Last issued 15 years ago, Italeri’s take on the original ESCI A-4 Skyhawk gets new decals in its re-release, as CHRIS CLIFFORD reveals.
Italian firm ESCI first released its 1/48 A-4 Skyhawk in 1979 (N and M variants) and it has been re-boxed and adapted many times since. Italeri made its first use of the tooling in 2008 after acquiring the moulds, offering A-4E/F/G sub-types. Now, that set of parts returns as kit 2826, with fresh decals.
As with the previous iterations, this relies on a mix of parts with engraved panel lines but, strangely, also raised. The latter adorn the upper and lower wing halves and each horizontal stabiliser (although the elevator lines on these are engraved), plus the avionics spinal ‘hump’. The fuselage halves alone sport engraved panel lines. So, this odd marriage can only really be reconciled by sanding away all the raised engraving and re-scribing to match the fuselage. It is weird how ESCI used both formats, when it easily could have plumped for either one in entirety.
