Academy 1/72 A-10A Thunderbolt

This will be my first time building and painting a plane scale model, and its a part of the Mechapinoy 1/72 Aircraft group build. I choose the A-10A simply because its one of my fave birds of all time. I must admit that building this will not be a breeze since its my first time and I have to rely on different aircraft builds for reference. So wish me luck. :)

For the color scheme I intend to use this one:

Here's a bit of history about the model (c/o Wikipedia)

The A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support (CAS) for ground forces by attacking tanks, armored vehicles, and other ground targets with a limited air interdiction capability. It is the first U.S. Air Force aircraft designed exclusively for close air support.

The A-10 was designed around the GAU-8 Avenger, a heavy automatic cannon which forms the aircraft's primary armament. The aircraft's hull incorporates over 1,200 pounds (540 kg) of armor and was designed with survivability as a priority, with protective measures in place which enable the aircraft to continue flying even after taking significant damage.

The A-10's official name comes from the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt of World War II, a fighter that was particularly effective at close air support. The A-10 is more commonly known by its nickname "Warthog" or simply "Hog". As a secondary mission, it provides airborne forward air control, guiding other aircraft against ground targets. A-10s used primarily in this role are designated OA-10.

Now onto the build...

As most aircrafts modelers do, I painted the cockpit and insides of the fuselage, actually hand-brushed using Gunze lacquer paints. I also used oil paints to give it a general wash. Was kindda disappointed because the instrument panels were only water slide decals.

I also dry fitted the kit to study it further; I really dont want to mess up sealing and painting this kit. I also realized that it was not a good idea to get an Academy kit, especially for a first timer like me... yes, it was a really cheap kit but it also has a lot of flaws like huge gaps, fitting issues, etc. Looks like this one will need a ton of putty work and sanding. I should have gotten the Hasegawa or Revell instead, oh well. (LOL)