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1/48 F/A-18F, VFA-103, Inherent Resolve, 2016. Finished 23/02.


DaveJL

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What you could do, and I know this would be a pain. Make a blank out of balsa of the shape of the rear of the kit intake (you would need to taper the front edge a we bit), then heat up the resin intake and carefully insert the blank into it. Being soft it should take the new shape. Leave the blank in then cool, it should retain the new shape. 

 

The new resin bit didn't look to be too far off shape so this could work

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37 minutes ago, coneheadff said:

I had the same issue with Phasehangar's intakes. I think they really did shrink more than Mike thought due to the very thin leading edge.

Back then I bined the kit, but I have two more Hase Super Hornets and two intake sets.

I don't know if I want to start them now that I can compare it with Meng's little gem.

Yeah that seems to be the issue. The profile and shape is spot on, it's just that front join seems to have shrank below the levels of the opening of the intake. How do you find Meng's kit in comparison? There are some rough bits on the Hasegawa kit. I've one of Meng's E models in the stash, plan to do that as a VFA-87 jet (the Su-22 shooter).

 

2 minutes ago, trickyrich said:

What you could do, and I know this would be a pain. Make a blank out of balsa of the shape of the rear of the kit intake (you would need to taper the front edge a we bit), then heat up the resin intake and carefully insert the blank into it. Being soft it should take the new shape. Leave the blank in then cool, it should retain the new shape. 

 

The new resin bit didn't look to be too far off shape so this could work

Now that sounds overly complicated for me Rich! I'm a cert to melt resin and burn the house down.

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Just now, modelling minion said:

Yeah, right. And just how long do you think that will last Chris?

About as long as me when Tamiya released their latest F-14A (I think it was along the lines of 'I won't pre-order'... about 30 seconds later.... 'oh that's a good price, I'll pre-order')

 

Now I have 3 of them and fondly remember the pre-order saga.

 

Ps if anyone wants to trade some 'opened' F-14 wings, see the trade section :lol:

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1 minute ago, modelling minion said:

Yeah, right. And just how long do you think that will last Chris?

 

I don't know...maybe a week or 2?  Now I did say merely attempt...I'm certainly not going to hold my breath.  :rofl2:

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1 minute ago, DaveJL said:

About as long as me when Tamiya released their latest F-14A (I think it was along the lines of 'I won't pre-order'... about 30 seconds later.... 'oh that's a good price, I'll pre-order')

 

Now I have 3 of them and fondly remember the pre-order saga.

 

Ps if anyone wants to trade some 'opened' F-14 wings, see the trade section :lol:

 

I'm currently resisting that one too...despite the fact I can basically get one for free.  I'm trying to find other tooling that I can burn my 15 year work anniversary points on.  The Silhouette Cameo 4 landed earlier this week...and I've still got enough left over for Tamiya's late A should I not find anything useful (or resist any longer).

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18 minutes ago, helios16v said:

 

I'm currently resisting that one too...despite the fact I can basically get one for free.  I'm trying to find other tooling that I can burn my 15 year work anniversary points on.  The Silhouette Cameo 4 landed earlier this week...and I've still got enough left over for Tamiya's late A should I not find anything useful (or resist any longer).

The latest F-14A is well worth it. You can pretty much do a B from it too, just add some GE exhausts and modify the front coaming and boom!

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16 minutes ago, DaveJL said:

The latest F-14A is well worth it. You can pretty much do a B from it too, just add some GE exhausts and modify the front coaming and boom!

 

Damnit, don't tell me that..... :rofl2:

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3 hours ago, trickyrich said:

What you could do, and I know this would be a pain. Make a blank out of balsa of the shape of the rear of the kit intake (you would need to taper the front edge a we bit), then heat up the resin intake and carefully insert the blank into it. Being soft it should take the new shape. Leave the blank in then cool, it should retain the new shape. 

 

The new resin bit didn't look to be too far off shape so this could work

I'm pretty sure that the leading edge will crack. It's so thin that you don't even have enough material to sand it.

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7 hours ago, DaveJL said:

How do you find Meng's kit in comparison? There are some rough bits on the Hasegawa kit. I've one of Meng's E models in the stash, plan to do that as a VFA-87 jet (the Su-22 shooter).

Forgot to answer your question 🙂

So far the Meng kit is a dream. I only glued the cockpit and the wheel wells, but did dry fit the main fuselage parts and it seems to be a perfect fit.

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8 hours ago, coneheadff said:

Forgot to answer your question 🙂

So far the Meng kit is a dream. I only glued the cockpit and the wheel wells, but did dry fit the main fuselage parts and it seems to be a perfect fit.

That sounds promising, I'm finding this Hasegawa kit to be a little bit of a slog, nothing terrible, but certainly requires a bit more work. I may just go with Meng kits from now on.

 

Managed a couple of hours this morning at the bench. I've officially retired the seamless intakes, they're just not going to work which I'm disappointed with. The shape and size of the opening is just too small for the kit parts. FOD covers it is. Decision made, I closed up the fuselage. I got a better fit by not following the instructions - I attached upper and lower halves first, then fitted the forward section. That being said, a lot of clamping was needed:

 

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A few problem areas:

 

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The fit is iffy at best and there was some flash here and there. Odd, as all the panel lines match up so I'm not sure why the seams are so heavy and in need of filler. Maybe I've just got a lemon. The join around the LEX will also need attention. At least the landing gear went together reasonably easily:

 

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My next job will be to sort out all those seams and joins. Filler and sanders standing by.

 

More soon and stay safe

 

Dave

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  • DaveJL changed the title to 1/48 F/A-18F, VFA-103, Inherent Resolve, 2016. Update 21/01.

Looking good Dave!

 

Exactly those seams are the issues I mean. You can see the age of Hasegawa's kits. They haven't produced anything in the last couple of years and one can see that Meng's kit are designed and produced with new technologies.

Oh well, saying that I remembered that I have at least TWENTY Hase kits 🤦🏻‍♂️

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39 minutes ago, coneheadff said:

Looking good Dave!

 

Exactly those seams are the issues I mean. You can see the age of Hasegawa's kits. They haven't produced anything in the last couple of years and one can see that Meng's kit are designed and produced with new technologies.

Oh well, saying that I remembered that I have at least TWENTY Hase kits 🤦🏻‍♂️

Cheers Alex, getting there. A lot of seam work needed now (I've just dabbed on the initial coats of filler and can see a fairly large amount of sanding ahead!).

 

You're right about the moulds, think Hasegawa's initial E model was released in 2004/5. This is my last boxing from the stash and like I say, I think I'll plump for the Meng kits from now on, as they look better tooled and have crisper detail. Almost tempted to enter the E model I have into this GB, but mustn't get carried away....

 

Typhoon and F-14D for the bombers GB

Nimrod for the British GB

Something for the Falklands GB

F-104S for the Century Fighters GB

Something for the Canadian GB

F-15(s) for the F-15 GB

 

Yes, mustn't get carried away :lol:

 

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Just now, coneheadff said:

Wow...that's a lot of GBs you want to participate 😳😳

 

But knowing your speed I'm pretty sure you will finish them all.

I'll try my best but we're planning to move house later in the year so that could disrupt things a bit :lol:

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23 hours ago, helios16v said:

 

Damnit, don't tell me that..... :rofl2:

 

it's only a matter of time....you know resistance is futile!!!  I know thai as I have a club meet today and the chances of me coming home without something new is very slim!! :D

 

20 hours ago, coneheadff said:

I'm pretty sure that the leading edge will crack. It's so thin that you don't even have enough material to sand it.

 

yeah it does look to be super this. If Dave desperately wanted to use them there are a couple of ways around this (well I would try) but at the end of the day it's just too much work, time better spent on other things.

 

Gee dave you're making good progress with her. That tail area really is the problem area with this model. I found that the top and bottom fuselage sections just didn't want to sit right even after careful aligning and trimming...hence all the clamps I used. I seem to have some gaps with mine but at least the joins are all flat. Something I didn't have last time!

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13 hours ago, trickyrich said:

 

Gee dave you're making good progress with her. That tail area really is the problem area with this model. I found that the top and bottom fuselage sections just didn't want to sit right even after careful aligning and trimming...hence all the clamps I used. I seem to have some gaps with mine but at least the joins are all flat. Something I didn't have last time!

It's turning into a bit of a slog, nearly every join requires filler and since Squadron went under, I've no longer been able to source my beloved Green putty, so I'm still practicing with new putties, but none are like my old friend.

 

I have to say, I'm not enjoying this build so far. I just cleaned up and primed the inboard flaps and they look terrible. Another dose of filler needed. And the join of the LEX, good grief.

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An hour or so done today. My my, a lot of sanding. Another application of filler all round. Firstly, the inboard flaps:

 

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These really are terrible. There are one piece resin parts available from the States, but at £29.30 posted, I can't really justify that given that I'm a seamless intake induced £30 lighter in the wallet, which has since become a convenient bin decoration.

 

I moved on and cleaned up the initial filler on the rear fuselage. Not too bad, some lost panels that will need re-scribed. A little more filler to come off and hopefully this area should be ok. The LEX, well, that needs a good bit of attention. Another terrible area. So to feel like I achieved something today, I fitted the flap and aileron actuators. Fairly simple. I also popped on the wing tip launchers. Again fairly simple. I then moved on and fettled, wrestled and otherwise installed the slats. Not so simple.

 

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The good thing is, once I sort the filler, that's the majority of the construction complete, less the addition of the flaps and ailerons. I might leave these off and paint separately but knowing how they sit, it might be less painful to do it pre-paint. 

 

More soon and stay safe

 

Dave

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  • DaveJL changed the title to 1/48 F/A-18F, VFA-103, Inherent Resolve, 2016. Update 22/01.

Sorry to see the issues you're having with your build Dave, looks about as much fun as the Kinetic pile of poo that I have been struggling with, they also do virtually identical two piece flaps to Hasegawa and they are just as good a fit too. Can't for the life of me see a good reason for doing them in two pieces when they could do them as one piece.

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2 hours ago, modelling minion said:

Sorry to see the issues you're having with your build Dave, looks about as much fun as the Kinetic pile of poo that I have been struggling with, they also do virtually identical two piece flaps to Hasegawa and they are just as good a fit too. Can't for the life of me see a good reason for doing them in two pieces when they could do them as one piece.

Oh boy...don't say that. I have one Kinetic Hornet waiting for me 🤦🏻‍♂️

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