SPA Modeler

Thank you Bruce...

Today was an easy day... airbrush on a coat of Future, and start getting the decals ready.




Since the Fowler sheet does not have anything beyond the modex and squadron markings, I will be getting national insignia, stencils, and that sort of stuff from an old Superscale sheet in my decal stash that I happen to have two of.

That is looking really nice! Great work!

Thank you Lyle. Tomorrow once the decals start going on it should really look much better.

Looking forward to tomorrow's pics

Carlos! The black background is dynamite! Looking good, buddy!

Looking forward to see it in Decals Carlos - It's going to look superb!

Well, today’s decal work took far longer than estimated. Speed bumps were encountered.

First up, I added the basics: National insignia, stencils, etc. The stars and NAVY went on quick and easy enough. But then the stencils started to break apart. So I did a time out on application to give all stencils a quick coat of Micro Scale Liquid Decal film, then set them aside to dry. Then I went to check on the Fowler sheet. Those were a big unknown to me. So I cut out a small decal that I would not be using and gave it a test... it shattered. So all decals from that sheet that I would be using were coated with the Liquid Decal Film as well. Then it was time for lunch. After lunch I resumed adding the stencils, and this time all went well.



I gave them an hour or so to dry, then went back to add the squadron markings and modex. The Fowler decals must have been quite old as they took quite some time to come loose from the backing sheet and then when they did the glue had a yellow gray cloudy film... it took awhile to clear up all that mess. So later than estimated, l finished adding the squadron & modex decals.



One final detail to share here... I am modifying the aircraft’s Bureau Number from the sheet. The VA-93 markings are for an A-7A, that VA-93 flew after they completed their time on the line in Vietnam during the Linebacker campaigns. In 1973, VA-93 traded in their A-7Bs for A-7As. So I used one of the A-7B Bu. No’s from the Fowler sheet as a starting point for my aircraft’s Bu.No.. I’ll explain the rest later when this build is completed.



All I can say is that the shark mouth is gonna need lots of solvent to properly settle down and conform to the contours.

Oh my!

Outstanding work Carlos, despite the setbacks!

Thanks guys. I’m really liking how it looks now.

I did a couple applications of Micro Sol last nite after I took and posted these photos. The shark mouths are snuggling down nicely.