Trumpeter 1/48 ERA-3B Skywarrior from VAQ-33
This was an interesting kit to build. Some of the things to watch for if you build this are some of the antennas are not included I the kit. The main landing gear can be challenging as noted before. The side APUs will need to be modified. If you mount them as the kit has them they sit way too close to the fuselage. I trimmed off the mount and used a styrene rod to move them a little farther from the fuselage. It is nice that they included the ELINT section, however you can barely see it thru the small window. The decals were very good. They laid down well and with a little decal solvent the underlying details came right in. The overall fit was pretty good with very little putty was needed. The one thing that was kind of a pain is that the injection marks on many parts were on the sides that show, especially on the landing gear bays. The photo etch covered most but there are a few that need to be addressed. Now I just need to wait until the shelter in place restrictions ease up so I can present it to the Chief.
Check out the details and photos from the start at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-era-3b-skywarrior-vaq-33/
David:
Great job on the big Trumpeter Skywarrior; having built the A3D-2 bomber version, I understand some of the quirks of this kit. It's always great to see Gull Grey/White, especially when it's done so well, like yours.
That's a fantastic model, David! It looks so cool! Gotta build one to sit by my Vigilante.
Great job on a seldom seen kit. Love it!
David,
Great Skywarrior. Nice job. Seeing it finished might be the spark I need to pull mine out and build it.
Cheers,
Scott
Nicely done! This must be a huge model. It was something to see these things landing on the aircraft carrier.