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CF-188 Hornet, Hasegawa, 1/72 (2 of 2)


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CF-188 Hornet | 1/72 | Hasegawa

Canada Armed Forces | Pilot Capt. W.W. Niemi | 410 Squadron

 

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Finished this on July 20th, 2019. WIP is here. I built this concurrently with my F/A-18 Hornet of VFA-25. That Hornet is the same scheme as one I did in High School. The Testors kit I did in High School, had 3 decal options and one was Canadian. That scheme fascinated me because of the slightly different colors they used and the false canopy on the bottom. But in the end the VFA-25 scheme won out because the lightning bolt and fist were just too dramatic to pass up. 

 

So, I decided to buy the Hasagawa kit and some aftermarket decals to finally do that CF-188! Unfortunately, the decals I got had incorrect roundels and flags (the old "Silver leaf"), so I had to buy new ones, but they were worth it because they were excellent decals!

 

This particular plane had a sad history, according to http://www.rwrwalker.ca/CF18_detailed_part1.html, it was taken on strength 3 august 1983 and "With 410 Squadron when it crashed at Seibert Lake near CFB Cold Lake, Alberta on 11 January 1989, during an airlift support mission.  Pilot Capt. W.W. Niemi killed." I'm not sure why the microscale decal set (with the incorrect maple leaf) chose this one, but I stuck with it when I got the Canuck decals (which allow you to choose any S/N you want).

 

Finishing: Seams filled with CA (superglue)

Paints:  Mr. Surfacer 1500 black primer  > MRP FS35237 (Top) > Mr. Color C308 (bottom) > various shades of Alclad (detailed in my WIP)

Decals: Canuck Decals 002-72

Weathering/Wear: Panel lines were pin washed with black tube watercolor and some were drawn on with 0.3 mm pencil > oil staining and dirt streaks with Black and Burnt Umber  watercolor Paints > Tamiya weathering pastels (black)

 

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And here it is next to it's sister build, the Testors F/A-18 of VFA-25:

 

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Build notes:

  • The Canuck decals were supurb!
  • The Hasagawa kit had excellent surface detail, but had a sparse cockpit. The seam between the top and bottom halves of the fuselage is terrible, however, requiring sanding to remove a step between the two, and rescribing the surface detail.

 

Thanks for looking! Comments, questions, and constructive criticism always welcome!

Edited by opus999
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2 hours ago, Matt P said:

Very nice 👍. I have just finished the 2 seat tf-18A version and had the same problem. I might just try the watercolour weathering too next time 😊

Give it a try! Watercolors didn't completely replace oils, but they definitely have their time and place, and I'm starting to get a feel when to use one vs. the other.

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8 hours ago, Scooby said:

I have a photo of Wally’s missing man flypast at his funeral, my former boss flew the missing man position.

 

Nice build, thanks for the tribute.

Wow, thanks for sharing that! It's interesting to have a connection to the pilot, even if it is second-hand.

 

I hope it's  a fitting tribute!

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