A short time back, I previewed a Hasegawa 1/72 A-1 Skyraider that came with USAF and VNAF markings. I learned that after a short time in service, the USAF switched from a spoked wheel to one that was stamped steel. The supposition is that the USAF ran out of the proper wheels so needed something inexpensive and useful. Since these planes were passed along to the VNAF, they would have had the steel wheels as well. Since the Hasegawa kit did not provide the proper USAF wheels, one has little chance but to source them from somewhere else.

One of those sources is this set. As you can see by the image, they are nicely done though there is a bit of resin gunk on the right side that will need to be removed. The set comes with wheel masks. One is supposed to paint the tires then mask them and paint the wheels. I did so on a set previously and found that the masks worked fine, but the area I had to cover with liquid mask had much of the paint pull up when the liquid mask was removed. Means one has to prime these before painting. Those who like to paint the wheels first then brush paint the tires can still do so as the wheel rim is quite prominent. These are designed for the Hasegawa kit.

July 2016

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