Hobby Boss 1/48 A-10 Thunderbolt II

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Thu May 04, 2017 12:14 am

Hi guys
So this will be my entry in this GB
I will be building the Hobby Boss A-10 Thunderbolt II in 1/48 scale
The Thunderbolt II is ofcourse also known as the warthog but that is nothing more then a nickname given to the plane
Like the P-47 Thunderbolt the A-10 has a specific design criteria
While the P-47 was buuld around the engine and turbocharger the A-10 was build around it's massive GAU-8 Avenger gun
This gun is a 7 barreled hydraulicly driven 30mm cannon that fires about 4000 round per minute
The first second it fires slightly slower as the gun is still reving up to it's normal rotation speed
Ammo types include armor piercing incendiary ,high explosive incendiary and practice rounds
A well known characteristic of this gun is the sound
The famous bbrrrrtt it makes when it fires
But i am pretty sure many of you have seen a video or two where this gun is put into action

Anyway now that i have a little bit of background info let's move on to the build

20170416_095524 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
This is the kit i will be building

20170416_095642 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
Fuselage halfs

20170416_095651 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
A little bit of everything

20170416_095707 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
Engines

20170416_095727 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
Upper wing halfs and control surfaces

20170416_095739 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
Lower wing halfs and pylons
This plane has 11 hard points to put weapons on so more then enough stuff can be added

20170416_095753 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
Weaponry
You get 2 of each sprue

20170416_095917 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
Cockpit tub and seat rope and canopy

20170416_100001 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
Decals

20170416_100123 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
Brass replacements for the gun tip and pitot tube

20170416_100107 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
Interior photo etch and masks

20170416_100030 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
the version i will be building

Well that is all i have to build me a A-10
The kit offers 2 versions 1 is based in the UK and the other in the US
I started building yesterday but as i mentionned it didn't go smoothly at all
But i managed to fix the problems in the end
I will show the results of that in the first update when i actually have a completed cockpit and the actually building begins
Wich will be soon hopefully but only time can tell
But i am still looking forward to building this plane even though it had such a rough start

Thanks for stopping by and having a look
Take care and happy modelling
Cheers
Mark

Lysus · Post by **Lysus** » Thu May 04, 2017 12:29 am

Once again, get that bad luck out of the way early! Can't wait to see the recovery.

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Thu May 04, 2017 12:36 am

Thanks Lysus
The Eduard photo etch worked pretty good so far
All the normal pe is installed but now i have to wait untill it is painted before i can start adding printed pe
I don't expect it will take very long to get that finished
And i already assembled most major parts aswell so once it is buttoned up it should go fairly fast
But i opened up another kit besides this one to keep the mojo going in case this one trows more suprised at me

Avgas · Post by **Avgas** » Thu May 04, 2017 7:30 am

ElCapitan · Post by **ElCapitan** » Thu May 04, 2017 9:41 am

Good luck with the rest of the build

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Thu May 04, 2017 11:03 am

Thank you Rob
I did some test fitting and it seems to be okay
A couple of small gaps to fill but atleast the fuselage halfs go together well

Post by **Tomcat64** » Thu May 04, 2017 11:08 am

I'm thinking of putting a 1/72 version of this into the GB so will be interesting to see how the 1/48 compares - hope it behaves itself from now on though.

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Thu May 04, 2017 11:40 am

I am pretty sure it will behave
The 1/72 is probably just a scaled down version of this one
So same kind of parts and way of assembly

Post by **Tomcat64** » Thu May 04, 2017 4:12 pm

My bad - mine is the Academy one, not HobbyBoss.

demarcation · Post by **demarcation** » Thu May 04, 2017 4:26 pm

Great choice!

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Thu May 04, 2017 5:30 pm

Tomcat64 wrote: ↑Thu May 04, 2017 4:12 pm My bad - mine is the Academy one, not HobbyBoss.

Can happen

demarcation wrote: ↑Thu May 04, 2017 4:26 pm Great choice!

The kit looks good
Too bad i picked some bad after market stuff for it

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Fri May 05, 2017 12:59 am

Hi guys
I decided to post a small update to show the little bit of progres i made this week
It's not a lot but it's start

20170503_000412 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr

20170503_000352 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
the kit cockpit with a bit of photo etch from the Eduard set
i had a Aires resin cockpit but i couldn't get that to fit
so instead i ended up upgrading the kit parts

20170502_145009 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr

20170502_145255 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr

20170502_145023 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
The next step was the GAU-8 gatling gun
Why they added it to the kit is a bit of question to me as you won't be able to see it in the end
I also assembled the Master models barrel tips wich looks a lot better then the kit part
But because the gun isn't a structural part of the kit i think i may end up putting the kit muzzles on the gun and after a bit of sanding place the brass on in the plane
That way i can put the gun next to the model if i want

20170503_000424 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
For some reason the instructions show you to build the wing first after the cockpit assembly
Closing up the fuselage happens a step later
A bit unusuall but hey i'm not complaining

20170503_000451 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
And while i was building the big part i decided to build the tail section and engine assembly
The fit on the tail is good but i did use a bit of thinned sprue filler on one side
The engine section is designed to be opened up but the engines themselves have very little detail
And because i wanted them closed anyway i glued them shut
The problem is that the hatches or doors don't fit all that well ,that is why i think they want you to have them open so this part needs some filling later on

And that is where i left this build
I put it to the side for a short while ,not because it is a bad kit or that i lost my mojo already but i don't like the clean up after priming that much so i want to prime multiple builds at once so i don't have to clean the airbrush that much
So i picked up another kit from the stash ,a SU-27UB by Eduard
Once that cockpit is build up aswell i will prime everything
I hope to have that one ready soon but lately i am really busy at work so i can't make any promises when it will be finished
I did some work today but there still is a lot to fit in that cockpit before it is ready for painting
But i am drifting off
Once the A-10 cockpit is painted thing should go pretty fast now that all major assemblies are already build
So next time i should have a update for the cockpit and maybe the rest of the planes construction

Thanks for stopping by and having a look
Take care and happy modelling
Cheers
Mark

NorthernModeller · Post by **NorthernModeller** » Fri May 05, 2017 1:02 am

Like what your doing with this. Its a heck of a lot more work and effort than I would put into it at the moment, I am in need of something easy to get the mojo back, you doing great and I am really looking forward to seeing this one in all its glory

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Fri May 05, 2017 7:06 am

Thank you very much Ivan

Post by **Tomcat64** » Fri May 05, 2017 11:24 am

Nice work Mark - I like the idea of being able to display the gun outside - nice touch.

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Fri May 05, 2017 12:45 pm

Thanks Neil
I think they had something like that in mind
As far as i can tell it goes straight on the fuselage floor and there are no clear locating points for it
And even if there where any it would be hidden

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Mon May 15, 2017 1:56 am

Hi guys
I think a little update is in order
After the initial set backs i put the kit to the side for a couple of days
A good reason (for me) was that i was gathering several build to prime
But the build made some progres since last time
So here is what has been done since the last update

20170514_011353 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
The cockpit was primed in Ultimate balck primer
Then i sprayed the base color wich was H57 aircraft grey
I think i have a old bottle because the paint was seperating a bit so i ended up brush painting it in Vallejo modelcolor deck tan wich actually comes pretty close
It is a bit lighter but not that much
Once the paint was dry i applied all the colored photo etch
Gloss coating and washes will be done later once i do that to the entire plane
The canopy will be fitted as one of the last parts anyway so i can still get to these parts

20170514_023552 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
Then it was the moment i didn't look forward to
Closing up the fuselage
Because i removed all the locating pins on the inside to get the resin cockpit to fit it took a bit longer but it all fits
All the sub assemblies like the wings ,tail and engines where fitted aswell
The wing will need some filling but not that much
I probably end up putting a piece of thin plasticard in the gap and sand that flush with the wing and wing roots
After a bit of sanding of the hole where the gun goes i fitted the brass gun muzzle
Even though it is small it looks so much better then the kit part

20170514_023559 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
It is a bit dark in the picture but you can see the barrels inside the cap
The fuselage does need some sanding but i will do that once all the major parts are fitted
Just before all the antenna's and that sort of stuff goes on the plane

20170514_023628 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
And while i was at it i put my 2 current plane builds next to eachother
I have seen several A-10's in real life and up close and always thought they are pretty big planes
But the Flanker is actually quite a bit longer
The A-10 is wider though and carries much more stuff that goes boom when it hits something

And that is where the build is now
Allthough i assembled all the weapons except the AIM-9 Sidewinders
Those won't go on the plane so i didn't bother building those
At the moment i am a bit busy building a T-62 wich i enjoy quite a bit but once that one is build and ready for paint i will get back to this build

Thanks for stopping y and having a look
Take care and happy modelling
Cheers
Mark

Lysus · Post by **Lysus** » Mon May 15, 2017 5:51 am

The pit and PE look great. Removing pins always scares me, but I think maybe it's something that just needs to be not (not just for resin cockpits) but some fits I think get borked by the pins. My J2M has a couple fits where I shoulda done that...

The gun looks sweet...

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Mon May 15, 2017 8:34 am

Thank you very much Lysus
I think i will use resin coclpits more often but not the Aires ones
I still have a Wolfpack cockpit that i want to try and for the rest i probably end up usung Eduard upgrades

RossiM1 · Post by **RossiM1** » Mon May 15, 2017 9:54 pm

Love that cockpit detail Mark and that gun muzzle makes a hell of a difference have suffered the same issues with Aires stuff myself before now I don't know how they develop their stuff but the set I had for the Airfix 1/72 Lightning wasn't even a close fit and in the process of trying to fit it I sanded right through the resin side wall of the tub needless to say not a fan. Look forward to seeing your A10 develop it's a great looking aircraft one I woulkd love to build some day.

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Tue May 16, 2017 7:44 am

Thank you very much
I really like the Eduard pe sets for cockpits so i usually use them
Allthough almost all of my planes are either Eduard profi packs or limited editions
A comment i received about the Aires cockpits is that you need to thin the fuselage walls
And that is something i'm not going to do
But the T-62 i am building is nearly ready for paint
I guess just a couple of hours left , only for the wheels as the tracks will get painted before i assemble them
So hopefully i can continue this build somewhere this week

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Wed Jun 28, 2017 11:10 pm

Hi guys
Just a quick update for now
After the last time when all the large parts where build and the majority of the construction was completed i went on with a bunch of other builds
But today i dusted off the A-10 and did the last bit of the assembly
It is still missing a couple of padts but those are things like wheel bay doors and those will get 2 colors (interior and exterior) and i find it easier to glue them on a stick and paint them as seperate parts

Anyway this is what had been done today

20170628_224304 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
First up was the canopy
I didn't add the pe peices to it but it looks good enough to me

20170628_224255 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
The rear part is still not glued down so masking will be a bit easier
It will be with a open canopy though
Makes sense when you also get a ladder and the blocks for the wheels in the kit

20170628_224314 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr

20170628_224316 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
The landing gear and antenna's where added to the bottom of the plane
The wheel will be added once everything is painted

20170628_224342 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
The bombracks for the MK-82 bombs and the missle racks for the Mavericks where build
According to the instructions you could mount 12 MK20 bombs but there is nothing to put them on except straight on the pylons
So i guess 2 of them will be used at the most but maybe non at all
I need to check the weapons lay out for that

20170628_224800 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
The plane with all the ordenance
Not everything will finds it's way to the plane but most of it will
I only left the Sidewinder in the box
I wasn't going to use them anyway so i didn't bother to make them

20170628_224804 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr

20170628_224807 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr

20170628_224811 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr

20170628_224813 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr

20170628_224838 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
All the weapons that where build
I probably use 1 of each of the guideance pods ,the 2 Paveway bombs ,the MK-82's ,the Mavericks and a couple of the MK-20's if i have empty pylons left
The drop tank won't be fitted at all
I like the look of the filled pylons without that huge dart in the middle

Now all i have to do is mask some parts and glue a bunch of parts on to some sticks before i can start priming
So next time it should be painted
Thanks for stopping by and having a look
Take care and happy modelling
Cheers
Mark

DrSprue · Post by **DrSprue** » Thu Jun 29, 2017 12:36 am

Oh wow, that A10 is coming out so nice, love the bomb layout!!

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Thu Jun 29, 2017 7:24 am

Thank you very much Tony

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Wed Jul 12, 2017 9:25 pm

hi guys
not really a update but i edited all the posts so the pics should be visible again
other then that not that much happened with this build other then another size coimparrison with the Flanker

20170705_004027 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr
and prepping the plane for primer and paint

20170705_142040 by Mark Verploeg, on Flickr

it isn't primed at the moment but i had some issues with my AB equipment
the oil in the compressor needed changing and some seals where lost during a strip down for cleaning
that is solved by now but i still want one more build ready for priming and then i will prime all my current builds
once the T-90 is build i only have to paint everything for my current GB and sig/buddy build entries
but anyway that is where the build is at right now

take care and happy modelling
cheers
Mark

SkyPainter303 · Post by **SkyPainter303** » Wed Jul 12, 2017 9:36 pm

Looking good with a tons of ordinance!

I'm wondering: how are Hobby Boss kits compared to Trumpeter aircraft? I haven't gotten much joy out of Trumpeter.

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Wed Jul 12, 2017 10:36 pm

thank you
honestly i can't say
the only flying machine i made from Trumpeter is their 1/35 scale Hind wich is a fairly nice kit
these big planes and helicopters can be tricky as the fuselage halfs don't always line up at the first try
and this kit is one of hobby boss' earlier kits and one of the few planes i build from them
it is okay but it requires some work and filling in places
their ME-262 kits are pretty nice though

HIghAltitudeScale · Post by **HIghAltitudeScale** » Thu Jul 13, 2017 2:57 am

Looks like you're doing great on that kit. Can't wait to see it with a full weapon load and painted up.

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Thu Jul 13, 2017 8:57 am

Thank you very much Bret

Post by **Tomcat64** » Thu Jul 13, 2017 11:10 am

Thanks for sorting out the photos, Mark - I've been looking forward to catching up on your build.

That's looking really tidy - the weapons load these things carry is just phenomenal.

Looking forward to seeing the camo scheme come together.

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Thu Jul 13, 2017 11:20 am

Thank you Neil
It is a shame flickr can't be used on a phone to fix all the threads
But my ab equipmrnt is back up and running so painting should start fairly soon
I just want to finish the hull of my T-90 first so i will have all current build ready for paint at the same time

haxorb · Post by **haxorb** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 10:53 pm

Ziet er erg goed uit mark, kijk erg uit naar je vooruitgang

For the English,

Looks mighty fine, looking forward to seeing your progress!

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Fri Jul 21, 2017 11:26 am

Thanks
I hope to start painting soon

DrSprue · Post by **DrSprue** » Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:26 pm

Very cool to see the Flanker and the A10 together. Hope your painting comes out great Mark! Looking really cool so far.

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:33 pm

Thanks Tony
I hope to get to the painting one of these days
But i still have to clean my airbrushes and prime the planes
Before i start i want to finish building my T-90 hull and clean my bench
So my plan is to start painting early next week when i have a couple of days off from work

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Wed Aug 02, 2017 11:46 pm

Hi guys
Well it isn't going to be a full scale update this time but inwanted to show this build still gets some attention and some work has been done
I painted the plane in the camouflage colors
So i still need to paint the wheelbays and some small bits
And ofcourse all the bombs and missles that will be placed on the pylons
But that is for next time

This is what inhave done up to now

The paint is still quite glossy but that will be fixed later on as there still are layers of varnish to come before the decals and the washes
When i was painting i noticed that the thinning of the paint was spot on for once so i didn't mask the camouflage
But overall i am pretty with this result
I'm not planning to do a lot of post shading as i want it to look a bit dirty but not worn
That isn't what i like for my builds so just a bit of dirtyness and maybe a bit of fading with some oilpaints

And that is all i have for now
Thanks for stopping by
Take care and happy modelling
Cheers
Mark

Post by **Tomcat64** » Fri Aug 04, 2017 8:48 am

Great work on the camo scheme Mark - especially free-hand!

Which paints did you use for this out of interest?

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Fri Aug 04, 2017 12:53 pm

Thank you very much Neil
I used the mr hobby color /Aqueous paints
Numbers H301 302 and 303

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Fri Aug 04, 2017 8:19 pm

Excellent job done sofar, Mark

I got the same kit in my stash with some aftermarket stuff.

The gun muzzle looks amazing, so I realise that I need to get that too

Keep up the good work!

Tommy

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Sat Aug 05, 2017 12:38 am

Thank you very much Tommy
Those Master models barrels are very nice but i seem to be using their products on a lot of builds
I have the eduard Danger Zone F-14 and because that has a visible gun so i bought their Vulcan barrel set
Those look much better then styrene or resin barrels
But i also use their pitot tubes allthough with this A-10 the pitot tube came with the muzzle set
The only thing to keep in mind when you use the muzzle set is that you need to cut a bit of the gunbarrels off to make room for the metal part and you need to sand the tube where the gun sticks out or it won't fit
I used a simple round file to sand a bit of styrene away but once those two little steps are done you can fit the metal part without any problems

MarkVerploeg · Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Thu Aug 24, 2017 11:59 pm

Hi guys
Well i think it is time for a final update as i finished this build somewhere last night
Now the weathering i do on planes is really simple
I only use a wash and basicly nothing else
Allthough i do use pre or post shading from time to time
But i didn't use either of those techniques this time because the green is too strong for pre shading and i quite liked the look without the post shading
So i kept it like it was and just gloss coated it

So first up where the decals
For a change there wheren't that many
Just the sharksmouth ,some fuelport ,the usuall markings (national and unit) and a whopping 10 "no step" stencils
The sharksmouth needed a couple of coats with microsol but after 3 times they settled down

The armament took a bit longer as some weapons have quite a few decals on them

I then gave the plane a wash using Mig prod. dark wash
It is a bit hard to see bacause ofthe gloss coat at this point

I then gave the entire plane and all the seperate parts a matt coat with Vallejo matt varnish
I use the UV resistant type wich dries quite fast on it's own but with the help of the airflow of the airbrush it dries very fast
I basicly use my airbrush as a blowdryer

And the masks where removed and the weapons placed
And i called it finished

Just 2 shots to show the end result
After this i had to wait a bit for the daylight to return (i finished it around 12 at night) to take some better photo's
But i will keep those for the final reveal

Thanks for stopping by and having a look
Take care and happy modelling
Cheers
Mark