1:48 A-10A - interior 3D decals for Tamiya kit

An aircraft built around a cannon

The Thunderbolt II is one of the few combat machines in which the weapon came before the structure. A seven-barrel 30 mm rotary cannon takes up a substantial part of the fuselage and the other solutions were subordinated to it: a pair of engines set high at the rear, twin vertical tail surfaces and a titanium armor bathtub into which the pilot is literally seated. The original rendition without a letter in the designation served from the 1970s and made its name in operations over the desert at the start of the 1990s, where it showed how well it stands up to hits from the ground.

How the set differs from a printed sheet

The decals have layered printing, so the main panel, the side consoles and the details of the seat stand above the surface of the part. Light then breaks on the controls much as it does on a real cockpit and the instruments do not read as a sticker. The coloring is finished from the factory, including the small warning placards which would be imitated with a brush at this scale only with difficulty.

Fitting it to the model

The base surfaces only need cleaning of dust and grease and possibly leveling with a very fine abrasive. Release the film in lukewarm water, transfer it onto the part and draw it down gently, taking the water away with absorbent paper. A short pause to dry, then a matte clear coat. The armor bathtub and the kit itself are not in the package; this is interior equipment for a model already obtained.

Where it pays to add more

An attack aircraft is often displayed with the canopy slid back and a ladder at the nose, so there is a clear view inside. Fine highlighting of the edges of the main panel then gives the whole depth and the eye has something to hold on to.