Nostalgia ain't what it used to be!

[gingerbob]

OK, a place-holder for the moment, but I figured I'd speak up before I had time to come to my senses.

 

My victim will be the old Monogram 1/48 kit.  I'm not actually sure how it ended up in my stash- probably offloaded by my childhood (and current) modelling chum Tad.  Back in the good old days, he could knock one of these out in a week or two, while I was still lost in books trying to learn some esoteric detail about MY chosen kit/subject.  While "life" has intruded in various ways to our hobby, I'm going to see if I can't do it more like we did in olden days.

 

I'm pretty sure I've chosen a specific subject- with a possible rival still trying to displace it.  In either case, it will reflect a sort of nostalgia, too, but I'm going to be coy for now, just to heighten the suspense.  The actual subject airframe is in fact a C, but I'm likely to commit the atrocity of not caring enough to worry about "converting" the kit.  In other words, shooting for "straight out of the box", but knowing me I'll complicate matters somewhere along the way just because.  I've already noticed that the kit is designed to be fitted with "Gadget, electronic, gee-whiz" on either side, and I'd prefer to have an unadorned "pure" airframe, so I'll think about how I might remove those.  Hey, what's a bit more putty?  It is, after all, a classic Monogram kit!

 

And speaking of nostalgia, while this feeling wasn't quite accurate even then, I still think of F-14/15/16/18 as "the new generation" of fighters.  I was a bit disappointed when the Blue Angels replaced the A-4 with the F-18 (and frankly still am when I see them perform).  While I think the F-18 is kind of cool looking (I actually liked the look of the YF-17 versus the YF-16- now THAT takes me back a long way...) it has never been a type I'm particularly fond of.  Perhaps I've never forgiven it for taking the place of the A-4!

 

bob

 

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by gingerbob

[Bertie McBoatface]

4 hours ago, gingerbob said:

I still think of F-14/15/16/18 as "the new generation" of fighters. 

 

Same. I hate the look of the stealthy 21st century aircraft. And I'm not a SuperHornet fan either. We can find ways to make them interesting though, can't we.

 

How old is the Monogram kit?

[gingerbob]

On 1/5/2022 at 9:46 AM, Bertie Psmith said:

How old is the Monogram kit?

 

Here's the original boxing, according to Scalemates, and that should give you some idea! (The instructions say copyright 1980.)

 

 

The page for the kit:  https://www.scalemates.com/kits/monogram-5802-f-18-hornet--237627

 

Mine is a somewhat later boxing, but I'd be surprised if they actually changed anything.  Inside the top and bottom halves is a product number for grey (or was it gray?) and another for blue, which must be the Blue Angels edition.  The fins have the two very short tubular fairings on the trailing edge, so not only not a C, it isn't even right for a "mainstream" A.  (I see that "Revell Monogram" did eventually update the fins (though according to one review they're a bit small- presumably pre-production dimensions) and issue it as a C.)

 

(Edit: apparently when Revellogram updated to make the C they did make the fins taller.)

 

 

 

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by gingerbob

[Bertie McBoatface]

Wow that’s like time travelling! Good luck with this old bird. 

[modelling minion]

17 minutes ago, gingerbob said:

The fins have the two very short tubular fairings on the trailing edge, so not only not a C, it isn't even right for a "mainstream" A.  (I see that "Revell Monogram" did eventually update the fins (though according to one review they're a bit small- presumably pre-production dimensions) and issue it as a C.)

I believe the fins are indeed the correct ones for pre-production aircraft.

[Anatol Pigwa]

You are building quite a suspense here. Now I am really curious what you have in store for us. Fingers crossed and watching this space.

[gingerbob]

I usually skip the obligatory sprue shot, but since I've got it:

 

 

I was planning to show all the stuff I was NOT going to use, but aside from that row of missiles and pylons across the bottom, it wasn't worth the trouble to cut them all off the sprues.

 

I've got today and tomorrow off, so will probably make the actual start (in my modest way) soon.  As I may have mentioned, I'm not that big a fan of the Hornet in general, but I've been enjoying the build-up and now the real beginning of this group build.  I'm also excited by the (no doubt futile) notion of trying to get back to the spirit (and definitely memories) of "the good old days".  Having said that, I've already been having innocent thoughts like, "Well, a Quickboost ejection seat wouldn't really complicate anything," and, "Hmm, I wonder if I could work up a quick-and-dirty intake trunk?"  (That last thought may make another appearance before long...)

[gingerbob]

Spot the difference:

 

 

Just a lash-up test.  I thought the sunlight might help illuminate the situation, but it might have been a bit much.  Also, don't pay too much attention to the background- "We were inverted."

[gingerbob]

Off to work an exhausting 3-hour shift in a moment, but I took advantage of a few spare moments of daylight and mood to grind away a bit more.  I'll clean it up, then post a better photo of what I'm up to.  Also will try to keep an eye out for suitable semi-flexible tubing for the nasal cannula (what's the plural of cannula?)

 

I also spent some pleasant time a couple days ago liberating various bits from the sprue (the ones I won't lose or get confused by).  Nice thing about these old Monogram kits is that there aren't many parts to keep track of!  Heck, some of these modern kits seem to have more sprues than I've got individual airframe parts.

 

If I get really inspired I might start prepping landing gear, but while I respect the logic of tackling such things ASAP, I'm no more eager to deal with them at the start of a project than I am at the end!

 

Happy Hornetizing, everybody,

 

bob

[Graham Boak]

In Latin, Cannulae.  In English Cannulas.  No point in getting too fussy - just how many internet modelling fora do you visit?  My wife however does prefer Wessici as the plural of Wessex (the helicopter), as Wessices (as index/indices) is just plain silly.