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I'm going to be busy for a while (Kinetic 1/32 F/A-18C)


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After months and months of searching (basically since the aircraft was released for DCS in 2018,) I finally was able to get my hands on this beauty! Of course, the "bug" needs no introduction, currently flying for a number of foreign Air Forces. I apologise for having already started her before starting this thread, but the excitement was too great!

 

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Edited by Fulcrum Guy
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I'm planning on getting a LOT of resin for this bird, as I want this one to be one of my crowning achievements. I already have the Aires pit, and am looking at getting Aires' gear bays, GT Resin's seamless intakes, either Aires or GT Resin's burner cans, Zactomodels AIM-9M, Eduard Brassin GBU-12, VideoAviation GBU-38, Wolfpack's countermeasure dispensers, and she will be a line jet from VFA-22. Here's a look at how the pit came out (sans seat of course,) and I can say with certainty, I've improved.

 

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Edited by Fulcrum Guy
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Also, here's a shot of the "turtle deck." Shame that the mesh will cover the avionics details, but I want this one to be ready for the pilot to step to the jet, fully armed and sitting on the deck

 

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@polybebber I was typing your answer as you asked lol, she will be a lo-vis line bird from VFA-22, the "fighting redcocks." I chose that livery as most of the aftermarket decals available are for CAG jets, and as a former maintainer, I want to show a jet that has gotten down 'n dirty.

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Another quick update, nothing too exciting. The gear and bays are now painted in their overall white colour, having to go over twice in white over the black primer (tried to be clever with simulating shadow areas). Now all that's left for them is to detail, gloss coat and dirty them up. Looking at all the reference pictures, contrary to USAF gear, the Navy keeps their legs surprisingly clean, most likely due to dealing with sea air, and the effect it has on aircraft.

 

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Thanks again for stopping by!

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Another quick one (to show, not to achieve). I've started painting the hydraulic lines in the gear bay, and realised I may need a new tin of steel, as my current Revell colour has been with me for about 7 years. So far I'm happy with the result, but will definitely need to go back over some spots with white to tighten up where the steel went a bit further than it should have.

 

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Thanks again for stopping by the hangar!

Edited by Fulcrum Guy
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Cleanup has been accomplished, and the main accumulator and beginning of the comm box have been painted. Just need to do the yellow for the main face/placards and do the comm cord hookup covers and I think that'll be it for the bays. I think they're starting to look like wheel wells!

 

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As always, thanks for stopping by the hangar!

Edited by Fulcrum Guy
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Great looking build so far. The Academy Legacy Hornet is a good 25% better model than the Trumpeter Super Hornets, so you've made a good choice in kit. If I ever built another, and I am really tempted, I have wondered how good the resin undercarriage bays are. Like you I have read/heard so many horror stories, but you seem to have had a good fit....so perhaps there is nothing to be scared of :)

 

I may have missed it, but the one issue that Academy 1/32 hornets have (that doesn't affect the Trumpy ones) is that the "knees" on the main undercarriage legs WILL sag after a while. My advice would be to pay out yet more money f0r the SAC white metal, or when not gazing, lovingly at your finished build, consider having a temporary stand propped underneath to take the weight off those rear wheels.

 

and yes, this is also my favourite aircraft in DCS - I'd love to be able to model my own skins for the game

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Thanks everyone for the kind words! @FIGHTS ON I was looking at those main gear as well, and may have to bite the bullet on them rather than risk her crouching more than necessary (losing the support rod in the middle of the knuckle wouldn't hurt either :D ) I think what may have happened in reference to the gear bays is that Aires listened to feedback and made necessary adjustments. As far as a super bug, we're stuck between Revell and Trumpeter, and I've heard nothing but horror stories about the former. Doing skins for DCS isn't that difficult, just need to wrap your head around PhotoShop :P 

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Interesting to follow. I got the full Aires resin stuff for a 1/48 HobbyBoss legacy bug a while back. No way the front bay and cockpit would fit together in the same fuselage, let alone the avionics bays. I ruined two kits before ditching the project. I reached out to Aires and zero response back from their customer service. 

 

I am actually working on the Kinetic 1/48 A+ version now and it is a great kit. I think yours is an upscaled version of mine.

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Shame to hear about the ill-fits you experienced with your resin, guess I lucked out with dealing with bigger scale. I'm honestly surprised they haven't at least marked what needs to be cut and where for using multiples of their offerings for the same model. As far as the 1/48 goes, I believe you're right as well, since the 1/32 VMFA-232 bug has been out for a few months, maybe to test the waters on an A+.

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Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow modellers! Work is nearly complete on the gear bays (just down to painting the end caps on the nose well accumulator.) Next step will be to close up the forward fuselage and add the rest of the "bits" to the gear themselves. Hopefully GT Resin comes through and casts a new set of intakes soon (I've emailed them personally and they said they will be restocking SprueBros, so fingers crossed!)

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As always. thanks for stopping by the hangar!

Edited by Fulcrum Guy
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Another update, while I'm waiting to order a few more bits, I figured I'd do my first attempt at adding additional detail that is otherwise missing from the model, in this case adding hydro lines to the nose gear. There is a prominent line on the forward side of the nose strut, and isn't modeled on the strut itself. So I took some of my 26GA wire and fashioned up a line. I probably should've went with something a bit thinner, like 28GA or even 30GA, but it definitely fits and looks the part. The nice thing about this wire is that it initially is a bright and shiny steel, but with a bit of manhandling it loses its luster and dulls to the correct sheen for hydro lines! The next step will be to add the AOA indexer, steering box, fashion up some braided electrical wire from thread, and add the follow-on actuator, then I can call the nose gear complete!

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As always, thanks for stopping by the hangar!

Edited by Fulcrum Guy
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On 11/6/2019 at 10:53 PM, Fulcrum Guy said:

G'day FG,

 

The mesh screen over the avionics bay only looks flat and neat when new from the factory. In reality these soon get bashed around and have a wrinkled appearance and seldom sit flush, especially on a line bird. Depending on the operator, there is also a data module reader in there that the pilot needs to access before and after flight.

You could bash the metal screen a little and leave the lower left corner peeled back to give a more candid appearance and permit a better view of some of the details in the aft avionics bay

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

Edited by Pappy
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