I am always impressed by the A-10 Thunderbolt II “Warthog”, Dean. I can imagine how the opponents became fearful as those Warthogs approached. You made a very nice version with a impressive amount of weapons.
Regards, Peter
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Regards, Peter
Thanks Paul, much appreciated!
Thank you Peter!
Yes… it strikes fear in the crew of the enemy tanks and armored vehicles. The 30mm 7 barrel Gatling gun in the nose is capable of firing armor-piercing incendiary projectiles at 65 rounds per second! They go through the armor throwing shrapnel in the tank, followed by a 30mm projectile that then incinerates everything inside the tank! They say if you hear the cannon, then it wasn’t aiming at you!
And if that wasn’t enough, it carries an arsenal of bombs and missiles. So it’s been dubbed the tank killer for a reason!
Nice job on the A10 Dean, many years ago I saw the warthog demonstrating its moves at the former Don Hull airport in Sugar Land which is now Sugar Land Regional Airport. Back in the 90's Hull Airport hosted a few small airshows over the years.
Thanks Daniel! They are a fun to watch, as they are very agile and lethal.
They have one of these they just restored at the Colorado Springs CO museum also.Good news, the Houston Commemorative Air Force has restored a Helldiver! It is only 1 of 3 in the world that exist that are air worthy and flying. I have a model of one, and now I can go see it and take some pics prior to building mine.
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Thanks for the note Dean. I've missed so much ! All great builds ! Somewhere I have a P-51 in 1/72 that i finished in bare metal foil. I'm sure it's still in one of the packed boxes of built models. 
I'll look back at your list and make a suggestion on what to build. Or, you can just look for a P-61 Black Widow in 1/72, 
I'll look back at your list and make a suggestion on what to build. Or, you can just look for a P-61 Black Widow in 1/72,
ok, I looked back at the list. I would say if your still wanting to do a jet, do the A-4 Skyhawk. If you want a prop plane, do the Japanese N1K1 George I believe the code name was. I've missed this log ! Thanks for tagging me !!
I've missed this log ! Thanks for tagging me !!
Thanks Jeff, it’s good to see you back!ok, I looked back at the list. I would say if your still wanting to do a jet, do the A-4 Skyhawk. If you want a prop plane, do the Japanese N1K1 George I believe the code name was.
Ironically, I had my eyes on the Ki-44II Shoki I have sitting in a box on my shelves. Should be a fairly quick build.
Ps - I would love to see some of your aircraft models. I’m definitely going to build my Eduard P-51 soon.
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And now, I am building a WW2 aircraft.
The Ki-44II Shoki by Hasegawa
Preliminary steps have begun…
I cut parts from the sprues, remove sprue tabs and seams, then rinse and prepare for paint and assembly.
I chose this aircraft because it will be one more for my shelf of Japanese WW2 aircraft. Then I have one more to complete that shelf…which is a N1K1-Ja Shiden
My shelf of German WW2 aircraft will be completed once I build a Heinkel 112 V10…
My RAF WW2 shelf will be full with the completion of the Mosquito FB MkVI and the Spitfire Mk XVI…
My other WW2 shelf that is a mix of Russian, French and Italian aircraft will be full once I build the Yak 3, MS 406, RE 2001 Falcon and the MC.202 Folgore…
This shelf of US WW2 aircraft will be completed with a SB2C Helldiver and a T-28 Fennec Trojan…
So that’s the plan to fill my current WW2 shelves.
After that I have to go to new shelves to display more aircraft of WW2, which will include a; P-51 Mustang, B-25J Mitchell, B-17G Flying Fortress, A1H Skyraider (not WW2) and a Vengeance MkII.
Also my WW1 aircraft collection needs some attention soon. I still have 9 more in boxes.
And the jets I am just getting started with. However, I am happy to say that category now has 15 aircraft, surpassing my WW1 collection that has 13 on shelves. The Jets have 21 still in boxes.
Current totals are; WW1 = 22 aircraft, WW2 = 69 aircraft, Jets = 36 aircraft
I am still going to be adding to my collection, but for now I have stopped purchasing kits to focus on building them. Then I will have room for more kits.
So that’s a peek into the future of the WW2 aircraft, and my growing collection.
See ya next time…
The Ki-44II Shoki by Hasegawa
Preliminary steps have begun…
I cut parts from the sprues, remove sprue tabs and seams, then rinse and prepare for paint and assembly.
I chose this aircraft because it will be one more for my shelf of Japanese WW2 aircraft. Then I have one more to complete that shelf…which is a N1K1-Ja Shiden
My shelf of German WW2 aircraft will be completed once I build a Heinkel 112 V10…
My RAF WW2 shelf will be full with the completion of the Mosquito FB MkVI and the Spitfire Mk XVI…
My other WW2 shelf that is a mix of Russian, French and Italian aircraft will be full once I build the Yak 3, MS 406, RE 2001 Falcon and the MC.202 Folgore…
This shelf of US WW2 aircraft will be completed with a SB2C Helldiver and a T-28 Fennec Trojan…
So that’s the plan to fill my current WW2 shelves.
After that I have to go to new shelves to display more aircraft of WW2, which will include a; P-51 Mustang, B-25J Mitchell, B-17G Flying Fortress, A1H Skyraider (not WW2) and a Vengeance MkII.
Also my WW1 aircraft collection needs some attention soon. I still have 9 more in boxes.
And the jets I am just getting started with. However, I am happy to say that category now has 15 aircraft, surpassing my WW1 collection that has 13 on shelves. The Jets have 21 still in boxes.
Current totals are; WW1 = 22 aircraft, WW2 = 69 aircraft, Jets = 36 aircraft
I am still going to be adding to my collection, but for now I have stopped purchasing kits to focus on building them. Then I will have room for more kits.
So that’s a peek into the future of the WW2 aircraft, and my growing collection.
See ya next time…
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Nice selection of the KI-44. I will be interested to see how the Hasegawa kit goes together.
Bill
Bill
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Retiring the A-10; The USAF seems to have never really accepted the role of directly supporting ground troops.
Roger
Roger
I have quite a few Hasegawa kits. My only complaint is they like to use decals for the instrument panels. Other than that they make assembly efficient and easy. A little flash here and there and not super detailed, but enough for a good representation. So I think they are a good value. I’m confident this will be a nice version.
I suspect the Marines would be the best candidate for keeping them.
But as of yet, the government won’t let the Air Force retire them until they have a proven replacement. Even the new F-35 can’t fill that role yet. What is unique is their ability to fly slow and low to the ground, among other things, like a dedicated machine gun for tanks and armored vehicles. So I don’t see current jets being able to fill that role as effectively. I think they need to design a new dedicated airplane for ground support.
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That's what they have drones for now.
Good point!
A drone can’t carry as much ordnance, but they can certainly help.I won’t be building a model of a drone…
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Ki-44II Shoki update…
I built the cockpit and instrument panel and joined the fuselage halves. Then assembled the main wings and glued them to the fuselage. Then added the tail wings. And finally painted the pilot.
The landing gear bays were painted. I still have to do a wash, but I have the base color done.
Then the pilot was added. I went to the trouble of painting the flags on his sleeves and you can’t see them once he is in place…sigh! Oh well, we know they are there!
I test fit the cowling sub assembly with lower scoop and then started putting the base coat of black on the engine heads…
She will soon be ready for paint, after I add the engine sub assembly and the cowling.
See ya next time…
I built the cockpit and instrument panel and joined the fuselage halves. Then assembled the main wings and glued them to the fuselage. Then added the tail wings. And finally painted the pilot.
The landing gear bays were painted. I still have to do a wash, but I have the base color done.
Then the pilot was added. I went to the trouble of painting the flags on his sleeves and you can’t see them once he is in place…sigh! Oh well, we know they are there!
I test fit the cowling sub assembly with lower scoop and then started putting the base coat of black on the engine heads…
She will soon be ready for paint, after I add the engine sub assembly and the cowling.
See ya next time…
Thought I would share a photo I found…
I think this clearly demonstrates the size of the A-10 nose gun!
Were they contemplating mounting it to a Volkswagen? No one would cut in front of you!
I think this clearly demonstrates the size of the A-10 nose gun!
Were they contemplating mounting it to a Volkswagen?
No one would cut in front of you! 
Kurt Konrath
Kurt Konrath
The story told at A-10 units was when the USAF went out with system proposal for new ground support aircraft, they told the venders, "here is the gun, build an aircraft to fly it" which lead to at least two designs and Fairchild-Republic won out over what I think was Northrup-Grumman design A-9.
Interesting, I knew they designed the aircraft around the gun, but I had no idea they had another design presented.