Dragon Models Ltd

1/144 A-6 Intruders Gulf War

Kit Number: 4588

Reviewed by  Jim Pearsall, IPMS# 2209

MSRP: $10.95 Website: www.dragonmodelsusa.com Thanks to Dragon Models USA for providing the review kit. The Aircraft The A-6 intruder was designed as a replacement for the A-1 Skyraider, with the original designation A2F-1. By the time the aircraft was in production, the designations had all changed, and it was then the A-6A. It was designed as an all-weather precision bombing platform. Since bombing accuracy was the main idea, the A-6 was designed as subsonic from the start, as other "supersonic" attack aircraft had to fly subsonic when carrying the external bomb loads. The A-6 Intruder was one of those aircraft which came and went. It did its' jobs very well, but except for the book/movie Flight of the Intruder, the general public was pretty much unaware of the A-6. Well, it's retired now, but Dragon brings us a kit of the Intruder in Desert Storm, one of the actions where they probably didn't make the highlight films like the F-14s and F-15s, but they soldiered on.

Here's a photo of an A-6 aboard the JFK, which was also retired this year.

The Kit You get two sets of everything in this kit. One of the aircraft is Navy from VA-115, the other is USMC from VMA(AW)533. The kits are separately bagged, so there's no problem figuring which parts go with which aircraft. Some of the weapons can be used on either aircraft, but there are plenty, enough to overload both birds. The instruction sheet is a single sheet, printed in full color, with a parts locator, a color reference table, full marking instructions for both aircraft, and an assembly diagram. The color information was OK, except I didn't agree with the FS numbers given for the aircraft. Also, the dark walkways on the wingroot had no color reference. This is OK for the experienced modeler, but if a youngster just starting out uses these colors, the result may be disappointing, as the colors aren't close to those shown on the box art. Building the Kit There really aren't any huge challenges to building this kit. As you can see, there are only two assembly steps, although each step can keep you occupied for several modeling sessions. The interior is sparse, consisting of two pilot figures, and the seats. This kit is obviously a reissue of an older version, as Dragon routinely puts an instrument panel in their kits, and this one doesn't have one. Nevertheless, I applaud Dragon for having an interior at all, as I've seen recent 1/144 kits with absolutely nothing under the canopy. Because of the tiny size, the pilot and WSO are reminiscent of "little Martians". Nevertheless, with black O2 masks, black visors, helmets and green "jet jammies", the figures look pretty good. Fit was fine everywhere. The wings and fuselage mated nicely. The wheels, landing gear and gear doors went on with minimal fuss. Ever notice how much the main gear of the A-6 resembles that of the F-14? Since they both came from Calverton, I don't think there's much of a coincidence there. (Editor's note: I was there. Design was in Bethpage; final assembly in Calverton. The F-14 doors were "racked" - designed with a deliberate twist so that when they were closed they would really snug up against the fuselage. Never worked that well, and rigging Tomcat doors was not a favorite task in Plant 6). The place where this kit stands above many others is the weapons pylons and bombs/rockets/tanks that go under the wings. The pylons connect cleanly to the underwing, and the MERs I used connected cleanly to the pylons. And the CBUs went on the MERs with no hassle. Made me very happy to see how nicely it all went under there. Spray it with Future and you're ready for markings. Decals It comes down to 2 words. Cartograf Decals. Dragon has gone out and bought superior dekkles for this release. They come off the sheet cleanly, go where you want, and (mostly) stay exactly where you want them to be. The problem there is me, not the decals. Overall Assessment Buildable, and everything fits. The color instructions leave something to be desired, but at least the assembly doesn't lead you astray or have you put parts in the wrong place. I once again proved I've never had AMS, as I didn't spend any time doing more than considering putting in an instrument panel. Thanks again to Dragon and John Noack for a trip down memory lane.

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