Reviewed by Rodger Kelly
 

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FirstLook

Cutting Edge presents more late model Skyhawks. CED48195 provide markings that allow you to depict two brightly marked United States Marine Corps Scooters.

First is A-4M, Bureau number 158192d at the time it was assigned to VMAT-102 “Skyhawks”. In the standard gull grey and white scheme with a bright red fin and VMAT–102’s red “Skyhawks” for the sides of the fuselage. Other markings include the MARINES and squadron titles as well as the nose modex and SC airwing identifiers. The last item is black with a white “shadow”. If you choose this option then you will have to paint the entire vertical fin red. A simple task really as you can simply follow the engraved panel lines. Where it does get tricky though is around the reinforcing ribs on the rudder. Persevere though and you will have a very nice A-4 for your shelf.

Next option is A-4M, Bureau number 160262 – A Super Mike that was assigned to VMA-331 “Killer Bees”. Again, this Scooter is in the standard gull grey and white scheme but this time the fin is black with the spaces between the rudder’s reinforcement ribs painted yellow. MARINES titles, a two-part decal (yellow and black) 1st Marine Air Wing titles for the avionics hump (on a second much smaller sheet), black 000 modex for the nose and a smaller yellow set for the tail, yellow VL Airwing Identifier and a large yellow and black Bureau number round out the markings for the option. The yellow and black Bureau number will test your masking skills as the top half is yellow to show over the black fin and the bottom half is black to show over the gull grey.

Basic airframe markings are provided for each aircraft. They include a set of stars and bars with one pair being in two parts so that you can apply them over opened airbrakes, red intake warnings, red ejection seat triangles, two-part yellow rescue arrows and rescue instructions, open and closed canopy lock rectangles. There is also a single black tailhook stripe as well as a single set of black wingwalks.

Decal placement advice is provided via a full colour double sided A-4 sheet and a single sided sheet provides very comprehensive notes for each aircraft.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Cutting Edge recommend using the Hasegawa A-4E/F kit along with the Cutting Edge resin conversions to update the kit to –M standards CEC4801 - A-4M Airframe Conversion for the VMAT-102 option, and CEC48402 – A-4M “Super Mike” Conversion for the VMA-311 option.

Both of these conversions are very, very nice but to be truthful, should you take this route it will be an expensive way of adding a couple of –Ms to you collection. Knowing that Hasegawa like to eke as much as they possibly can out of their moulds I would not be surprised if we see a –M from them... eventually. In the meantime though, if you don't want to buy the conversions, with a bit of research you can use the basic squadron markings provided on this sheet to replicate earlier model A-4s flown by these two squadrons.

Recommended.

Thanks to Cutting Edge Modelworks for the review samples..

Review Copyright © 2001 by Rodger Kelly
This Page Created on 15 October, 2002
Last updated 14 August, 2003

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