KIT:

04563 Revell 1:48 Vought A-7E Corsair II
- reboxed Hasegawa kit

I’ll be damned, that’s a heavy one. The price tag of course, it costs twice the Revell’s 1:48 Strike Eagle!!! Namely $20 US. And the box!! If you were to rearrange the sprues a bit you could fit 2 models in that box, it’s that big. Impressions, results and recommendations see below.

Just aside, although not completely related to this review
Boxart of the Monogram 1/48 A-7A which is apparently NOT the same mold as this Revell release
Apparently the original molds were Aurora, and Monogram retooled them for this issue
My thanks to George Crozier for boxart and this info.

History:

I'd say that the SLUF is a well known airplane, being easy to fly and maintain. Basically it was designed to replace the A-4 Skyhawk. As being a subsonic aircraft, the A-7 was light and cheap. This plane was extensively used in Vietnam and ended it’s career in the Gulf War.

How many parts, steps in instructions etc?

There are total of 216 parts and 12 clear parts with 2-piece canopy. Overall impression is good as all panel lines are finely engraved. Instructions have 72 steps. “this is not instructions, this is an encyclopaedia!”. Two steps are dedicated to decaling. 22 colours are called out, some of them are a mixture of 2 other colours. 
NOTE: decide which version you build (Vietnam-era or gulf-bird) before starting building

How is this model to be built up?

Just like the following:

·        First step – ejection seats. 2 are given depending on the version you’re building. Seats have 7 (gulf) and 8 (Vietnam) parts.

·        Cockpit is well done, dashboard is nicely rendered - everything is nice. Cockpit also fits in perfectly. NOTE: the model has NO GAPS. Cockpit area has total of 6 parts, without chair and sun visor.

·        Intake is about 4-5 inches deep, nose gear well has separate side walls, so is well detailed.

·        Pilot is also supplied, and this time not a humanoid pretending to be a human!

·        Airframe is split vertically, nosecone and tail attached. You have 14 holes to drill.

·        Exhaust is represented reasonably well, as A-7 has turbofan engine.

·        Very good option in this model is that you could represent a maintenance diorama, as there are 2 side maintenance flaps (these are also heavily detailed) open showing off the electronics boxes. Basically in this model many hatches can be displayed open.

·        Gun port is also separate with separate barrels.

·        Nose gear is strong and solid (6 parts). A positionable feature is the catapult attaching rod, so you could also build a launch-diorama. Doors have attachment pins so you could attach them and obtain good results.

·        Next optional feature is the air brake (leave it closed when building wheels down model). Airbrake section itself is made up of 8 parts.

·        Main gear is simpler (as each leg has 3 parts), but still heavily detailed, as are all of the gear wells. Doors are also heavily, heavily detailed looking probably as realistic as you could get in plastic.

·        Now comes the yummy part: wings! The wings are completely positionable - folded or not, flaps and slats extended or retracted.

·        Tailplanes are separate, fitting them takes some time but result is solid and impressive.

·        There are a lot of antennas (all visible airborne equipment, as is said on the box).

·        Hardpoints are also very accurately detailed.

·        Another optional feature is separate cockpit entrance, meaning separate ladder etc.

·        Canopy can be displayed opened or closed. Canopy has separate frames and glass part, mirrors are separate parts.

·        Ordnance is very simple. Raid your spares box. In the model are 2 fuel tanks, FLIR pod and 2 6-round bomb holders. You could use them for Vietnam version with 6 Mk.82 bombs under each wing. In the Gulf War, A-7s used iron bombs, Walleyes and HARMs. So go get these if you’re interested.

Versions?

There are 2 versions from 2 different eras:

·        A-7E Corsair II, VA-192 “Golden Dragons”, USS Kitty Hawk, Carrier Air Wing CVW-11, US Navy 1971. This is a colourful example.

·        A-7E Corsair II, VA-46 “Clansmen”, USS John F Kennedy, Carrier Air Wing CVW-3, US Navy, Persian Gulf, 1991. This is modern gray example from Desert Storm.

There aren’t too many decals, maybe too few to create accurately marked SLUF.

Accuracy?

Model dimensions are 290x246mm. Real plane is translated to 1:48 scale sized 293x246mm. So I might say BULLSEYE, that difference in length is about 1%. Not a big one.

Overall impression and recommendation?

Overall impression is impressive, so many details, so many features. All of that made me feel that I have seen this model somewhere else. MY SUGGESTION is that this is Hasegawa’s model’s reboxed by Revell.

This model is recommended to anyone who could afford buying it.