This is my attempt at the Trumpeter A-6E kit. The A-6 is one of my favorite Navy jets of all time. VA-75 was assigned to the USS John F. Kennedy CV-67 during Desert Storm in 1991.
Having built my share of Trumpeter kits, I found this one pretty good. I started out by getting rid of the rivets on fuselage and wings. I used AOA decals, and I followed their instructions to also remove rivets and fake panels that Trumpeter decided to add. During my research, I found that during the first part of the air war, names were removed from the aircraft. The mission strikes markings were placed behind the cockpit.
Aftermarket used:
- Eduard: Exterior and interior sets
- ResKit: Mk.83 bombs and wheels
- True Details: Ejection seats
- Wula Models: Wing fold set, canopy actuator, main gear doors
- Master Models: Pitot tube, AoA probe, and refueling probe
- AMS Resin: FOD covers
I added Braces for the flak curtains in the canopy and some additional wiring in the pit. Most of the scratch-building I did was on the engines and engine bay. The landing gear is from the kit, and I added brake and hydraulic lines. The Wula parts are very nice and fit pretty well. The wing fold took some time to fit both the inner and outer wings. I found the AoA decals to be very thin, and quickly learned that I had to be very careful with them.
I bumped the right outside Mk.83 while taking the pics, it is fixed now. I used Model Master paints for this build. Sometime down the road, I have every intention of building an VA-75 A-6A.
The deck was built and designed by Tony Quartaro (“The Deck Guy”). Thanks again buddy!
All photos were taken using my iPhone.
An Update:
Last Thursday (7/23/26), after finishing the indoor photo session, I was placing the model in my Navy display case when the upper shelf collapsed onto it. In addition to the A-6E, I also lost my TBF-1 and five other 1/48 scale builds. Eight months down the drain…with that said, it’s just plastic.
