TRUMPETER 1:32 A-10 THUNDERBOLT II
'INBOX Review'
Alternative Scale

 

Reviewer: Steve Filak Sr.  (taken from rec.models.scale)

Put aside all rumours about further delays on the Turmpeter A-10 kits. It's here in the States!  You guessed it, my A-10 arrived from Stevens International!!

All I can say is that this kit has to be seen to be believed. There are a few areas of the kit that that were a disappointment, the cockpit being one of them, but the kit more than makes up for it in other aspects (and Black Box is doing a cockpit set for it anyway, so take heart!) 

The box is somewhere on the order of the Tamiya F-15E kit in terms of size. First, the kit is molded in gray plastic (a definite plus over the Euro I dark green plastic of the Monogram kit), with recessed panel lines throughout. The fuselage is molded in four pieces, and is utterly huge. Panel lines all appear to be where they are supposed to be on initial inspection. And yes, the model is replete with raised rivet detail on the aft fuselage and vertical tails!

The GAU-8A Avenger 30 mm cannon is represented with a beautiful 30 piece assembly. One thing that I did notice is that the ammo belts are represented as open belts instead of flex chutes, but some modification in this area can probably still represent the flex chutes (are you listening, Eduard?) The gun is completely represented from the muzzle all the way back to the ammo drum, and is really nice.

One really nice feature about this kit that I gleaned from reading through the instructions are that the Fowler flaps are completely movable (that's both flaps on both wings!) In addition, the decelerons are movable as well.

For the modeller who was asking, the chaff/flare dispensers on the undersides of the gear sponsons are there, and appear to be of the correct type, although the ones on the sponsons appear to be slightly undersized. Also, you have the option of opening the refuelling receptacle on the port side sponson. The Pave Penny pod is included, and FINALLY, someone has included a clear piece for the seeker head of the pod!

The TF-34 engines are very well represented by one piece resin castings, and the modeller is provided with optional clear parts for the engine nacelles, a la the 'Phantom Mustang'. Optional position (movable?) engine doors are also a feature.

(Oh, and by the way, the bird is EGI/LASTE equipped. If you're modelling a Desert Storm bird, get out the sanding sticks).

As I said before, the cockpit is the only downer of the kit - it has almost no detail at all, save for a fairly nice ACES II seat (in multi piece injection, not resin as previously speculated).

Weapons provided include:

The kit also comes with a pair of MERs. Now, IIRC, the A-10 is not authorized to carry MERs, except to carry and deliver those little 25 lb. practice bombs, so unless you're doing a training load-out, leave these in the box as well. As an alternative, you can use the MK 20 Rockeyes found in the Tamiya F-15E kit, Mk. 82s from the Revell F-15E kit (both of the aforementioned kits have plenty of ordnance left over which is in better shape than the stuff provided with the kit). Also, you could consider using CBU-87s from Flightpath, or Mk.20 or Mk. 82 AIR from CAM as well. Just my opinion...

Also, the kit does not provide an ALQ-184 or ALQ-131 ECM pod for later Hogs, although you could modify the ALQ-119 to represent a 184 by lengthening the lower gondola.

Decals are provided for two aircraft: an Eglin bird (80-209), and an AFRES bird (77-272). I haven't had time to look over the decals in much detail, but I'm going to use my TwoBobs sheet anyway, so it wasn't a priority for me.

That's about it for this sneak peek - look for a detailed in-box review (with lots of pictures) later this week at the Aircraft Resource Center [http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com].

 

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