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South Atlantic Strike: Super Etendard

Introduction

The Falklands War has gained some attention since recent tensions and also the 30th Anniversary of the conflict. Because of this, a campaign was started on Kitmaker Benelux to make aircraft of this short war. I like to build aircraft which are not that standard (or have not-standard decals) and the Super Etendard is an aircraft which is not build that often.

I checked out both the Airfix kit and the Academy offering. The Airfix kit has more and nicer surface detail than the Academy kit. This kit however has raised panel lines and did not seem to fit very good. The Academy offering has recessed panel lines and good fit, but more basic detail. I decided to use the Academy kit.

History

The Super Etendard is widely known for its use by the Argentine Navy in the Falklands war. They were able to sink the HMS Sheffield and the merchant ship Atlantic Conveyor. Some more info on Wikipedia

The kit

The Academy kit has very basic detail. I enhanced the kit (a little bit) by doing the following: - Reworked the cockpit panel - Made seat belts with Tamiya tape - I did not use the Argentine decal for the tail of the aircraft, but I used some masking and my airbrush. The tail colors (the blue) is incorrect; it is much too dark as may be seen in the accompanying photos.

Finishing

I made a lively base coat by using 4-5 several Vallejo Model Air colors. I used them for preshading and for coloring the different panels. I used the dotted oil technique to fade/wear out the paint a bit. Lastly, I added oil streaks with oil paint.