Italeri 1/72 Grumman Ka-6D Intruder

ITALERI 1/72 GRUMMAN KA-6D INTRUDER
'INBOX Review'

Reviewer: Myself (carlos_giani2002@yahoo.de)

Aircraft: (Taken from the instructions) The A-6 Intruder, designed durign the sixties for the U.S. Navy, was one of the best all-weather bombers ever produced. Among the various variants developed, the tanker version was an important one, serving in particular to long range bombing missions. The KA-6 differs from the basic version by using a tunnel system for refilling nicknamed “Buddy Buddy”, which was placed under the fuselage. With 4-5 containers the plane could carry about 4500 litres of fuel to guarantee sufficient supply for the other airplanes. The KA-6 lacks the sophisticated electronic bombing equipment of the Intruder. Maximum range and speed were 1600 Km and 1100 Km/h respectively.

Parts: Inside a top-opening box one gets two sprues with 110 mid-grey styrene parts, one small sprue with five clear parts, decals sheet and the instructions, nothing being bagged. The styrene parts are cleanly molded and flash-free, surface quality is excellent and the panel lines / rivets are recessed. Even the smallest parts are perfectly molded. The clear parts are a bit thick and distorting, with rather heavy framing.

For the cockpit you get a tub, control stick, instruments panel with raised dials and two 4-parts very acceptable ejection seats (nevertheless, even more can be achieved with Aeroclub seats) all of this being trapped between the fuselage halves. These also get a blanking plate with molded-on fan for the air intakes, a traverse blanking with exhaust fans, an underbelly part which also includes the front gear well and a rear underbelly part with an recess for the arrestor hook.

Each wing consists of six parts: inner upper and lower halves, outer upper and lower halves and the blankings at the folding points. Although the main wheel wells are not boxed in, they show some piping detail. The tailplanes are one-piece each, and are mounted next. Each air intake is a complete part, with just an extension plate which must be glued onto their fronts. Also the exhaust sections are one-piece each. The instructions indicate to place 20gr inside of the nose, but I would put so much in as possible. The air brakes come next, and they can be displayed open by means of an actuator, with the housings being appropriately deep and having structural detail. Some scoops and the refilling system are added to the fuselage, and the instructions recommend to install the windshield and the canopy at this stage. The later can be displayed open.

The landing gear legs are a beauty, and even the smallest levers are cleanly molded on. There are retractor arms for the legs and for the main well doors, the later being thin and having structural detail. Next step is the addition of five fuel tanks, two on each wing and one below the belly. Curiously, Italeri supplies a refuelling probe for this tanker, I don't know if this is correct. The last piece to be added is the arrestor hook.

Instructions: The traditional fold out, longish sheet of paper, with history/data in 9 languages, nine well-explained construction steps and colouring/decaling 4-view diagrams for two versions. Detail painting instructions are given throughout, of course for the Model Masters range. Please remember that Italeri is infamous for the inexactness of their colouring information, so better check your references.

Versions:

1) U.S. Navy, VA-95, 1991

2) U.S. Navy, VA-95, 1993. Both in classical gull grey over white, all-white ailerons and tailplanes.

Decals: Printed by Zanchetti, they have the right thickness, are dense in color and glossy. They also include stencilling. Should work out fine.

Detail: Very high detail level, with all tiny parts beautifully and cleanly cast. Of course there is plenty of room for ultra-detailing.

Options: Wheels up or down, canopy open or closed, wings straight or folded, two types of airbrakes.

Impressions: On the sprues this kit seems to be a beauty. I hope I can start building it soon. Sorry, but I wasn't brave enough to separate some parts from the sprues and do some dry fit tests.

Recommendations: According to many reviews out there, Italeri´s jets are never accurate. If you can live with this shortcoming, want a very good price/quality ratio and a relaxing build, then this kit's for you. Suitable for beginners.

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