A-6E Intruder

It took a lot of sanding to make some of the parts fit. It requires a lot of patience and I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner. The decals were excellent and easy to apply. Unfortunately, I stepped on a cockpit half and cracked it, but was still able to use it.

Like a lot of Hasegawa kits, this one seems to be an old boxing (research indicates it was first released in 1968). You get a lot of plastic for your money, but the kit is definitely not up to modern standards. On the plus side, the fit of parts is mostly excellent and assembly is straightforward. However, there is virtually no interior detail anywhere on the kit. The cockpit, which is fairly visible under the Intruder's complex framing, is almost entirely empty, with two ugly armchairs to seat the included crew figures; you don't even get a control stick. The wheel bays are similarly completely empty. The front sensor turret and refueling probe are somewhat crude, and all of the panel lines are raised. Hasegawa does better than usual with including things to put under the wings-You get three drop tanks and a full load of decent Mk.82 500-lb bombs. However, if you want to include anything else, though, you'll have to buy a Hasegawa weapons set. The plane is huge, and will need a lot of weight in the nose to stay on its nosewheel, so the lack of detail is even more disappointing. There are two marking options, one in the early high-visibility (grey over white, with tan radome) colors for US Navy squadron VA-35. The other is the later grey-on-grey low-visibility scheme for Marine Squadron 332. If you're just looking for an A-6 in 1:72, this kit can work, but you'd probably be better off looking for the Fujimi or Italeri kit, or if you can find it, the Tamiya/Revell kit (two companies, same kit), If you're willing to shell out a bit more, Trumpeter has anounce a kit, which like most Trumpeter offerings, will probably be very good.

Not much more to say about it. It is crude, it lacks some details... but if you do a little work, and buy the weapons set, it does look like a nice Intruder. its simplicity is the key, because everything fits, and if you want to start on the scratch building, this is the place to start. Adding the control sticks and some other details can make it look marvelous. on the other hand, if you're starting, this will fit nicelly, and will look lke an intruder. The airbrakes could need some more detail on the inside... There is however one part that is not easy to incerte: the belly plate... it fits, but, you may need to adjust and san a little. its the only part that doesn't fit immediatelly. Cheap, resistent, good to start modding!