This is a model of the famous tank killer A-10 "Warthog". It is important
to note that the Air
Force never wanted this plane. In an era of supersonic hi tech jets, this
plane was pushed
by the Army and Marines as a close support and tank killing machine for
the European
theater. Good thing they won out as this plane was DEVASTATING on Iraqui
armor during
the Gulf war. It also proved its reputation as a tough bastard with
several taking numerous
hits and bringing their pilots safely back home, just as it was designed
to do. The Air Force
brass may not like this plane, but the pilots LOVE them as it is a real
stick and rudder plane
that is highly maeuvrable and the titanium tub that surrounds the pilot
gives nthme a lot
of protection. This plane was basically designed around the awesome 30 mm
GAU-8 gatling
gun. This gun fires a mix of Armor Piercing and High Explosive rounds. The
AP rounds
using depleted uranium penetrators which will piece any alnd all top armor
of tanks and
ruining the day of the crews inside. How come I know so much about this?
Well I was part
of the development team that designed the ammo for this gun system. In
fact I was present
during live fire test of the system on actual targets. Let me just say
that I would not have
enjoyed being an Iraqui tanker!! In addition to the gun, this aircraft can
carry a variety of
anti-tank and close support weapons including the Maverick missiles and
Rockeye Cluster
bombs both of which appear on this model. A very capable aircraft that the
AirForce is still
not crazy about, but continues to deploy as reqauired at least until the
JSF becomes
operational. This is the Airfix kit and again was a real bargain as I
picked it up cheap on e-
bay as part of a buy of a couple of kits. I had to add a bit of detail to
the seat, but the cockpit
had some nice raised detail that drybrushing brought out to good effect.
Fit was good and
the kit went together with a minimum of fuss and muss. I modified the
mulitple missile rails
for the Mavericks to turn them into dual Sidewinder rails carried on
modern versions as well
as adding a more up to date ECM pod. A combination of kit decals and cheap
Microscale
aftermarket decals were used to reflect an AC stationed in England. I also
chose the more
modern two tone Ghost grey scheme with the "fake" canopy painted on
underneath the real
one. I weathered the finish in the similar method I used on the Gripen and
Viggen based on
an article I got off the web. Fortunatley there ae tons of reference shots
on the web too.
Overall a nice kit of a great plane.
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