The A-10C has lots of sensors around it to detect incoming missiles and activate the self defence systems. These sensors generally have a glass cover and I replicated these by drilling out the sensors and filling the hole with coloured epoxy glue. As for the business end of the A-10, the Avenger cannon I would recommend thinking about a replacement barrel as the kit barrel is a bit lacking in detail. You can drill out the cooling holes which can improve its look but a replacement is a far easier option. The DEF Models resin wheel set, fortunately for me, also came with a very detailed 3D printed barrel which is an ideal replacement for the kit part. Speaking of the wheels, as I said above I opted to use resin replacements as they were slightly better detailed than the kit parts but these are by no means essential as the kit part are good.
I did consider using an aftermarket seat but the kit seat is actually very good. The kit also has a nice pilot figure but again I couldn’t resist the DEF Models 3D printed pilot mainly because of his pose and the updated helmet.
Now for the weapons and there are a lot of them. I actually painted these up pretty early on in the build as I find building and painting these very laborious so it’s far better to get them done otherwise they can stall a build. There are a lot of them to build and paint but note that a Sniper pod is included in the kit but this isn’t mentioned in the instructions. I did use a GBU from the spares box for the centre pylon store rather than the fuel tank as I just thought it looked better.
The final part was the maintenance and refuelling panel which is behind the front section of the port undercarriage housing. I used some decals from the spares box on this just to give it a little more detail.
And that’s it done and I can say I’m very happy with the final result.
Paul Ainsworth says
Hello,Dave – Looking forward to following this build very much.
There are some interesting scheme options in this new kit.
It reminds me of happy days watching the U.K-based ‘A-10’s in action at Donna Nook Range.
Best Regards,
Paul.😉👍
Gary Fairfull says
Great build! Nice reference to follow. One question on the anti-slip, how did you apply it, did you use a cotton swab?
davecoward says
Hi Gary,
I used a piece of foam to apply it the anti slip paste – the ideal type is the density that you get in the packaging for Eduard Brassin parts.
Cheers
Dave