic techniques available when I first tried to build it, I decided to work with what was there. After careful brush painting, I was surprised at how much better the parts looked under paint. I did use some sprue stretched from the kit trees to replicate the ejection handles.

I ran a sharp #2 pencil in the creases between the seat and the cockpit tub. After a quick spray of Testors Flat Coat from a spray can, this made it look like a separate part. There is actually a nice bit of cockpit detail molded into the fuselage halves including the quilted padding that is a distinctive feature of Skyhawks. A wash and dry brush followed by a dusting of the side consoles with Tamiya weathering pastels and some pencil chipping made the cockpit look surprisingly good.

I used a curved #10 blade on flat surfaces and sanded the mating edges of the wing and fuselage halves. I also scraped and sanded away the copyright information on the lower wing half. Generally the fuselage and wing halves fit well after cleanup, though there is a big seam on the wing in the recesses for the leading edge slats. Actually there should be no recess at all as the slats simply fit over the wing surface on the real thing, but I decided to just fill the seams with Perfect Plastic Putty.

Another tip I realized for next time is to not glue the nose wheel well in place until the fuselage is closed. This allows it to be centered in the opening. There is room to install a clamp to hold it in place before adding the wing. I suspect many of the old Monogram kits can be made to fit better with such methods and actually go together better than we thought back then. Many of the seams were eliminated just by sanding away the plastic that oozed out of the seams when they were glued. I did need some perfect plastic putty to eliminate some sink marks on the top of the fuselage and the seams where the intakes joined.

Careful scraping and sanding of edges of the avionics hump resulted in a good fit though clamps were needed to hold the part firmly in place until the glue set. I did use a bit more putty at the front edge. I wiped the excess putty away right after application with a damp Q-tip eliminating the need to sand in this area.

Raised panel lines are another throwback challenge from the 1980s. Rescribing is always an option but that was more work than I wanted to do on vacation. Actually, the raised lines can be made to look decent with a couple simple techniques. First, lines crossing the fuselage or drop tanks can be restored by using a needle in a pin vise and making a single pass against a straight edge. I use Dymo tape as a guide. For the wing tanks, I just rolled a #10 blade carefully along the line to fill in the missing portions erased from the sanding. This raises a small kerf of plastic that tricks the eye into thinking the line is intact once painted.

The correct color is easily achieved by adding a bit of the white to XF-20 Medium Gray. When painting was complete I sprayed a coat of Pledge Multi Surface Finish (MSF) for a gloss coat. I always add a few drops of Tamiya thinner which breaks the surface tension and helps it level out.

I really wanted to use the original kit markings, but recalled that Monogram decals from this era were thick and did not respond well to solvents. I also recalled an article indicating that they were not intended to and instead should be applied with only hot water. I followed this method for most of the decals and it worked pretty well. After sliding them into position I rolled out the excess water with a Q-tip. For small markings I applied the decals into a puddle of Pledge MSF. This method really worked well and prevented any silvering. I used some old Microscale stars and bars because I thought they would settle better over the speed brakes. My method here was to fit the speed brakes in the closed position (they fit in place tight enough to hold but could easily be removed. Next I applied the decals in the correct position. After they had dried, I used a sharp X-Acto knife to cut through the decals. The old decals were a bit brittle, so I had to do some touching up, but the brakes worked well in the end. I sprayed Pledge MSF over all the decals letting it cure overnight. Finally, I applied a flat coat with Testors Clear Flat lacquer. Overall, I thought the decals looked great for being 36 years old. There were a couple places where the white undercoat on the red peeked out and some were slightly yellowed, but I am very happy to have the original markings from the kit I attempted so long ago.

I applied some post shading and streaks with a thin mix of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black and XF-64 Red Brown. I also used some pastel chalks around the openings for the cannons and the shell ejection ports. I weathered the landing gear bays with thinned MIG Neutral Wash. The landing gear struts were weathered using a sharp pencil to highlight detail and add chips and ground pencil dust to apply shadows. I used Bare Metal Chrome foil for the oleos on the nose gear strut.

So, some 32 years after I first tried to build a Monogram A-4, I was finally able to complete most of the kit back in my old home town. It was a great feeling to be able to set things right after such a long time. There is usually a bit of nostalgia involved in modeling, but in this case it was a real time warp. I am really impressed with the Monogram kit. Using some basic fit improvement techniques really helped eliminate the biggest fit challenges in the kit. The final result is very pleasing and stands up well compared to the more expensive Hasegawa kit. When considering the final appearance, the fact that Hasegawa includes no weapons or pilot and the big price difference, I think the Monogram kit is well worth considering even after so many years.

Cameras on cell phones keep getting better and better. You can get good model photographs right on your cell phone. In fact, all of the photos for the Skyhawk article were taken with my iPhone and a simple lighting setup. I used a cheap work light from Home Depot with a 75 watt Reveal bulb.

A piece of black construction paper and a curved piece of poster board served as the backdrop. Direct light produces harsh shadows, so I used my light box. You can diffuse the light by placing the light higher above the model or rig a diffuser over the light source. One way to do it is to clamp a piece of baking parchment paper over the opening of the lamp. BE CAREFUL NOT TO LEAVE THE LIGHT ON TOO LONG! Just turn it on for the photo.

Aires has developed a highly detailed cockpit for the Trumpeter 1/32 A-4 Skyhawk. This set includes twenty highly detailed grey resin parts and one clear resin part, plus a photo etched sprue which includes the seat belts, rear views mirrors, and other small details to add to the cockpit.

Not unlike their other cockpit kits, the fit of the cockpit tub is pretty much on the money, but some sanding will be necessary for a perfect fit. The quality of the resin is up there where one has come to expect the great quality from Aires, which is truly fantastic. I found no bubbles or missing corners anywhere on the parts. There is some minor flash, but a few licks from a sanding stick or the like will handle it with no problem at all. I did make sure to wash the parts with mild detergent because there was a lot of the releasing agent present.

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