RJ-WobblyHands Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 My entry for this GB will be the HobbyBoss 1:48 F-18A Hornet She will be in the markings of VFA-25 'Fist of the Fleet' circa 1987 whilst the squadron (part of CVW-14) was assigned to USS Constellation stationed the Western Indian Ocean / Arabian Gulf providing air cover during Operation Earnest Will So the build will be another learning exercise I will be adding the Aires Resin Cockpit - eek! Painting ... Black-basing & mottling, Make it up as I go along haha etc to give a grubby , well used exposed to the elements finish Kit pictures will go here when Aires cockpit is delivered! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob85 Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 Like the sound of what your planning! I like a well weathered aircraft! Good luck. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ-WobblyHands Posted February 13, 2020 Author Share Posted February 13, 2020 Here is the kit and the Aires Cockpit 9 light grey sprues 1 aircraft and lots of ordanance and 1 clear still all wrapped up , complete with seam down the middle of canopy (as always) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ-WobblyHands Posted February 17, 2020 Author Share Posted February 17, 2020 (edited) Time to start ! Saturday after priming a some pieces , a day of house work and procrastination ie reading the instructions .. I mean looking at the pictures of both the Aires Cockpit set and kit scared me a little so I had 'a couple of malts' (for medicinal purposes) and watched junk tele in the evening with the wife Sunday dawned bright and breezy time to grab the saw with both hands and butcher carefully cut plastic and resin (with plenty of ventilation). The front wheel has to be assembled and attached to the lower fuselage before the cockpit can be worked on..... think I am stalling for time here... Wheel well base coat painted in the morning then made dirty in the afternoon.... The saw did come out - and tidy up some resin pieces and started removing plastic from the kit Edited February 17, 2020 by RJ-WobblyHands 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ-WobblyHands Posted February 18, 2020 Author Share Posted February 18, 2020 A lunch break special ... out with the saw and gently butcher the front end, The Aires cockpit now sits in the correct place, when the time comes some filling and re scribing will be required ... this got me thinking all the reference photos i have of a pilotless bird or moving on the flight deck , flaps, slats and ailerons are not in the neutral position as per the kit , they are 'down' ... now added to the list for this model.. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ-WobblyHands Posted February 21, 2020 Author Share Posted February 21, 2020 (edited) This week has been splashing paint on small surfaces ..... still some photo etch work to do, here is the pit soo far Edited February 21, 2020 by RJ-WobblyHands 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ-WobblyHands Posted March 5, 2020 Author Share Posted March 5, 2020 This weeks update ... Side tracked with work (lol) and 3D Printing - designed and currently making model stand for painting 1/72 & 1/48 aircraft and anything where you are not holding it Anyway back to the Hornet , Cockpit and nose attached to fuselage , filling and fairing started where I butchered it fitting the resin cockpit - it was not a an easy fit , for some therapy I have started building some of the sub assemblies. Next main task out with the knife so that the flaps and slats can sit in the down position as a plane at rest would be. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob85 Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 I’m a fan of the f-18’s shape, very purposeful! Really like the painting detail you have done on the internals. Rob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 Looking good so far - never built a Hornet but I have one in my stash so maybe soon. Cheers Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ-WobblyHands Posted March 10, 2020 Author Share Posted March 10, 2020 (edited) This weekend I fitted the intakes, airbrake and section behind cockpit. As with most kits that include an airbrake and the option to show it open , the closed fit, which is the norm for an aircraft sitting pilotless and powered down, is horrible so out came the high speed multi tool and the detail on both the airbrake and fuselage were ground away until a good fit was possible. After a couple of hours , adding to the holiday fund via the modelling swearbox , I achieved the droppy look that I think is OK ! This was a good time to walk away and do something else before something nasty happened..... The Actuators were cut at the hinge and the flap side was trimmed to fit and in the case of the main outer actuator - I added a small piece of plasticard to simulate the internal ram. Here is my Bug as of today A plasticcard strip was added as can be seen here to add a little strength to the joint otherwise is is very fragile ! And the aforementioned walking away from this model and slightly off topic ... but practise for the paintjob later in this build!!! My 3D printed model workstand (version1) and a 1/72 Havoc with my first attempt at blackbasing / mottling to get a dirty discoloured finish Edited March 10, 2020 by RJ-WobblyHands Resized the Images 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 I like the 3D printed work stand. Giving me a few ideas there! Hornet’s looking good but I really like the finish on the Havoc - I’ve tried black basing recently and been very pleased with the results. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ-WobblyHands Posted March 23, 2020 Author Share Posted March 23, 2020 Slow Progress , but in the time available in the last 2 weeks but I have attached tail fins , Primed , touched up seams as required , and primed again all the while humming Paint it Black , There may need to be some more work tidying the seams - that is for another day. I will start work on Undercarriage and ordnance that will be hanging.... until I find enough of a time block to teach myself mottling on a black base (I know there are plenty of You tube videos that make it look really easy ! ) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andwil Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 How good does a Hornet look in black! AW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ-WobblyHands Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 DISCLAIMER: I have no idea what I am doing and have no idea what it will look like !!! Coming back to the Hornet after finishing an F-35 and A-20G Havoc (that have been hanging around for nearly a year!) I have painted some random patterns in 3 differring colours over the black primer base coat followed by the 1st pass of top colour to blend the mottling - I think this is going ok ! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ-WobblyHands Posted April 24, 2020 Author Share Posted April 24, 2020 (edited) Had another session this afternoon -I still think I need to do some more blending to soften the mottling - though in daylight it is not as harsh PS don't look at the untidy mess behind the Hornet Edited April 24, 2020 by RJ-WobblyHands 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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