1:48 A-4M Skyhawk Late Version (for Magic Factory kit)

The extended nose and a more accurate release

You recognize the late machines of the A-4M line by the sharper and longer nose. The ASB-19 targeting system hides in it, which tracked the angular rate of a target and could lead the release of bombs markedly more accurately than the older equipment. Together with the hump above the fuselage spine, into which further electronics moved, this alteration gave the aircraft the form in which it finally served out its time.

The attack squadrons of the Marine Corps flew it until the start of the 1990s, when the vertical-takeoff Harrier took over from them. The Skyhawk thus spent longer in service than a whole generation of types that were to replace it, and this was a design from a time when flying was still done against bombers with piston engines.

What the change of equipment did to the cabin

The new targeting system brought a differently equipped station for the pilot as well, and it is precisely this state that the elements on offer match. The panels, the consoles and the restraint straps are layered, colored and provided with relief, so once stuck on they do not look like printed paper.

They are applied onto a finished spray coat, onto a surface cleaned of grease and dust, best with tweezers with fine points. Neither the plastic kit nor the paints belong in the package.

For building a model the late machine is rewarding precisely because of its equipment. The hump on the spine, the pointed nose and a rich underwing load give the small aircraft a broken-up silhouette, which inside is completed by a colorful mixture of controls, levers and scales. An open canopy therefore pays off here even for modelers who otherwise close their cabins.