The HobbyBoss 1/48 A-7D Corsair II, Kit #80344 has a copyright date of 2018. As such, this kit was released much later than the Hasegawa kit of the same subject. Some kit reviewers in the past have mentioned that the HobbyBoss kit has an incorrect air intake shape that should be more rounded and a nose that should be less squared off and also more round in shape. In these respects, the Hasegawa 1/48 A-7D Corsair II kit is more accurate. The Hasegawa 1/48 A-7D Corsair II kit also provides the builder with the option to build the kit with the wings in the folded-up position. On the other hand, the HobbyBoss 1/48 A-7D Corsair II kit includes a full set of weapons with their kit, whereas the Hasegawa 1/48 A-7D Corsair Kit only includes two AIM 9 missiles. The HobbyBoss kit, according to some builders, typically has a lower price point than the Hasegawa kit and the HobbyBoss kit has also been considered to be more readily available for purchase than the Hasegawa kit. Both manufacturers of this model aircraft permit the builder to build their respective kits with the side avionics bays with their covers in the open position. During the build of this model, the addition of more weight to the nose of the aircraft is recommended to prevent the model from becoming a tail sitter. The HobbyBoss kit of this aircraft has a complex main landing gear cover actuator arm assembly that is to be installed inside each of the main landing gear bays. Installing these parts correctly, required careful study of the instructions to get the installation correct for these parts. Another complicated process was attempting to replicate the yellow sealer markings on the perimeter of the canopy glass/frame edges. This was accomplished using the Dead Design Models Canopy Mask set NM48 186 for all 1/48 A-7 Corsair II HobbyBoss kits. For my build of this model, I wanted to replicate an aircraft in the Southeast Asian camouflage paint scheme used on the A-7D Corsair II during the Vietnam War era. Therefore, I selected version B: LTV A-7D/23 TFW Flying Tigers USAF for my build of this iconic aircraft. For the load out configuration, I used the two underwing fuel tanks, two GBU-10 bombs and two GBU-8 bombs. Two AIM-9L missiles were also installed on their respective pylons. Painting and decaling of all of these weapons was tedious and time consuming, but worth the effort at the conclusion of this process. For the interior cockpit surfaces of the aircraft, I used flat black, and Vallejo Model Air USAF Light Gray 71.276. The ejection seat cushions were painted in Vallejo Refractive Green 70.890. I found that painting of this model was more challenging than usual as the camouflage pattern covered both the upper surfaces as well as the under surfaces of this aircraft. This also required that the weapons pylons on the model be color coordinated with the camouflage colors on the under surfaces of the model. The colors selected to replicate the Southeast Asian camouflage pattern were Vallejo Model Color Refractive Green 70.890, Vallejo Model Air 71.013 Yellow Olive and Vallejo Model Air 71.125 USAF Brown FS 30219. Inner surfaces of the avionic bays and the avionic bay covers were painted using Mission Models MMP-079 RAF Interior Green. The GBU-8s were painted in Mission Models MMP-020 US Army Olive Drab Faded, FS 34088 and Vallejo Model Air USAF Brown FS 30219. The GBU-10s were painted in a monotone Mission Models MMP-020 US Army Olive Drab Faded, FS 34088, color. For the seeker head tips on the GBU-10s, I used a flat black generic craft acrylic paint. I used Model Master Clear Green to replicate the tinted glass portion of the aircraft's wind screen. Landing gear struts and AIM-9 missiles were painted in flat black and flat white acrylic paints. All paint colors were applied using an Iwata HP-C airbrush equipped with a 0.3mm needle at approximately 20 PSI. The Southeast Asian Camouflage Pattern was applied by my airbrush freehand without any paint masks. The seat belt/harness parts were obtained from the builder's spare parts stash, as the kit did not include these parts. Decaling of this kit was a time consuming and tedious process. Micro Sol and Micro Set decaling solutions were used to assist with decal placement on the model. After affixing the decals on the aircraft and the underwing ordinance, a seal coat of Future Floor wax was applied over the decals. After allowing for about 45 minutes of drying time, a final matte coat of clear acrylic was applied from a spray can, to seal up all paint coats and decals. As a last process, a panel wash was applied using Tamiya Dark Brown Panel Liner. Unfortunately, during the build of this kit, I snapped off the plastic mounting peg on one of the horizontal rear tail planes. Therefore, I recommend not attaching these parts to the model until the end of the build. Due to the complex paint scheme options, intricate canopy masking sequence and the tedious decal installation process, this model is recommended for intermediate to advanced model builders with skills in these basic modeling procedures mentioned here.