1/48 Monogram EA-6B Prowler 

by Marv Mays on Oct 8 2003

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Many modifications were made to my 1/48 Prowler to improve its accuracy and overall appearance. Also, a number of aftermarket detail sets were used in building the jet. These include Cutting Edge’s EA-6B Corrections Set, Wing Fold set, and a Black Box cockpit. These aftermarket sets help a great deal in creating a more realistic looking EA-6B.

Before any construction began, all panel lines were re-scribed, and in the process, adjustments were made where necessary. This process was done using Dymo adhesive tape and the sharp, metal tip of a compass chucked into a pin vise. While I’m sure the panel lines are not 100% accurate, overall, I believe they are much more accurate now than the raised ones that were molded into the kit.

I moved the small, rectangular vent (located on the starboard side above the wing’s leading edge) back to its correct position which mirrors the port side vent.

Next, the vertical tail’s forward spine was cut away from each fuselage half to make room for the resin replacement included in the Cutting Edge correction set.

Continuing on, the cockpit was built-up using the Black Box instructions along with photos of the real jet. The cockpit exterior was ground to a shape similar to the cockpit tub provided in the kit and was test-fitted to the fuselage halves. Once a good fit was achieved, the resin tub was airbrushed using Model Master Dark Gull Gray and hand painted with Interior Black. Knobs, switches and other fine details were painted using a sharpened toothpick as a paint applicator while referencing pictures of the actual jet’s cockpit.

After the cockpit was set aside, I removed the armor plating from the underside of both fuselage halves and from under the vertical tail. The initial grinding was done with a Dremel tool and sanding drum, then several grits of wet-dry sandpaper were used to clean up the work and smooth everything out.

Finally, I was ready to begin the construction process of the fuselage. The cockpit tub, nose gear bay, and the tailhook bay ware mated to one of the fuselage halves. I used Superglue on the tub and cement on the tailhook bay. Once these items were secure, the jet was closed up. Tons of rubber bands were used for clamping as the glue that held the fuselage dried. No additional weight was needed to keep the jet on its nose. The cockpit tub is really heavy and serves as a perfect nose weight.

Once the glue holding the fuselage dried, four small, curved drain tubes were added to the underside of the fuselage, along with a V-shaped oil deflector made from sheet styrene. The drains were inserted into pre-drilled holes I created to give them some strength. At the same time, slime-lights were created from sheet stock and added to both sides of the jet.

The refueling probe had already broken away from the fuselage while the kit was packed away on the shelf. At this point in construction, it was reattached to the fuselage at the correct angle which is about 11 degrees toward the starboard side rather than the port side as molded. I then added a scratch-built rain remover and the kit provided refueling light under the pilot’s side of the windscreen.

Next, the inner wings were built-up using the Cutting Edge instructions provided with the wingfold set. To complicate things, the kit-molded exhaust parts were ground off and the areas completely reworked to accept new exhausts made from brass tubing. Once built-up, these sub-assemblies were added to the fuselage and puttied in. At about this same time, the rear horizontal stabilizers and resin vertical tail forward spine were also added to the kit. Several rounds of putty and sanding were needed on the spine to achieve smooth look.

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I was getting close to finishing the major construction work on the fuselage so it was time to add the intakes, various scoops and other fine details. The only items not added to the fuselage before painting the model were the antennas. These were to be added at the very end to ensure they didn’t break off while handling the jet.

Next, I took some time to prepare the windscreen for attachment to the jet by tinting the forward-facing windows with Testor’s Acrylic Clear Blue mixed with Future Floor Wax.

Now, all the important parts of the fuselage were in place. All sub-assemblies were prepped and also ready for the paint shop. The next step was to glue the poor-fitting windscreen into position, putty it in, and then mask the cockpit in preparation for painting.

All exterior camouflage was done using a Badger 150 airbrush with a fine tip for detail work, and a medium for all other general painting. All painting was done using Testor’s enamels. Model Master FS 36375 was applied to the exterior lower surfaces and a custom mix of approximately FS 36320 was used on all upper surfaces (this color was lightened a bit to simulate fading). Next, fine lines of FS 36320 and FS 35237 were sprayed onto panel lines here and there to simulate maintenance touch-ups. The tail was airbrushed using heavily thinned Model Master Gloss Black for an ultra-smooth finish.

Walkways were created by masking the jet and airbrushing Dark Gull Gray paint. Cinnamon powder was ground into the wet paint several times and then a final, fresh coat of Dark Gull Gray was applied to hide the reddish tint of the powder. This created a nice textured look for the walkways.

After all the exterior colors had been applied and were dry, I added two coats of Model Master Metalizer Sealer as a gloss coat in preparation for decaling. I do not like to use Future at this stage, because MicroSol and MicroSet tend to eat into it when applied too heavily. Applying a lacquer-based clear instead of Future (which is acrylic) seems to solve this problem.

Decaling alone took me a couple weeks to complete. There were problems with the CAM decals that I was not fully prepared for. All of the blue decal included on the CAM sheet were printed out of register and when initially placed on the model, looked terrible. The white undercoat which keeps the blue looking sharp when applied to a dark surface was peeking out from behind all of the tail markings. After pondering this problem for a while, I decided to correct it by creating “reverse font” decals in Illustrator and printing them in black on my ALPS printer. These new decals went on over the blue, hid all of the white, and blended perfectly with the black tail. With this correction, the blue tail markings finally looked right.

Another problem with the CAM sheet was the fact that the two “606” decals for the upper flaps were oversized and would not fit on the model. I made a couple replacements again using my ALPS printer, reducing the original markings to about 85% in size. These fit well and went on flawlessly.

The final problem encountered was that the intake warning markings provided were oversized and would not allow room for the rescues arrows to fit into place. Each intake warning was carefully cut, trimmed down in length, and then applied to the model in three separate pieces. This wasn’t the easiest thing to do but once the work was done and the decals were on, it was worth it. Without modifying these decals, there is no way to get the rescue warning markings on in the correct position.

The tail stripes were placed over some very irregular surfaces and had to be touched up in places. This was done using a 15/0 brush. Once the tail was sealed, the touch-up work blended perfectly with the decals.

Finally after all the decaling was complete, I masked off the tail using clear plastic wrap and sprayed the rest of the model with Testor’s Dullcote. Once this was dry, I carefully masked around the tail, and shot it with a thin layer of Testor’s Simi-Gloss. This did not tame the intense shine down as much as I had liked, so I added a very thin layer of Dullcote. That did the trick and I’m loving the finish on the tail.

All the really hard work was now complete. I proceeded to add the rest of the details which included landing gear, wheels, outer wings, pylons, pods and antennas. The AGM-88 HARM missile and launcher was taken from a Hasegawa F-16CJ kit since these are the best 88’s I’ve found in 1/48 scale. I created a full set of custom decals for the HARM using my ALPS printer.

Finalizing the model continued, as antennas were added to the trailing edge of the vertical tail using .009 electric guitar string inserted into pre-drilled holes. Both pitot tubes were filed down considerably and painted Steel before being added to the fuselage. This gave them a slightly more delicate appearance and although they still are a bit oversized, they look a bit more to scale. Also at this time, the ejection seats were painted, washed, decaled with custom markings, and then dropped into the cockpit tub.

At this point everything was on the jet except for the two canopies. Several small but important modifications were made to both of them. Scratch-built details were created from styrene stock and fine copper wire and attached using Micro Crystal Clear adhesive. The canopy hinges had already been cut off and replaced with styrene tabs prior to painting. These new arms were resized and shifted in position to match the mating fuselage cutouts I created.

The last evening of construction was spent adding aftermarket mirrors to the canopies, and gluing a small styrene hinge door to the base of each canopy arm as seen on the real jet.

Although there were a mind-numbing amount of inaccuracies and general problem areas to contend with, overall, this was an enjoyable build. I spent well over 140 hours on this jet bit I really wanted an accurate 1/48 Prowler to add to my display case. Photos of an EA-6B I shot at the 2002 Dayton Air Show were a big help as were the Detail & Scale reference book, and the hundreds of digital images I found while searching the internet.

Marv

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Photos and text © by Marv Mays