Trumpeter | 02245: A-7D Corsair II

Reviewed by Jay Laverty

Never Enough SLUF

No matter which translation you go by for the abbreviation SLUF, the LTV Corsair II is one plane that definitely falls into my “ugly enough to be cool” category. Designed originally for the US Navy as a ground attack aircraft, the Corsair II also was capable of limited Air to Air combat attack capabilities and earned a reputation as a very capable airframe in whatever role it was applied in. With the first deliveries being made in December of 1968, The SLUF distinguished itself while serving with the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing at Korat RTAFB, Thailand, during the closing months of the war in Southeast Asia. The A-7D flew a total of 12,928 combat sorties during the war with only 4 losses, the lowest of any US fighter in the theatre. The Corsair II was second only to the B-52 in the amount of ordnance dropped on Hanoi and dropped more bombs per sortie with a higher degree of accuracy than any other US attack aircraft during the Southeast Asian campaign. Following the war in Vietnam, A-7D’s went on to serve in the Air National Guard on both the continental USA and Puerto Rico, finally being retired in 1987 after 459 had been built. As a testament to the soundness of the basic airframe many early A’s were rebuilt for nations like Portugal’s air force and are still in service with both Greece and Portugal.

Trumpeter’s rendition

Considering the fact that we have already had the A-7E and the errors with the dimensions were well documented there, I suppose the risk is run here of becoming repetitive. Fortunately here at LSP we have an excellent examination of the A-7E by Menelaos to refer to.

With all that has been made of the mistakes in the shape of the A-7’s by Trumpeter I agree with Menelaos in the idea that they are not all that difficult to live with myself, although knowing about them will definitely help those who want to make sure their A-7 is as accurate as is humanly possible.

There are a few subtle differences between the A-7D and A-7E; although the most obvious are not readily visible as in the real thing they involve technology and systems changes.

The first alteration from the previous A-7E is the deletion of the housing for the refuelling probe on the Left fuselage half. Unfortunately all of the problems that Menelaos mentions in his thorough examination of the A-7E still exist, and the shape of either end of the fuselage is slightly off. The intake housing is slightly flat with the exhaust opening not being quite as round as it could be. Personally these are not make or break issues for me, although I can see how these problems would annoy those who had been waiting with baited breath for a plastic Corsair II in 32nd.

These issues aside, the amount of stuff you get in this kit is simply amazing. I thought there was a lot of ordinance included with the MiG 29s, but what is included here could equip an air wing. With a total of 22 sprues (granted some small ones, including the clear and rubber) an amazing 14 of those are dedicated to under-wing stores! There is a dizzying array of weaponry to choose from and this is definitely one airframe that requires ordinance to complete the picture. There are many aircraft where I personally feel the addition of missiles, bombs or fuel tanks ruins the elegant lines, but with all due respect, there is nothing elegant about this plane, and it definitely needs weapons to look right.

Innovations

There have been several very nice innovations Trumpeter have made since they first ventured into the 32nd scale marketplace and while some have been less than well received (photo-etched hinges for flaps) others like the clear instrument panels were slightly better received. This model has a first for me (obviously an inclusion with the earlier A-7E but still worth mention here) with the separate framing for the canopy and clear part, with a photo-etched frame for the inside! How cool is that? This is an idea I had personally been bandying about for quite some time, and am very glad to see it put into practice here. It will make the addition of extra detail to the interior of the canopy infinitely easier and will obviously have immeasurable benefits when it comes time to apply some paint.

I am also very pleased with the look of the avionics bays, as they will suit all types of modeller. Whether you want to paint them up and slap them in, or if you want to add endless amounts of wiring, they will certainly look very nice should you want to model them in the open position.

The decals are very complete, being broken down into two sections and having enough stencilling to test the boundaries of even the most patient modellers sanity, and while recent experiences with Trumpeters decals have left me somewhat disappointed, I have to say that these appear to be quite nicely done. However, as I write this we have several aftermarket decal producers coming to the rescue on this one with some very interesting and high quality releases with which to dress up your SLUF.

As with all Trumpeter instruction sheets, these are very clear and concise and follows a pretty logical sequence, starting with the cockpit. There will need to be some deviations in the interests of making painting that much simpler, and of course each part is clearly marked with the colour required at every stage of the process.

The General Impression

Overall I am personally very pleased to have this model kit. As I mentioned in the beginning I am a great fan of the SLUF and it’s ugliness (possibly something I can relate to as it has very similar lines to myself and I can easily imagine people giving me the same moniker when I am not around!) This release follows in the footsteps of all of Trumpeters releases in giving us something that suits just about every level of modeller. Incorporating enough accurate and well represented detail to look got straight from the box, the basics are all represented and should one decide to add as much detail as possible the reward will be one very stunning build with the minimal amount of extra effort. The only thing that lets down this model are the very obvious mistakes with the intake and the exhaust as well as what looks to me to be a slightly incorrect windscreen, but I still feel this kit is a very worthwhile addition to any modellers collection and I personally rate this release very highly.

This kit is available from Stevens International or from any decent self-respecting model shop you can find.

My thanks to Stevens for the review sample.

© Jay Laverty 2006

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This review was published on Saturday, July 02 2011; Last modified on Wednesday, May 18 2016