Zoukei-Mura Plastic Model Kit

Douglas AD-6 (A-1H) Skyraider – Carrier-Based Attack Aircraft (1/32) SWS23

The AD-6 Skyraider (A-1H) represents the ultimate single-seat piston attack aircraft, famed for its immense payload, rugged airframe and combat record spanning Korea to Vietnam. Zoukei-Mura’s SWS23 kit captures the “SPAD” in its prime sea-blue and later gull-grey/white liveries, complete with the cavernous weapons suite that made it legendary.

• Authentic short-nose radial profile: finely rendered cross-sections from cowling to tail.
• Full Wright R-3350 engine bay with truss mounts, firewall and exhaust collector ring.
• Folding outer wings with accurate internal spars and hinge detail for carrier deck display.
• Three-piece dive-brake system (two fuselage flanks + ventral) moulded as operable panels.
• Fifteen pylons plus bonus US Navy weapons set: bombs, rockets, MER/TER racks, tanks.
• Markings: VA-104 & VA-155 (overall Sea Blue, 1950s) | VA-165 “Boomers” & VA-176 “Thunderbolts” (gull-grey/white, 1960s).
• Complete cockpit, radios, 365-gal fuselage fuel cell and structural rib detail throughout.
• Unassembled, unpainted plastic – glue, paint and finishing tools required.

Paint Reference Guide

Paints listed for reference only; always confirm your preferred matches and weathering choices.

History

Conceived in 1943 to combine bombing and torpedo roles in one single-seat “BT” platform, the Skyraider was penned overnight by Douglas designer Ed Heinemann. First flown in March 1945, the AD series became the U.S. Navy’s heaviest-lifting single-engine aircraft, boasting fifteen external pylons and over 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) of ordnance. The AD-6 (redesignated A-1H in 1962) added armour, self-sealing tanks and improved avionics, seeing action from the Mediterranean to Yankee Station. Its legendary toughness and loiter time earned pilots’ trust, even downing a MiG-17 over Vietnam in 1965. Celebrated as the last and finest piston-engine attack aircraft, the Skyraider’s legacy lives on in close-air-support doctrine and in this meticulously engineered SWS kit.