neilg

Thanks, yes me too - the chines on the legacy Hornet look much nicer, and I like the rounded intakes. Performance improvements always get in the way of looks! I've always been into the legacy Hornet, since playing F/A-18 Interceptor on the Amiga.

I just remembered, I had an Airfix Hornet 20 odd years ago - but I don't remember what scale it was. I never got round to building it, and I have no idea where it went. I remember the box being white, and the aircraft on the box art had something like VFA-81 on it... I remember that because I thought it was a misprint of FA-18 lol I'm disappointed I never got to make it, but now I have one!

Thanks, it looks a lot more glossy in the pictures than it really is, I don't know why! I need to practice my picture taking I think.

The Hornet is one of my favourite military aircraft, and actually was the first kit I ever made. It was a 1:144 version when I was in primary school, but I don't remember the manufacturer. I saw this one in the local model shop and I was excited about having one in my 1:72 display case (actually, the buffet in my living room, recently emptied of cups and glasses...) This kit is another reboxing - the model design and tooling is dated 1978, but the decals and pack design are dated 2019. Because it's so old and pretty basic, I didn't do a WIP.

I've had my model on a coffee table in the center of my lounge, which does not receive any direct sunlight. It was in a shipping container for four months, so I don't know if there was any temperature or humidity variations inside, but it was with the rest of my furniture and electronics, which survived. I've never seen cracking like this before, which is a shame on a model that all visitors want to see up close. I'm sure I could touch it up carefully with a fine brush, but I don't know what could have caused it.

Beautifully done! The nose looks great in that position. Can't wait to see the gear-up one!

Hi, Meindert, I used several 500 mL rattle cans of appliance gloss white from an automotive store in the UK, and sprayed it outside over several days of good weather and no wind. I applied several coats gloss varnish over the whole model before I applied the decals, and again after. I don't think I've seen cracking like this before, which is why I don't understand why it's occurred on this model - and at this size! They are some good photos there - I lived in Paris for six years, and I had the chance to visit the two Concorde aircraft at Le Bour

Several years after completing this Concorde, I have noticed the decals have started to crack: It mainly seems to be on the tail decals, the others are still in good shape. Does anyone know why this has occurred? On the underside of the rudder actuator, the red decal has started to flake off, which is strange as I used Decalfix and gloss varnish over the top.

Beautiful, clean finish - the Chatham livery suits the neo well I think.

Thanks, I haven't seen a B-52 this clean! But I thought if messed up the weathering, it was not going to be easy to hide!

There's not really much to this kit to be honest - but I suppose you could really go to town with detailing and weathering on a machine of this age. My weathering skills are really not good - I've been practising on some small 1:72 kits and knew I would have ruined this B-52 if I had attempted it.

I've never had a residue issue with the sprays, but I used the bottled stuff this time. The gloss spray is impossible to control - the valve is sticky and it keeps spraying for a bit after I release the button, and tends to fizzle out, resulting in larger drops spattering onto the surface. i noticed I had more of the residue where I had applied Decalfix after - I wonder if it's reacting?

Thanks, I've had this one about 5 years, always meant to get round to building it! I've never seen the Italeri version but I'd love to see your build of it. I used Humbrol satin varnish to finish it, which has given it a nice smooth sheen, but I've just noticed in the pictures a bit of the dry white residue on the port leading edge. I have no idea why that happens - it nearly ruined my B-2!

Here is my finished B-52, quite a simple build with no fit issues or other problems to report. I left the tail cannon in place, but the instructions say to cut it out for this particular version.

Engines and wingtip fuel tanks installed: