TA-4J 158500

Looking down the right side of 723 assigned to VT-7 CTW-1 USS Lexington at the 1991 Keesler AFB open house.  Notice the various stains down the side.  One of the launch bridle hooks can be seen hanging down from the main gear well.  And the reds are different shades.  Look at the leading edge of the verticle tail, it has been re-painted in a lighter shade of red. In the background is the Collins Foundation B-17G Nine-Oh-Nine.

Left hand detail shot of TA-4J 158500 723.  Notice the wear from the moving tail surfaces.  And the dirty look of the rudder.  Bu. No 158500 was one of a 75 plane production run of new build TA-4Js.

Here is a close up picture of TA-4J 158500 723's nose gear.  The details pictured here are common for all Skyhawks built with nose gear steering from the first A-4F to the last off the production line in 1979.

TA-4J 723 Left Side

Left side picture of 723.  Notice the bare metal on the front of the canopy.  The wires and white cover that is rolled up in the back cockpit is for student pilots to practise instrument training.  Can also see scuffing on the side of the fuselage. 

TA-4J 723

Taken at a Keesler AFB open house.  Close up shot.  Notice the canopy is not all the way up, barely cracked open in fact.  Can see two of the canopy latches and angle of mirrors.  Through the windscreen can be seen the gun sight.  Notice how close the 3 is to the anti-glare panel demarcation.

Reference Books

A-4 Skyhawk in Action, Aircraft #11, Squadron-Signal Publications, 1973.
A-4 Skyhawk Walk Around, Number 41, Squadron-Signal Publications, 2006.
A-4 Skyhawk in Detail & Scale, D&S Vol. 32, TAB Books, 1989.
Colorful U.S. Navy A-4 Skyhawks, C&M Vol. 18, TAB Books, 1990.
Douglas A-4E/F Skyhawk in Marine Service, Naval Fighters #52, Ginter&Albright, 2001.
USN/USMC Two-Seat Skyhawks, Naval Fighters #82, Ginter, 2008.
- covers TA-4F, EA-4F, TA-4J, OA-4M, TA-4G, TA-4H, TA-4AR, TA-4S/SU, TA-4PTM, TA-4KU, AF-1A, and TA-4K.
A-4 Skyhawk, #346, Model Art Co. Japan, 1990.
Douglas A-4 Skyhawk Variants, Wings of Fame Vol. 4, Aerospace Publishing Ltd, 1996.
Topped Gun:Requiem for the Skyhawk, OSP, Ross Ewing, 2002.
Douglas A-4 Skyhawk Attack & Close-Support Fighter Bomber, Pen and Sword Aviation, Jim Winchester, 2005.
The A-4 Skyhawk Ayit, IAF Aircraft Series #2, AD Graphics, Amos Dor, 1999.
Israeli A-4 Skyhawk Units in Combat, Osprey Combat Aircraft 81, Shlomo Aloni, 2009.

Progress Pic

Its starting to look like I am making progress.  Cockpits glued in.  Weight in nose, 1/8oz sinker held with white glue.  Ejection seats done.  Wheels done.  Canopy halfway done, still need to add stand-by compasses and the 14 latches.  Big white rectangle is going to become the practice bomb dispenser.  And top center the newly arrived Flying Tigers Sqn patch from Israel.

Two Scooters

Playing with the camera again.  TA-4H mocked up.  OA-4M.  And finally picture of the real TA-4H 544.  All on the work area.

OA-4M 305

Experimenting with camera angles and taking pictures of models.  So here is a close-up of my OA-4M.  I replaced the thick plastic canopy actuator with wire.  Also added tie-down lugs and brake lines from thin wire.  And added a scratchbuilt antenna on the nose gear door.  Plus wire ejection handle on seat.  Yes, I am a fan of wire for things, beats trying to stretch out sprue.

Rear Cockpit

Here is the assembled rear cockpit for the TA-4H.  I scratchbuilt the pistons that raise the canopy, it was made from some small plastic I-beam and plastic tubing.  Ejection handles were made from thin wire painted yellow&black.  The oxygen hose is a bit big but I made it from tightly wrapping thin wire around an armature.

Off-Topic Rant

I guess I should email this person on the errors of the model they are showing on eBay.  If they want to generate some sales that is.  I have never seen an Israeli A-4 armed with both the Colt 20mm cannons and the DEFA 30mm cannons.