with Cutting Edge resin seat
2 Squadron, Royal New Zealand Air Force, Australia
Built at the same time as my A4D-2 and A-4M Skyhawks is this New Zealand A-4K from Hasegawa. The same comments on construction apply, the fit of this example being slightly better because the fuselage, from the A-4E/F kit, doesn’t have a separate nose. Hasegawa supply the necessary parts for the Kahu upgrade in white metal, these being the underwing RWR sensors near the wing tips, the small horizontal aerials on the tail fin and the clear light on the fuselage. I replaced the latter with a piece of clear plastic hacked from a spare HUD. The seat was replaced by a Cutting Edge example, which was a waste of money (the seat is good, but you can barely see it through the tiny canopy!). The instrument panel is incorrect for a Kahu Skyhawk, but as it cannot be seen at all, I didn’t bother replacing it. There are meant to be 6 Mk 82 bombs under the wings but I hadn’t got round to attaching them when the pictures were taken. The kit supplies decals for a pre-Kahu upgrade A-4K, and one for a Kahu example. I used the latter as I like my Skyhawks to be as different as possible and wanted to use the white metal parts. The paint is mostly Humbrol but I used Xtracolour for the European One grey. The kit decals went down without silvering using first Microsol followed by Daco Products Strong Setting Solution and then Mr Hobby Mr Mark Softer on the stubborn decals. The final finish is a mixture of Pollyscale Satin and Flat varnishes.
Year bought: 2002
Year built: 2005 (Chesterton, Cambridge)
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