Thanks, guys for your supportive comments. Thanks also to Eric and Erik for the info on MMAcryl paints. Guess I should stock up while I still can. Those expensive little bottles have got to be profitable for Rustoleum, though. They are priced like gold, compared to automotive and house paints.
Please convey my appreciation to Pablo, Tom and thanks for inquiring for me. I hope he might want to jump into the GB some day. Lots of subjects to cover, yet.
Here is a brief update on the Skyhawk. I added the last detail to the cockpit: an oxygen hose made from guitar string.
-
1. Oxygen hose here. It's small but I like that it adds to the cockpit.
This matches real cockpit photos I've seen of how it fits in the A-4 beside the seat. I glued in a hefty fishing weight plus a few more fragments not pictured.
-
1. This is a pretty big chunk of lead, so I am pretty sure it will work. The instructions call for eight grams and it is 9 plus at least another .5 for the chunks I added later.
Hopefully that will handle the landing gear stance - it's pretty nose heavy now. In fact, it was so nose heavy that I dropped it while painting and had to repair the face curtain firing handle on the seat, which snapped off. With the intakes and fan painted, I glued the fuselage halves together and am now ready to sand the seams.
-
1. I like how the fan turned out. Viewers will need a penlight to see it clearly in person, though.
I dry fitted the lower wing for now for photography. I will be ready for the first stages of painting soon, which will begin with the red slat and flap bay detail. I am feeling good about this build. Hope you like what you see, even though it may not be too exciting yet, it is obviously a crucial stage for me.