The EA-6B is a very
familiar warplane among modelers, mainly represented in 1/48th scale,
originating from the dated Monogram kit and after-market accessories.
Embarrassingly, I hadn’t added the Prowler to my 1/72nd scale collection yet
and it was finally time to get her flying. I chose the Hasegawa kit
#00191, depicting VAQ-140 Patriots, circa, 1996. The US Navy currently
flies the latest, upgraded *Improved Capability Modification II or (ICAP 11)
version of the Prowler. Luckily for me, the Hasegawa kit furnishes special
instructions and scaled drawings to make the necessary antenna changes easily,
using strip and sheet styrene.
I started things off
by checking my references, where else than right here at ARC! The EA-6B
Prowler walk-arounds were invaluable resources. A thanks goes out to Marc
Bourque, Mike Dougherty, Calvin Cochran, Bruce Mackie, and Everett McEwan for
providing the great photos! Checking out the photos and other references
also helped to identify other details that I'd have to scratch build, such as
wing-tip static-discharge whips for the air brakes and tail rudder. Since
I've started building my jets in-flight, I also needed suitable aircrew figures,
replace the Spartan kit seats with proper GRU-7 resin replacements and prepare
the model for my display stand. I also learned that VAQ-140 was the first
Prowler squadron to test and evaluate the AGM-88 HARM. The success of this test
and evaluation period led to the introduction of the HARM into the Prowler
community. The Patriots were the first Prowler squadron to deploy with HARM.
With this newfound knowledge, It just wouldn't be right not to put AGM-88’s on
my Prowler. I found a pair of HARMs in my spares box to arm my kit.
Construction was
straightforward with no surprises. After assembling the fuselage,
sanding any and all seams, I then made the replacement antennas and
attached them with super glue.
I made static discharge whips from
tiny cut strands of invisible thread attached with super glue. My
wife suggested the idea of invisible thread years ago after hearing me
curse one too many times at the workbench after that tiny strand of
stretch sprue snapped off repeatedly, with little effort…ARRGGH!
Grateful, I made a trip to my local Joe-Ann Fabrics store and snagged two
rolls for my modeling, and have used it ever since. It works great
for 1/72nd scale rigging and radio wire as well.
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I then went to
work on the resin seats and crew figures. Over the years, I have
created an assortment of 1/72nd scale modern pilot molds for my jet
aircraft.
I have modified the figure “Masters” to depict pilots
from the early 70’s era with their HGU-33/P helmets to modern era
examples with HGU-55/P helmets, now the standard for the US.
I found
a suitable seated US Navy pilot, cast 4 resin copies and moved on to the
seats. I only had one set of Verlinden’s 1/72nd-scale GRU-7 seats,
so naturally, I made a mold and simply cast 4 of them for the aircrew.
“I now have thousands…MOOA, HA, HA, HA!”, (Pinkie finger to the
corner of my mouth).
What would I do without RTV and resin?
After painting and detailing the figures and cockpit, I secured the
figures in their seats and made harnesses using masking tape.
Now it
was time to work on the canopies and close the cockpit preparation for
painting.
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In the many
reference photos I seen, the Prowlers middle and rear canopy glass appear
to have a smoked orange or yellow tint. Some of the variations, I
suspect, are due to light refraction and angle, but I wasn’t certain on
the official tint color. I finally settled on using Tamiya’s Clear
Blue (X-23) for the front windscreen and Smoke (X-19) for the middle and
aft canopies. I used my Iwata HP-CR for application and sealed the
canopies with an application of Future. Next, I attached the
canopies to the model, masked them with Parafilm-M and started on the
models’ color coats. |
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I used Testors Model
Master paints to airbrush the canopy interior frame color and began pre-shading
the model with flat black. After this was dry, I airbrushed Model Master
Light Ghost Gray, Dark Ghost, then finally the Medium Gray. To supplement
the pre-shading, I post-shaded the final colors. I airbrushed minor
highlights with the base color, lightened with white to simulate Navy jets’
patchy worn panels. I didn't want to over-do this effect, this is the
CAG’s bird after all. I then airbrushed the intake color according to
the paint scheme.
Click on
images below to see larger images
I let the model’s
paint dry over night and airbrushed a few coats of Future in preparation of
applying the decals. Solvaset was the weapon of choice, especially for the
large eagle marking for the tail. The rest of the decals reacted well, and
snuggled down nicely. I then applied an acrylic “Sludge Wash”, using
Tamiya’s Neutral Gray (XF-53). I later sealed the weathering with
Testors Dullcote and I simulated fluid streaks on select areas on the wings and
underbelly with Model Master Burnt Sienna enamel and a wide paint brush.
After all was said and done, I removed all the masking, polished the square
brass rod and mounted the Prowler to my custom display stand. I hope you
enjoyed this article as much as I did building this model of a very significant
US Navy warplane. “Here’s to Jamming with the fleet!”
Click on
images below to see larger images
References:
1. American Military
Aircraft/ “A Century of Innovation”
Barnes & Noble, Inc.
2. ARC (The Aircraft
Resource Center)
EA-6B Walk-Arounds
3. Global
Security.Org
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/vaq-140.htm
Greg
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