Double Trouble: 1/48th Hasegawa TA-4J Skyhawk

In a long line of Hasegawa Skyhawk releases (that have reigned top choice since their release in 2000) this 2009 1/48th Hasegawa TA-4J Skyhawk kit is not perfect, however it still ranks as the best kit to go with for your dual seat trainer Scooter build.

Notable Kit Features:

• Nicely detailed cockpit with raised instrument details

• Ejection seats have moulded-on restraints

• Includes engine intake fan and exhaust duct

• Choice of wing root inserts (with or without 20mm cannon)

• Separate leading edge slats

• Lower flaps may be positioned up or down

• Speed brakes are also separate and can be posed open or closed

• Five wing pylons are provided with two drop tanks

• Finely detailed landing gear and wheel bay details

• A boarding ladder is included in the kit

• The canopy can be posed open or closed

• Navigation and landing lights are included in clear parts

• Decals are nice (although I used aftermarket except for the tailhook black/white stripe decal, which did the trick nicely - with an application or two of decal softener)

Build Inspiration:

I have always appreciated the simple design of the Skyhawk and have built several Monogram A-4 kits over the years. This was to be my first 1/48th Hasegawa Skyhawk, therefore I was looking forward to the build as the kit looked great in the box. My favourite Scooter schemes are these Aggressor types as they make for a wide variety of finishes in my model aircraft collection.

Heads-Up Report:

This kit is a fairly straight-forward build out-of-the-box, however it is the plug-in components that may give you fit issues.

• Nose fit requires a bit of work - Don't forget to add nose weight

• There were variations in the nose details on TA-4Js, such as whether it was smooth or had the underside bulge or whether the triangular static points and pitot were present (so check reference photos and adjust as necessary, if you care.)

• The lower tail section fit is one area that requires more attention

• Intakes will need some sanding to smooth the join

• Fin top cap needs a bit of smoothing as well

• Wing tanks front to rear sections (probably the worst fitting parts)

• Pay attention to which parts you need for this TA-4J version as Hasegawa provides parts for single seat versions too

• Hasegawa instructs to install the blanking plate on the fuselage spine (Part A12) however it could be a vent here (Part A11) depending on your airframe (Good luck figuring that one out.)

• TA-4J Skyhawks sometimes had a gun installed on one side, but not on the other

Kit Additions / Modifications:

• The kit refueling probe was warped, however I had the Hasegawa A-4M kit as well and it contained a straight probe as well as the curved version, so I liberated this part *

• I also had the 1/48th Classic Airframes TA-4J Aggressor kit in the stash, so I borrowed one of the decal sets for this Hasegawa kit build

*Interesting Note: I believe the later curved A-4 refueling probe was a modification to resolve a problem when a refuel disconnect caused additional fuel to leak from the drogue or probe. This issue would cause fuel to stream into the right intake (which was directly behind the probe in the airstream). Pouring fuel down the intakes does not do good things to finely-tuned, performance aircraft engines and would at minimum cause a nasty engine surge and at worst a flameout or fire ...pending explosion. Unless the pilot immediately executed a hard right yaw to clear the intake from this slipstream, they were about to have a bad day.

Finishing:

There are so many variations of Aggressor aircraft paint schemes (everyone wanted in on the action it seemed). Most are unfamiliar mixes of standard military paints, however a few custom mixed paints seemed to make their way into the line-ups as well as teams tried to emulate foreign paint schemes or just great camouflage. I chose a US Navy VA127 wrap-around variety that was in use in the 80's for my example, consisting of Light Brown / Dark Green / Light Gray (Officially FS30219 / 34079 / 36307). Note: My crew chief did a bit of a custom mix on these tones. (He loves to go somewhat off-script on unofficial schemes.) Paints were given a bit of weathering during the spray with varied tones mixed in. Next came my standard process of a Pledge gloss coat followed by decals and washes, prior to getting a final matte coat applied to dull the finish as well as seal in the decals and paint work. The final construction bits were added in, with the gear detail as well as antennas and aircraft lights applied.

The After-Build Report:

I certainly appreciate the finer details that went into this 1/48th Hasegawa TA-4J Skyhawk kit. If you are interested in the landing gear and such being closer to scale and having fine antennas and clear lights to finish the kit off to a higher level, then Hasegawa is still a good bet for you (Note: some of those parts are almost too small to handle though). The Hasegawa A-4 series became highly sought after and caused a surge in the prices during their heydays (certainly here in Canada), as such they were a little out of my snack bracket back then. More recently, additional kit competition and a lengthy production run seems to have caused a drop in the Hasegawa kit prices, so I have managed to pick up a few varieties. The 1/48th Hasegawa TA-4J Skyhawk is probably still the best release of this type to date. I have built a number of Monogram A-4s as well and have to say their outline and details for the most part are good (not as fine as Hasegawa's), but if you don't care about the finer points, don't mind some extra parts fitting and cleanup work ...and the raised panel lines, it is a good, inexpensive option.

Completed build #286 - February 2026 using the 1/48th scale Hasegawa #07243 kit.

Feel free to comment or ask any questions - Keep on building, gain experience, challenge yourself if you like, but try not to stress yourself out over the build - it is supposed to be an enjoyable hobby after all - Cheers