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Hello again, It's been almost a year since my last aircraft (I'm mostly in to painting mins) but had the itch to do another and so this great kit was completed over the course of two months. It was mostly airbrushed with Vallejo 'Dark Ghost Grey' on the top, with Mission Models 'Light Ghost Grey' on the undersides (more on this in a bit) done in the pre-shade technique on a black spraycan undercoat. The black was a mix of Vallejo gloss black, regular black and black ink to give it a bit of shine. The panel lines on the body were done with Vallejo Dark Grey acrylic model wash (I'm a big fan of their model washes) with enamel washes used on the smaller parts. Other weathering was done mostly with MIG AMMO Oil & Streaking Brushers, and Tamiya weathering powder sets. The decals were all OOTB, and the only third party item was the seat, which is by Eduard. The additional details, particularly the cockpit, were all hand-painted with my occasionally steady hand. I had intended this to be a bit cleaner (I say the same thing with every bloody aircraft! 😂) but as usual got carried away as it's a part of the process I do really enjoy. As such it's probably a bit more weathered than a CAG aircraft should be. Saying that I did spend a fair bit of time looking at photos of F-18's online and in books (the 'F-18 in Detail and Scale' by Haagen Klaus was a very useful purchase) and noticed that there were pics of this particular aircraft having had patch-ups in the opposite colour to what it should be, particularly around the front end and the fold up wings. I thought this looked cool so attempted to replicate it in a few places. Same too with the oily fuel spills on the underside of the aircraft, although I did take this more to extremes. A few things I messed up on; firstly I should have filled in the gap line where the two front halfs come together. Whilst the fit is generally very very good, I didn't notice the middle gap line running up the front and underside of the nose until it was too late. I did attempt to sand down the metallic box thing at the front of the nose (excuse my lack of technical terms) but as this was curved to begin with, it didn't look great. The canopy got a bit messy when masking, painting and sanding (I hate doing canopies) but thankfully it's not too noticeable when in an open position. Finally I decided to paint the red line separating the black and the grey of the jet, as I don't like the faff of using decals that long and thin, however, despite masking this wasn't my neatest work and it shows. Oh well. As mentioned, this is a great kit, and was generally not too painful to put together. The folded wings option wasn't too much of a headache, likewise all the small details around the wheel bays went easier than I expected. There were very few areas that required sanding and filling. The decals were generally decent, it's only on the smaller ones where writing should be (and it's instead just lines) that you might want to consider third party options. The only parts I would consider third party options for other than the seat are the exhaust nozzles and maybe the wheels. When you look at pictures of the exhausts they have much more detail in them than sculpted, particularly on the insides. I have attempted to paint the details in. Trying to add additional bits of card/plastic I think would be too tricky, and way out of my comfort zone. A few other things you may find useful; firstly, Army Painter primer spray cans are fantastic! They are more of a laquer spray than just acrylic, and are of a much larger size than Tamiya/Mr Hobby ones for around the same price. They are available at many indy board game shops so well worth a try. Secondly, as mentioned, Mission Models 'Light Ghost Grey' acrylic was used on the undersides. Now I'm a huge fan of their 'transparent dust' paint, especially when mixed in slightly with other colours to get a dusty/dirty effect, but this one? not so much. It will be still be active days after its been applied, meaning it has to be varnished ASAP in order to protect it. If you get it slightly wet, thats it, your paint job won't be so neat. No issues with Vallejo products doing the same after a couple of hours, let alone days. Finally, although it's barely noticeable here, I created a good textured effect on the bulkier missles using Vallejo 'Rust Texture' acrylic effects. A few coats of that, then spray on your chosen colour and they will look much more realistic than the smooth plastic provided. Oh, and finally, in case anyone says it I started this kit a few weeks before seeing 'Top Gun Maverick' which I highly recommend having been a bit skeptical of it in production! 😂 Thanks for looking, any thoughts or queries let me know!

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, may I present my entry for this group build. I was captivated by this box art when I first saw it on line last summer. I was also a little misled. It seemed to me that this scheme had blue upper surfaces which would be much more appealing to my eye than the usual grey on grey. It was only when I had the box in my hands that I realised that the blue is supposed to be a shadow effect caused by a low sun. It doesn't quite make sense as the strong shadows under the leading edge extensions indicate that the sun is high and behind the viewer's left shoulder, but it's an artist's impression, not a blueprint, and I still like the painting very much. Then I saw this photograph of the same aircraft coming on board at dusk (or possibly sunrise?). Again I see the blueish shadows on the wing upper surface together with orange lit highlights. These two hues look amazing together, as blue and orange are complementary (across from each other on the color wheel). The pairing of a punchy warm orange with cool blues creates a beautifully balanced combination which I'm going to try to replicate. It's fairly unusual to see a model aircraft painted to simulate incident light and I certainly haven't done it before so it's all very exciting. I have attempted similar effects on Warhammer and other fantasy figure models where the technique is almost routinely applied and of course, as we see on the box, it's invariably used in two dimensional painting. But before I can get to the challenge of the painting, I've got to build the thing.

Looking forward to this one. I hope Eduard add few extra fuels tanks for the wings, it always seems a little bare without them.

Hi Folks, I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question but here goes. Following some ebaying with a touch of alcohol the other night I find myself the proud owner of a Revell 1/72 f/a-18E super hornet...... .....Without the canopy. My fault as it was described in the advert 😢 Anyway I am looking for a supplier of an aftermarket canopy for said beast, to no avail as yet. My main question is will an F/A-18a or c canopy fit the super hornet? As Pavla do one in this scale. If it doesn't quite fit no problem as I can pose it 'lid up'. Any advice please you Rhino buffs?

After the two-seats F/A-18F Super Bug - ref.12535 - (http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234994146-172-boeing-fa-18f-super-hornet-by-academy-released/), Academy is to release in 2017 a 1/72nd USN Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet "VFA-143 "Pukin Dogs" kit - ref.12547. Source: https://www.facebook.com/academymodeleurope/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1575659209129938 V.P.

Bought this kit from eBay over a year ago for $25NZD but since it's my holidays, I can finally build it!

Hello all, In light of the recent air operations in the Middle East, I've decided on my build schedule for next year. Most (bar an F-14 or two) will follow the theme of aircraft used in Operation Inherent Resolve, or Operation Shader for my RAF contingent. I'll be splitting the builds into 3 parts, with 3 kits in each. First up will be a pair of Hasegawa F/A-18s: F/A-18F will be marked as 166663 of VFA-213 'Black Lions'. After market includes an Aires cockpit salvaged from a damaged previous build, Steel Beach ACS coaming, Steel Beach ECS pipes, Steal Beach FOD covers, Pavla ejection seats and Two Bobs decals. The real thing: VFA-213 Will be loaded with 5x GBU-38, 2x AIM-9x, 1x AGM-65 and 1x fuel tank. GBU's and maverick will be from the spares. F/A-18E will be marked as 166776 of VFA-31 'Tomcatters'. This kit was started briefly a while ago so i'd best crack on with it! Aftermarket includes a Wolfpack Design cockpit, Steel Beach ECS pipes, Steal Beach FOD covers and will include Fightertown decals. The real thing: VFA-31 This will be loaded with 3x GBU-31, 2x GBU-38, 2x AIM-9x and 1x fuel tank. Third up is a Hasegawa F-4E, marked as a 'Terminator' of the Turkish Air Force: Aftermarket will include Quickboost seats, Airwaves etch, Wingman Models Elta L-8222 ECM pod, Steel Beach FOD guards and Hi Decal decals. After a bit of a discussion on another of my threads, I'm loading this one with 4x GBU-10, 1x fuel tank and a Pave Spike targeting pod. For those interested, Parts 2 & 3 of this project will include an F-15E, Tornado GR4, Tornado IDS (Saudi), F-16F, F-16IQ and a Rafale M. Won't be starting until I clear the B-52 and F-4B off the bench but they shouldn't take much longer. Dave