Ed Heinemann of Douglas aircraft is legendary among aeronautical engineers. He produced revolutionary designs yet kept things simple, and yet in most cases aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is one such aircraft.
This is the Hasegawa 1/48 Douglas A-4M Skyhawk of VMA-121 “Diamondbacks”. It was a limited run kit with fantastic markings, and I could not ignore it when I saw the box art. This was one of those rare cases of getting what you want, building what you want, and achieving what you want. A clear vision from start to finish, this is an excellent kit, and such a pleasure to see it come together.
This ‘Super-Scooter’ is finely detailed out of the box with tiny landing lights and air-brake control panels, and yet superbly fitting and easy to put together.
The decals went on like a dream, and everything just worked. Finished with Gunze Mr Hobby Aqueous Colors in the classic commemorative high-visibility grey retirement markings, this now proudly sits on my display shelf as a benchmark of what can happen if you love what you’re doing.
I’ve built several more jets (and two more scooters) since this one, yet the Diamondback shines brightly amongst all the lo-viz greys and camo schemes. I think I might go back for some more.
The Kit Kid 