Academy 1/72 A-37B Dragonfly

[Andy T]

A little something to fill in the time before Santa comes.





The first thing I noticed was a very sparce office. Seats, IP and control sticks are all you get, so I ventured down the rabbit hole of research, found some good pictures, and I'm going to add a bit of extra detail where I can.

I started by thickening the consoles to give me something to attach throttle controls to



Not much to show yet but it's a start.

 

[Jim R]

You'll have to get a move on or Santa will get here before it's done. Nice start. Looking at the box art the canopy seems quite big so worth enhancing the cockpit as you may be able to see a fair bit.

 

[Tworrs]

Very interesting, I'll follow along

 

[Andy T]

Thanks guys.

They were exactly my thoughts Jim, plus it's something I've not done a lot of so might as well get some practice in.

I've also had a go at scribing in the quilted panels on the cockpit sides. Maybe not very accurate but I guess at this scale, an impression of detail is better than nothing.

 

[papa 695]

Very nice, looks a real beast fully loaded. Chair just pulled up.

 

[Andy T]

Good to have you along Ian.

So I've added a few bits & pieces to spice the bland interior up a little. Throttle controls, pedals, seat belts, a couple of switch panels, and what I believe is the canopy opening mech with the yellow handle






I added some weight in the nose. 5 grammes is recommended but I squeezed in as much as I could before closing up the fuselage. Hopefully it's enough, but I've got options to add more elsewhere if it fails the seesaw test.

 

[Waspie]

That caught me out!! I saw Dragonfly and instantly thought helicopter!!!!


However, that's nice, and the progress?? The man is unstoppable!!
As the wind is building up, I'll pull up a chair and give the magic carpet Mk7 a rest!!!

 

[Si Benson]

Your off to a flying start, no pun intended….looks good so far

 

[flyjoe180]

It's a gem of a kit Andy. I think the only items I added were the fuselage and horizontal stab antennae

 

[Andy T]

Thanks guys, glad to have you along.

I agree Joe, it fits together very well indeed. The IP seems to sit quite high though, not sure how the pilot would see over the top of it!

I had a day off today so it's already in primer. Surprising how quickly a kit can go together when everything fits as it should.

There are a couple of areas that need a little attention and I forgot to rescribe the air brakes, but it's not far off ready for paint.

I don't have the exact colours and I'm not buying them in just to use a few drops, so I'll mix some similar shades from what I have.

 

[Si Benson]

Looks like one of batmans when all primed up in black…..very cool

 

[Tworrs]

Coming along a treat Andy, I'm loving what you have done with the office.

 

[papa 695]

Looking great Andy.

 

[rtfoe]

I gotta say something before Andy wraps up the build. Besides the spartan cockpit, the kit is really good. You've done a good job of the office. I thought initially the quilting detail came with the kit..well done on scribing it. The next time I chyme in it will be in the completed section I guess.

Cheers,
Wabble

 

[Andy T]

Thanks chaps. I really like the shape of this aircraft. I'll have to keep my eye out for a larger scale one, but for the price of a few beers this is great.

 

[Andy T]

I gotta say something before Andy wraps up the build. Besides the spartan cockpit, the kit is really good. You've done a good job of the office. I thought initially the quilting detail came with the kit..well done on scribing it. The next time I chyme in it will be in the completed section I guess.

Cheers,
Wabble

I have too much time on my hands at the moment so seem to be rattling through the builds

 

[stillp]

Your off to a flying start

Well he wouldn't want it to dragon...
Pete

 

[Waspie]

Well he wouldn't want it to dragon...
Pete

Oh dear!!! Oh dear - oh dear - oh dear!!!!!!!

 

[stillp]

Here all week folks!
Pete

 

[Andy T]

I've made a couple more adjustments to the kit.

There's absolutely no engine detail at all, just empty space between the inlet & exhaust, so I've added a couple of bits to make it look a bit more like the real thing. Should look something like once painted:





Also, the instructions would have you fit the landing gear doors like this:



However the inner door is only open while the gear is moving, it appears to close once the wheels are locked down, so I modified the part a little to pose it closed:



With that done I started painting. I seem to have forgotten to photo the underside but that was done in a light grey similar to the correct FS shade.

The camo was painted in whatever I could mix that was similar to reference pictures:









Decals tomorrow, all being well.