Bertie McBoatface Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 Meng's instructions are also dire. And too small for old eyes too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 3 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said: Meng's instructions are also dire. And too small for old eyes too. I would have thought better of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 They highlight optional parts but don't say which ones to use when. Location diagrams are sometimes vague Colour call outs are minimal Decal placement diagrams are tiny (Aircraft less that 6 inches long) Instructions themselves are in a book little bigger than A5 though useless history sheets are provided in A4! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 19 hours ago, Pappy said: G'day Sam, neat work! The inner three blades should be parallel to the centre line (as you have) but the outer two should angle inwards slightly (sorry for butting in Craig) cheers, Pappy Pappy, you‘re absolutely right. I got so carried away with trying to glue the two parts per antenna together that I simply missed that out. Shame on me, it‘s been 10 years since I touched the bird for the last time. I made a quick OODA loop, decided to leave it that way because I would mess up the parts trying to correct it…. Oh well…. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 3 hours ago, Sam said: Pappy, you‘re absolutely right. I got so carried away with trying to glue the two parts per antenna together that I simply missed that out. Shame on me, it‘s been 10 years since I touched the bird for the last time. I made a quick OODA loop, decided to leave it that way because I would mess up the parts trying to correct it…. Oh well…. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I don't think anyone will notice unless you point it out cheers, Pappy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 12 minutes ago, Pappy said: Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I don't think anyone will notice unless you point it out cheers, Pappy You did right, and I thank you for it 👍🏽 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 13, 2022 Author Share Posted January 13, 2022 Time for a bit of an update to show the position of the Hornet at the minute and I think a couple of pictures say it better than I could; I am quite happy with how the slats and flaps have turned out, with the way some of this kit has gone I was worried about the flaps in particular and how they would work out. The only issue with this part of the build is the fact that the locating holes in both the flap and wing surfaces for the locating pins on the actuators are about three times the size of the pins and will need some filling as can be seen in the picture below; The next job to be tackled is the vertical tails and these look to be very nicely moulded and capture the look of the A's fins very well, Kinetic do supply the fins for both the A/B and C/D but once again don't tell you which ones to use for which version, in fact they don't mention the ones for the C/D at all! Here's a look at the outer face of on of the tails; The inside of the tail does need a little corrective work doing though. Fairly early on in the Hornet;s career it was discovered that they suffered from fatigue cracks caused by the buffeting of air from the LEX so to help prevent this some strengthening plates were added to the joint of the inside of the fin and the fuselage. On the C these were replaced by smaller plates during production. The issue here is that Kinetic have the smaller plates moulded on them, marked in red in the picture below; Shouldn't take long to sort, and Kinetic do supply the correct plates for an A too, and they actually tell you to fit them! So that is how she looks at the minute, I had planned more progress but feel like today, hopefully I will get the tails sorted and fitted tomorrow. Thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Filler Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 Kinetic have done a nice job with some very crisp detail there, even if they’re a little uncertain which version is which. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share Posted January 14, 2022 2 minutes ago, Filler said: Kinetic have done a nice job with some very crisp detail there, even if they’re a little uncertain which version is which. Absolutely, I can't fault the quality of the mouldings, its the instructions and poor fit that let the kit down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share Posted January 14, 2022 17 hours ago, modelling minion said: Shouldn't take long to sort, and Kinetic do supply the correct plates for an A too, and they actually tell you to fit them! My mistake, don't know what I was thinking, Kinetic do supply the plates but don't tell you to fit them. At least they are consistent, consistently bad though. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneheadff Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 Looking very good, Craig! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 15, 2022 Author Share Posted January 15, 2022 13 hours ago, coneheadff said: Looking very good, Craig! Thanks Alex, she's creeping ever closer to getting some paint on her. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 15, 2022 Author Share Posted January 15, 2022 Decided to tackle the canopy parts today to see if the there were any mould seams that needed to be dealt with, and yes there most definitely were. The main canopy wasn't too bad, about the same as I have seen from Hasegawa and other manufacturers, but the windscreen section had the biggest raised join line I have ever seen; I would also like to know which kit Kinetic designed the windscreen for because it certainly isn't their own! The picture above doesn't really show how bad the fit is and is also after a great deal of plastic has been removed from the inside front of the windscreen and some from the fuselage where it joins. Both canopy pieces have now been dipped in Klear as the final part of cleaning up the mould seam and tomorrow they shall be masked up prior to getting some black applied, and then I shall try to force the windscreen into position, followed by the now customary filling and sanding session. 3 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 OMG!!!! Are you sure they didn't mistake that for an extra cockpit frame! That is nasty! She coming along nicely though. I'm glad you're building one of these, main I don't have to now! Hopefully you're not coming down with that dreaded virus!!! Remember drink lots of Rum, that'll keep you fit and healthy....just look at me! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneheadff Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Boy, that's really an ugly part 😳 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 10 hours ago, trickyrich said: OMG!!!! Are you sure they didn't mistake that for an extra cockpit frame! That is nasty! Yeah its not the best is it, took a fair amount of cleaning up but its done now. 10 hours ago, trickyrich said: I'm glad you're building one of these, main I don't have to now! I think this must have been a team effort with Kitty Hawk! 8 hours ago, coneheadff said: Boy, that's really an ugly part 😳 Not what you expect from a modern kit is it Alex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Could not find your ejection seat yet in this build but make sure you use a correct one if I understand the Duke Hawkins series on the Hornet correctly, Spanish and Canadian Hornets still use the original SJU-5 withe the mire rounded head bix compared to the smaller, boxy SJU -17... If of course this is true for the ex US A models though I still need to check... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 4 hours ago, exdraken said: Could not find your ejection seat yet in this build but make sure you use a correct one if I understand the Duke Hawkins series on the Hornet correctly, Spanish and Canadian Hornets still use the original SJU-5 withe the mire rounded head bix compared to the smaller, boxy SJU -17... If of course this is true for the ex US A models though I still need to check... I am using a seat by Pavla (48004) which is an SJU-5 so I should be okay. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcat911 Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 On 1/16/2022 at 5:12 AM, modelling minion said: Decided to tackle the canopy parts today to see if the there were any mould seams that needed to be dealt with, and yes there most definitely were. The main canopy wasn't too bad, about the same as I have seen from Hasegawa and other manufacturers, but the windscreen section had the biggest raised join line I have ever seen; I would also like to know which kit Kinetic designed the windscreen for because it certainly isn't their own! The picture above doesn't really show how bad the fit is and is also after a great deal of plastic has been removed from the inside front of the windscreen and some from the fuselage where it joins. Both canopy pieces have now been dipped in Klear as the final part of cleaning up the mould seam and tomorrow they shall be masked up prior to getting some black applied, and then I shall try to force the windscreen into position, followed by the now customary filling and sanding session. Good work so far! You might want to reference this build log on ARC on how to deal with the windshield. http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/312213-kinetic-148-fa-18c-vfa-151-in-progress/&do=findComment&comment=2998267 Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 17, 2022 Author Share Posted January 17, 2022 7 hours ago, madcat911 said: You might want to reference this build log on ARC on how to deal with the windshield. Thanks for that Mark, if nothing else it makes me feel better that I am not the cause of the fit problems on the kit and that its down to Kinetic. I have been attacking the canopy in the same place as the other builder but wasn't aware that the coaming needed some work too and to fit the HUD to get it to not touch the windscreen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Nice skills on show taming this one! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 These are not the kits I am looking for. I think I will strike Kinetic off the list of manufacturers that I can cope with. Your determination is impressive, MM! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 18, 2022 Author Share Posted January 18, 2022 3 hours ago, Wings unlevel said: Nice skills on show taming this one! 2 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said: These are not the kits I am looking for. I think I will strike Kinetic off the list of manufacturers that I can cope with. Your determination is impressive, MM! Thanks guys very much appreciated. I took a break from the front canopy yesterday and decided that I should make like Mick Jagger suggested and give her an over all coat of black to act as a primer and to show any areas that needed more filling and sanding (fortunately I seem to have done a decent job first time round and don't think any more is required) and also to use as a black base to build up the colours on. She looks quite good in black; I suppose I ought to go back and try and tackle the front canopy section but I am struggling with enthusiasm today and am finding it easier to sit on the computer looking at potential builds for the Bombers GB and new and interesting things to spend more money on. Thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Just now, modelling minion said: sit on the computer looking at ... new and interesting things to spend more money on. Same, same... 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 That looks a lot more like purple than it does black- and it does look good in purple! 25 minutes ago, modelling minion said: I am struggling with enthusiasm today and am finding it easier to sit on the computer looking at potential builds for the Bombers GB Well, remember that it is a "Ground Attack/Bomber (and something?)" Group Build, and this is an F/A-18, so... 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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