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David Kopielski
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1/48 Tamiya A-10 Thunderbolt IIDCS Scheme with LIGHTS!

October 30, 2020 · in Aviation · · 5 · 2.6K

This build of the 1/48 Tamiya A-10 Thunderbolt II was done for a client who is an active pilot in the online Digital Combat Simulator. The scheme is an exact copy of the aircraft he flies in the simulator. The scheme specific decals were home made using the digital “skin” files that the simulator aircraft is designed with as a reference. The weapons and pods are a mixture of resin and 3-D printed accessories to match the load out of the simulator aircraft. I also added LED and fiber optic lighting for the instrument panel, landing light, taxi light, and navigation lights. The formation lights were accomplished using glow in the dark paint to replicate the aqua glow of the panels. I also used a 1/48 Hasegawa USAF TTU-228 hydraulic test cart which houses the 9V battery and connects to the aircraft ground power panel with a coaxial connector supplying the power for the 6 LED's used in this build. Once completed the entire setup was shipped out to the northwestern United States.

You can see all the details of this interesting build in the build log section. https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-a-10-thunderbolt-ii-dcs/

Reader reactions:
8  Awesome

8 additional images. Click to enlarge.


5 responses

  1. Nice work. The lights look convincing. DCS (and IL-2) is the main reason I haven't finished a model in the last few years.

  2. Cool build. I love the slime lights.

  3. A fantastic build, David.
    It was a pleasure to follow your progress.
    Lots of interesting ideas have been noted.
    Thanks.

  4. Very cool, David (@davids_models). Ditto on John's comment, it has been fun following along with this detailed build.

  5. Ditto on John's and George's comments, David!
    An amazing build and a pleasure to follow along!

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