Sierra Nevada Corp A-29C Super Tucano – Hobby Boss 1/48

The last of my three most recent completed builds is the versatile, sleek, and powerful Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano, which is also produced by Sierra Nevada Corporation in the USA, and dubbed the A-29 as an export model.

The Super Tucano is a further development of the Brazilian Embraer EMB-312 Tucano, which is likewise a tandem seat turboprop, that was flexible as either a COIN aircraft or a well-known military training aircraft. In an expanded and improved upon capacity, the A-29 is one of only two types to have USAF Light Attack Military Type Certification (itself and the Textron AT-6E Texan). Upon assessment, the AFSOC (Air Force Special Operations Command) vetted both aircraft, and it now seems as though attempts by the US to justify it's usefulness in the USAF fleet have failed. Interestingly enough, AFSOC may have found an answer to fulfilling its flexible lightweight attack capabilities in a modified Air Tractor, the OA-1K (cool idea!). Whether the decision to move on from the A-29 was sound or not, there is no denying that the A-29 (EMB-314) is a good-looking aircraft.

That is why when I saw this scheme on one of the AFSOC A-29C's, I knew that I would have to build one. Of course, this heritage scheme is a nod to the 1st Air Commando's from the CBI theater, complete with fuselage & tail stripes, OD over Nuetral Grey, and the blue and white insignias. To properly do this scheme, I was able to modify and use the stripes from a spare SuperScale decal sheet intended for a P-51, and the insignias were rounded up from the spares box, approximating sizes. The stripes were not a direct fit, and a fair amount of patching had to be done with smaller portions of the decals. All of the white on the aircraft was done via finagling the decal stripes. The identification numbers on the tail were from a separate sheet with various yellow numbers that I had to purchase.

In order to better form the Hobby Boss Super Tucano into an A-29, I procured an AVM resin conversion set. This set includes some items to correct some of the Hobby Boss exclusions, as well as some of the armor plating that is found on USAF or Afghan A-29's. The most notable pieces are the fuselage armor plating on either side of the canopy and adjacent to the nose gear, as well as the belly pan under the wings. While the detail on the belly piece is not great, it helps to add some of the profile that you may note when looking at an A-29. Unfortunately, I did not fit this piece as well as I would have liked, but it looks OK to me overall. Any attempt to make this scheme without these parts would have just been severely lacking, so I'm fortunate that the individual who casts the AVM parts provides these products.

The other addition that the AVM kit adds is a new front instrument panel, and rear panel and combing. This is due to the A-29C having more display panels in place of switches and dials. The rest of the HB cockpit is nothing exceptional. With a little work, the ejection seats can look OK, but I opted to only add red stickers to the sides of them, as the belts are out of the box. Highlighting some of the panel details and switches added variety, but the one glaring neglect on HB's part was the lack of any internal framing inside the canopy, between the seats. I used some plastic card to make an approximation of this, which adds some effect when looking at the model from afar. In regard to the canopy, I also used some plasti-card to make hinges for the canopy, which appear prominently on the real thing. A few other things needed tidying up, like the circular antenna on top of the rear fuselage, and the front gear bay door which is much too long if left unmodified.

For paint, I used a blend of OD and medium green to achieve the greener, fresher look of the real aircraft. Some light panel line accents were done over a gloss coat, and then all was again sprayed with Tamiya Semi-gloss clear to cut down some of the gloss. A large amount of lead weights were needed to keep the nose down. I don't recall the total now, but its was just enough, and no more!

In the end, I really enjoyed making this, and find the aircraft to be great looking even next to a Mustang... and that's saying something, I think.

22 additional images. Click to enlarge.