1/48 Monogram A-10 Warthog

by Tom Silkowski

--------------------

Desert Storm Special 13th Anniversary update Jan 17 2004

 

Fourteen months after starting it, the Monogram Hog is finally finished. I was away from building for eight of those months, but it still seemed to be one long build, though a very satisfying one.
It started as a modern LASTE/EGI-equipped jet, but that idea was soon abandoned after seeing the results of my attempts to scratchbuild the mods. So, it would have to be a Hog from the period leading up to and including Desert Storm. I decided to make it aircraft 78-0633 of the 103d Fighter Wing, Connecticut ANG. The reason? Most of what I’ve learned about the A-10 has been while working on 633 with her DCC, also my trainer. He proudly refers to her as “The Pride of the Fleet,” and it’s tough to argue with that. 633’s one of our original jets we received back in 1979, and she’s seen action over Bosnia in 1994 and 1996, Iraq during Southern Watch, and most recently, Iraq in 2003. She sports markings for 55 combat sorties, as well as some great ladder door art. A great jet with a great DCC!
Now onto the kit. It’s Monogram’s Hog, and while the fit isn’t great, I can proudly say I did not lose a single rivet during its construction. Just kidding! Hundreds were lost, but all in the name of getting near-seamless joints. Here are some of the things I did to spruce up the kit:

-Added the Legends Productions cockpit set
-Drilled out a new gun using 3/16” tubing, a 1/32” bit, and the kit’s muzzle end
-Added the missing vent cover forward of the ladder door
-Added a missing antenna on the forward bottom fuselage (made from a Maverick fin)
-Removed the Pave Penny from the pylon and added two attachment braces
-Made a new, sturdier pitot tube using a needle and brass tubing tapered with a file
-Closed the decelerons by cutting them off the center bracket and sanding them till they fit closely
-Drilled out the doghouse intake and exhaust
-Drilled out the APU exhaust and added the cover

Click on images below to see larger images

The Legends cockpit was my first venture into using resin, and it was a positive experience. The detail is great, and though this was my first try with resin, I think it pretty much slipped right into the fuselage. The floor, though, had to be sanded almost paper-thin to get the landing gear bay to fit properly.

Achieving a seamless intake is quite the challenge to tackle. My method was to paint the fan blades first, then install the piece containing the blades and inner wall into the nacelle halves. Next, I applied lots of putty into the seams, and sanded it smooth. Then the intakes were painted the same colors as those which would be in that region after applying the entire paint scheme. The result makes for a much stronger representation of the aircraft, as the nasty seams really detract from the model, in my opinion (and in my previous two Hogs!).
The jet was masked and painted the three-color camo scheme seen on the Hogs till the gray scheme was introduced around 1993-1994. After gloss-coating it, the model received the markings using a variety of decal sheets. The Experts Choice A-10 sheet was used for the serial numbers and some stenciling. Two Bobs Black Lightning sheet was used for the “CT” tail code and most of the stenciling. Astra’s Spangdahlem sheet supplied the white RESCUE arrows and the rest of the stencils. On the computer, I made the pilot and crew chief names, and they turned out alright, though there was some silvering. Everything else went great, and after applying a few final details, this Hog was ready to go kill tanks!
Eventually, I plan to add a few stores to the underwing pylons. When I can find a nice single-launch Maverick rail, a captive AGM-65B will go on station 3, and some TERs will go on 4 and 8. She’ll look as the Hogs did when they recruited me at age 7 by doing a few passes at the Memorial Day parade. I thought I’d throw in a pic of 633 as she looks today.
I hope you guys enjoyed my Hog. It was certainly my most satisfying build. There was stuff I didn’t really go into in the article, so PLEASE feel free to email me with any questions you may have if you’re building or planning to build this kit. Like I said this was my third one, and I’ve learned a whole lot about it. Next time, it will be a LASTE/EGI/LITENING-equipped hog. Which one, you may ask? Aircraft 78-0586, of course -- the best Hog in the fleet.

Tom

Click on images below to see larger images

Photos and text © by Tom Silkowski