It is and I say this after spending well over 100 hours on this build, a kit to be savoured. Mine is not perfect, but it is certainly a model that I will look forward to displaying and I’m more than happy to include it within my book.
31st March 2025
After what seems like months of work (a huge exaggeration I appreciate given that we are only at the end of March and I didn’t start this model until the New Year…) my Magic Factory A-4M Skyhawk II is now finished ready for its inclusion in my new modelling guide book.
When I bought this kit from Antics during last year’s Scale Model World in Telford, I had no concrete plans for it. I’d become interested in the kit after seeing online images and reading endless discussions, some negative, others mostly positive. It was only after Drewe Manton and I had become embroiled in a discussion about the riveting that seemed to cause no end of consternation amongst modellers far and wide, that I decided to take a look inside the box and see what all the fuss was about. The result was a conclusion that much of the negativity surrounding the rivets was nonsense, the kit looked superb in the box and that for the price (a little over £50) Magic Factory’s latest 1/48 box of tricks, would be worthy of further attention.
So here we are three months on, with not only a completed model for me to admire (I do sometimes admire my own work you know!) but the centrepiece of a new book dedicated to Ed Heinemann’s Hotrod.
Though I don’t really want to dive too deeply into my thoughts on this kit – those being held back so that at least some of you might buy my book – it is perhaps sensible to offer at least a few bullet points which may or may not, help you to decide if this new kit is worthy of your attention as well.
Unlike Hasegawa’s still superb family of A-4s, this is a very complex kit that will test your skills and at times, patience. With plenty of parts to assembly, a ton of detail inside and out and many of the smaller subassemblies broken down into a myriad of tiny parts (and in some cases I mean tiny…) it’s not a kit to be rushed, even if you wanted to. There’s the open engine access panels, that broken nose, avionics details, multipart undercarriage bays and legs – not to mention the complex set of whizz-bangs that you need to build and paint. All of this takes time to deal with. Though I’ve not counted on the fingers of both hands, I’d be surprised if this kit had less than three times the parts found in the Hasegawa boxes, so that may give you a fair idea of what you are facing as lid is removed, poly bags opened and work commenced in earnest.
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It is, and I say this after spending well over 100 hours on this build, a kit to be savoured. Mine is not perfect, but it is certainly a model that I will look forward to displaying and I’m more than happy to include it within my book. Were I to build another 1/48 Skyhawk, I think I would turn back to my collection of Hasegawa kits, because now that I have built this complex version, they would be the perfect canvas to once more look at colour schemes rather than details. I’m more than happy to have tackled this kit, but there were times when I found myself a little bogged down by the prospect of finishing the endless parts that needed to be brought together to create a completed, miniature A-4. Which is why, for future projects, I may aim for simplicity, rather than something akin to an engineering study!
With my Skyhawk now done, I can turn my attention to finishing off the new book. Plans are in place to have the design work done by the end of the month, ready for printing in May. Before then, I will collate all of the names that have gotten in touch to reserve a copy (this will be a little run, first come first served title) and then as usual, offer it for presale, details of which will be included in an upcoming update nearer the time.
For more information, please take a look that my earlier update in this website:
So that’s that. Thanks for once again checking in. I hope you have enjoyed seeing my latest build and that you are inspired enough to either build one for yourself, or buy my book to read more about it! In the meantime, have a lovely evening and I will see you again tomorrow.
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And here are some of the newest comments from visitors to my site…
Hope you feel better soon!
My home in Sweden this evening. 25-30 cm snow, all within 24 hours.
That certainly resonated with me Spencer, my work area is invariably a tip and also working on one kit at…
With respect, disappointment is when you get beaten when a victory was on the cards. It’s known as supporting Brentford…
Ah… where the magic happens! Looking really great Spence; mine is overdue a good looking at.
SPENCER POLLARD'S KIT BOX 
Cool box art, read a book about a Vietnam Skyhawk pilot, can’t recall the name atm, I feel early 80s?? that and Chickhawk? They sure like their hawk references.
Great work
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Not sure who it was but most likely John McCain. McCain was shot down, injured, taken prisoner, was scheduled to be released but refused because others were either more seriously injured or had been there longer. McCain was eventually released before America left, still injured. Later McCain became an influencal Senator and ran for President in the primaries against Trump but lost. McCain died shortly afterwards from brain cancer.
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Stunning results
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