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Hello all, I wanted to share my most recent project, Meng's 1/48 EA-18G Growler. This is my first big project in a while just due to uni taking up much of my time, but I was able to dive deep into this kit and I hope it shows. I have always thought the Super Hornet family looks stunning in the air, especially the Growler when fully loaded, so I have modeled it as such. The kit goes together very nicely with great surface detailing and construction, there were a few gaps to fill such as under the LEX and in the rear by the elevators but other than that very nice kit. I tried to emulate some the grime that deployed Super Hornets get when out at sea, in order to achieve this I painted the model in these following steps: Black basing, mottling with primary colors, primary colors, dark rings of grime using liquid masks, "touchups" in a lighter shade, "touchups" in a darker shade, salt weathering with a slightly lighter base coat, oil wash for grey navy jets, and finally subtle oil painting streaks. I think all these steps help to break up the grey scheme and provide a lot of depth and detail. The model is supported by a 1/4" acrylic rod, which has been edited out of these photos, I hope to take another set of photos outside with the sky or terrain as a backdrop but until then I hope you enjoy.

F/A-18F Super Hornet (85813) 1/48 HOBBYBOSS via Creative Models The Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet is the second generation F/A-18 following on the the F/A-18C. The F/A-18E was developed from the original Hornet and while it may look alike its very much a new aircraft which is 25% bigger. The US Navy managed to keep the F/A-18 designation partly to make the US Congress believe it would be a low risk development from the original aircraft (not the first time in US Aviation this has happened). The new aircraft was ordered in 1992 with a first flight in 1995. The aircraft introduced a new era in electronics including an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, bigger displays and a helmet mounted sighting system. To date the Super Hornet has replaced the legacy Hornet in all US Navy operations apart from the USN Aerobatic Team The Blue Angels, and even they will have transitioned by 2021. As well as the E model there is the two seat F model, and the latest development the G or "Growler" Electronic Warfare Aircraft. The Kit This is a new tooling from HobbyBoss. It arrives in a large top-opening box with an internal divider, and inside are 14 sprues and two fuselage halves in grey styrene, two in clear, a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE), a length of vinyl tube, three decal sheets, two glossy colour printed sheets with decal and painting instruction, and the instruction booklet in Hobby Boss’s usual landscape greyscale style. Detail is excellent throughout, with some exceptionally well-moulded gear and equipment bays around the model, and the inclusion of a small sheet of PE to add belts to the cockpit that is behind crystal clear glazing, so will be seen whether you leave the lid down or not. Construction begins with the two seats, which have been slide-moulded to reduce the part count while keeping the detail high. They are both fitted with a set of PE crew belts, and have stencil decals applied to the headbox, which also has a separate drogue-chute on the top, and a back plane fitted before they are dropped into the tub. HOTAS controls are supplied for each of the crew, and additional instruments are applied to the faceted side consoles, with controllers added along with decals. The instrument panels also have decals for their MFD covered faces, and the rear IP has a coaming between it and the front cockpit. The sidewalls are fitted in between the two sections, hiding away the blank interior of the fuselage once installed. As with many modern jets, the nose gear bay is directly below the pilots, and that bay is made from individual sides plus a few small additional detail parts. The bay is attached to the bottom of the cockpit tub using a short I-beam to support the rear, after which the completed assembly is surrounded by the skin of the nose section, which also has a pair of equipment bays moulded-in with impressive detail. Moving quickly on, the upper fuselage is prepared by drilling out a number of holes in its surface, plus those of the lower wing halves that are added early in the build. An A-shaped apron under the Leading Edge Root Extensions (LERX) is also installed along with doors for the built-in crew ladder under the port side, then the nose is attached to the fuselage from below after which it is faired in. With the model righted, the rear ‘turtle-deck’ and insert in front of the coaming are installed, the HUD is made up from two PE parts, two clear parts and a sled that it sits on once fitted to the coaming. The windscreen can be glued in place now, although there is a very fine seam from manufacture that should ideally be sanded away and polished back to clarity. Both parts of the canopy are slightly ‘blown’, so are made using three mould sections, with the resulting seam down the middle on the outside only. The seams on this kit are relatively fine thanks to the reduction in tolerances over the years, and you could create a perfectly acceptable model without bothering to remove them if you don’t feel confident. The circular hole in the nose is filled with a four-part radome, which can be left visible by hinging the nose cone open in the next step. This is achieved by changing the insert in the rear of the cone for one with the hinge projecting from the side, with a common insert in the top of the cone. There is plenty of space for nose weight in this area for either option, although with the nose closed over, the centre of mass will be that much further forward, so less weight will go further. Hobby Boss have provided full intakes and engines for the kit, not all of this detail will be seen but they are there. Each tubular assembly is made up from two sub-assemblies, one made from three sections, the other from two. With the glue dried, they are both wrapped in two-part rings and have further detail parts applied to the sides, and representations of the afterburner and engine faces at appropriate ends. The lower fuselage ‘torso’ is then made up from three larger sections that have the intake trunks made by adding additional surfaces and tiny PE vanes on the inner side walls. The completed engines and their exhausts are fixed into the rear of this assembly, then are joined by the square intake trunks that transition to round by the time they meet the front of the motors. It is then attached to the underside of the fuselage and the moulded-in bays are painted white. They are further detailed by a number of ribs, and small section of the fuselage side is installed next to the exhaust trunking, ready to support the elevons later on. The Super Hornet being a carrier aircraft has suitably robust landing gear that are captured here in plastic, with the rugged nose gear first to be made from a single part to which the clear landing light and other detail parts are added, then the twin two-part wheels are fixed to the axles, plus a bay door glued to the trailing retraction jack. Using different parts you can pose the launch bar up or down, depending on what you have in mind. The main gear legs are made from halves that trap an L-shaped insert and have layers of jacks fitted over the main struts, with a single wheel on a stub-axle at the end. All bays have additional actuators for the doors added in preparation for a plethora of well-detailed parts, one of which has a PE insert, and others have stencil decals applied after painting. At the same stage, the two equipment bays on the sides of the nose are given doors and stays, with no option shown for posing them closed, this will not be difficult to close them up though. The wings are simplistic stubs at this stage, which is remedied now by adding the full-width flaps, each with their actuators, which can be posed deployed or ‘clean’ at your whim. The leading-edge slats and flap spoilers are then added, after which the outer folding section of the wings are made up in a similar fashion, with either a straight or angled joint if you plan on posing your model with wings folded for below-decks, missile rails go on the outer edge of the folding part. The three pylons per wing are all made from two halves, and are affixed to the wings with another on the centreline that slots into holes in the underside of the fuselage. At the rear you can pose the arrestor hook in either down or stowed positions, and there are also two exhaust petal types for open or closed pipes. On the topside, the wing joints are covered by panels, and fences are installed on the inner wings, plus a few antennae around the nose area. The twin tail fins have separate rudders that differ if the wings are folded, and has a pair of clear lights added to each one, with the elevons just a pair of single thin aerofoils with a peg to join them to the aft of the fuselage. If you recall the optional boarding ladder door fitted at the beginning of the build, the reason it is optional becomes clear right at the end, when you build up the ladder, with separate steps and a brace that rests against the fuselage. It’s not abundantly clear how the area looks when exposed, but there are plenty of photos available online if you’re unsure. Weapons The kit comes with an impressive array of weapons, some of which will be used, and some not. The modeller will have to check their references for load outs. The only downside to including the Buddy re-fueling pod is that they only give you 2 fuel tanks not the 4 carried when acting as a tanker. A full sheet of decals for the weapons is also supplied. Provided are; 2 x Fuel Tanks 1 x Buddy Refueling pod 4 x AIM-120 (B & D) 2 x JDAM 2 x AN-ASQ-228-DCH Pod (With different carrying pylons) 2 x GBU-10 2 x GBU-12 2 x MK.83 6 x AIM-9X (With two twin rail carriers) 2 x GBU24 2 x MER 2 x TER 2 x AID-120D Launcher rails 2 x Twin stores carriers 4 x AGM-88 HARM Markings Two large decal sheets provide markings for 6 aircraft, in a break from their normal lack of information HB actually supply some details on these, the decals are glossy and in register, markings are provided for the following aircraft; 165913 - VFA-106 "Gladiators" - 2010 166621 - VFA-103 "Jolly Rodgers" - USS Dwight D Eisenhower 165915 - VFA-2 "Bounty Hunters" - USS Abraham Lincoln 166663 - VFA-213 "Black Lions" 166873 - VFA-154 "Black Knights" - USS Nimitz 2013 Aircraft from the Top Gun Maverick Film Conclusion This is a great looking kit from HobbyBoss and their attention to detail is to be commended, they really seemed to stepped up a notch here. Overall Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hey guys, it's me again. And again I have some questions about the Super Hornet. I will build a diorama and I plan on opening up some panels on my 1/144 SH. Soo, my question: what kinda panels could I open up? (I know this question is pretty general...) Also I found this image:what is he/she doing there and what is this cable? Is it like a power cable? Thank you for any anwsers

Hi Everyone I present to you a VFA-143 inflight display from the 2006/2007 cruise. Aftermarket bits used were fightertown decals, aires ejection seat, two mikes seamless intakes and attack squadron GBU-38's. Had a bit of difficulty strapping the pilot into the seat using the PE but I'm pleased with how it turned out. Painted using Mr Hobby and Tamiya paint and weathered with oils and powders. Will take some better photos when the sun is out!