Platz 1/144 scale A-4E and A-4F Skyhawk

The diminutive A-4 Skyhawk was a successful 1960s attack jet, and Platz’s new kit is a pint-sized masterpiece. As is common for Platz, the box contains a pair of kits along with three decal choices. The molding is exquisite, with finely engraved details – if you want to see how to do rivets in 1/144 scale, this is the kit. The detail is so fine that parts preparation has to be done carefully to avoid damage (such as the fuel-dump valve at the base of the fin).

No weapons are included, and the only options in the kit are the decals – two standard gray-over-white birds and a unique all-white gate-guard with different markings on each side. (You’ll need to cut off the avionics hump for the latter.)

With such a low parts count, construction is easy. The only area that needed a touch of any filler was the joint between the wing and the fuselage, although I did have to trim the drop-tank tails to get them to fit better. Remember to add nose weight. I packed as much as I could in the tiny nose, but it wasn’t enough; I had to squeeze some more under the instrument panel coaming. (Luckily, the cockpit does not include an instrument panel. )

The cockpit is finished off by a decent-looking ejection seat – really, there’s not much else that could be seen, as the cramped confines of an A-4 cockpit are truly tiny in 1/144 scale. I left the seat out and the canopy off to aid painting – the frames were too small for my tired eyes to mask, so I hand-painted them.

Because the bottom of the jet is white, I added the gear and the gear doors before painting. I left the pylons off so I could decal the drop tanks and add the stars on the lower right wing. The stabilizers fit so well I was able to leave them off for easier masking.

Painting the A-4s was about as quick as building them. I used Testors green in the little old-style bottle to match the drop-tank markings for Option No. 1. The decals were a joy – they all fit well and settled down with no argument. Even the tiny stripes for the arrester hooks worked splendidly. (And you thought I hand-painted them – hah!) With all the stencils, the decals actually took a good percentage of the build time – but they really set these kits apart.

After just 13 hours, I had two cute little Scooters done. Platz has done a fantastic job of catching the Skyhawk in this tiny scale, and the dimensions are right on my references. You could easily build a deck load of them and not curtail your display space. I hope other decals are released eventually – I have my mind set on a five-color Israeli camo.

Now, where did I put my magnifiers?