I was browsing ebay and came across some ESCI 1/48 A-7 corsair kits. The box art brough back memories, but I never owned one and don’t think I ever saw one built ( should tell me something) and the open box photos show a fuselage that is split in half (and I don’t mean left and right halves!)
I had the Monogram kit as a teenager and In fairness to Monogram, it’s not their mold, but I know that kit is nothing I would buy/build again. At any rate, it made me wonder which kit is the worst…
They are pretty much on par with one another. The Monogram kit is an upgrade of the old Aurora molds. They did an upgrade of the cockpit, landing gear/wheel wells, and weapons. It makes into the early A & B versions. It is supposed to have some dimension and shape issues.
The ESCI Kit is one of their early 1/48 kits and has something of a modular approach. Substitution or removal of parts allows you to make a C/D/E version. The cockpit and wheel well detail is more spartan than on the Monogram kit. The weapons need to be replaced, and care taken at the wingfold for alignment and fit. It can look decent enough when built with some help.
This is the ESCI A-7D that I built in the late ‘90s. I added some Eduard PE in the cockpit as well as a True Details ESCAPAC seat and Monogram pilot figure. Drop tanks are from an ESCI A-4, and other ordnance is from a Hasegawa weapons set with the load out based off a photo in the old Squadron A-7 In Action book. Those are the original kit decals, which worked great considering that the kit was in my stash at least 15 or more years when I built it.
Looks like an A-7 to me…
That’s a nice A-7!
Thanks Chad. I’m sure that the Hobbyboss or Hasegawa A-7s are superior in quality and detail. But the ESCI kit is quite buildable a little help and effort. Whenever I get around to the Monogram kit in my stash, I’m sure that I can do something with it too.
I’ve read some reviews that put the Monogram kit close to Hobby Boss, and I think has a more accurate shape especially in the air duct. It has been in my stash since the mid to late 80’s but it is rapidly moving up the to do list. Like you said, Stick, I’ll do something with it.
Wow, I’m getting old. Forget to read and reply to my own threads… Anyway… 2 years late aint that bad right? Nice A-7 Build Stik and thank’s for the info on the kits!
Thank you CB. I had forgotten about this thread as well. I actually built the Monogram kit last year.
Looks like an A-7 to me.
Looks good Stik. I have the revell 1/72 a-7a that looks like a fun build…
Thank you. As you can see, either one builds up to look like an A-7. They just need a little extra love. I remember building the Revell 1/72 A-7A kit when I used to build in that scale. Youll have fun with it I’m sure. Ya gotta love all the squadron markings options available.
I had some fun with the 1/72 A-7 from Revell.
Nice work John!
Not the best kits of the A-7 available, but they will look like an A-7 when completed…
