Going Downtown

A lot of things need to be adapted for an actual A-6A. Hobby Boss made an A-6E, but not a good job at that either.
Removal of the reinforcement plates aft of the speed brakes, remove the meter, slime lights. Fitting parts is an issue, pastic is kind of soft as well and greasy.
 

XMM intakes  

 

 

Gorgeous looking gear by Yao’s Studio.  

 

Most of the unwanted things are gone. Still have to make the new nav lights on the fuselage iso the slime lights.  

Decided to glue the radome halfs to the fuselage halfs in order to make the fuselage a bit more sturdy especially around the windshield.  

 

 

Old style navigation lights 

ALE-18 opening in front of the speedbrake 

Reworked kit part for early A’s  

In the inside this ridge needs to be reduced for the hypersonic exhausts to fit well 

Strengthening the tail hook compartment  

Strengthening the nose 

Two lights (TRAM version) need to be filled.  

 

Hypersonic models. Each exhaust is build up by 6 parts.  

A lot needs to be removed for the hypersonic exhausts  

 

Working with power tools. 

 

 

Tainted the inside of the windshield. Maybe a little too green? 

At least some white primer in the wheel bays and on the inner side of the intakes, whilst still able to. 

These marked plates are also external reinforcement plates on later A-6A's or aircraft with AFC 52 applied as a later modification. 152618 did not have these plates installed in the factory, but later numbers (VA-196 included) in the SEA theatre at earlier dates had these as well, so I will just let them be and consider 152618 to be modified in 1967. 

HB got it just wrong. Should be no 'hole' on the RAT door (left side), but on later? A-6A's on the right wing. Suspect the aft holes are for connecting the wing braces. 

so like this.. 

sharpened the stall strips on the leading edges, closed the burnt-trough hole and repaired the lightly misinformed square Airconditioning intake on the right wing. 

Glued the XMM intakes to the fuselage halves. Inboard part of the wings will be next, then the exhausts.