Jump to content

1/72 F/A-18C Hornet, CAG Golden Dragons 1996 - Build No.2 ## FINISHED ##


nimrod54

Recommended Posts

A Hasegawa boxing for my second entry to the GB. I have found a couple of decal sets that I have bought at some point in the past so I may use one of those as an alternative to the kit markings.

 

51806732787_4ee8b209b1_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

51807802438_a9f1a3b373_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

It will be a short while before I start either build because I need to wrap up a couple 'failed to completes' still hanging on from last years GB's.

 

John

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I made a start on this F-18C over the past few days, tidying up and checking the fit of fuselage parts before painting some bits up, and last night I finished adding the few decals to the cockpit, and then put some weight in the nose. I have since glued the upper and lower fuselage halves together and these have now been put aside to allow them to set up.

 

51969181431_49d63684d5_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

51969181336_61dd462895_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

51969468464_408393f478_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

There are a couple of sink marks just behind the two strakes on the upper fuselage that need filling and that along with the join at the rear of the fuselage will be the next job. 

 

I have also been thinking about the scheme for this build and many years ago I bought two sets of Aeromaster Decals titled Stinging Hornets, the second set had two examples for the -18C. This one for the Sidewinders...

 

51968176837_d6b8a59643_b.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

followed by this Golden Dragons example.

 

51969247413_94b4a5fc35_b.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

I am not sure which one to go with yet. Any suggestions?

 

John

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 29/03/2022 at 18:44, arfa1983 said:

 

I prefer the second one personally, but both are very cool.

 

On 30/03/2022 at 16:46, Vultures1 said:

I would agree, the Golden Dragons scheme looks particularly nice ... but both are cool

 

Chris

 

Thanks for your suggestions guys. When I bought the decal sets back in the late 90's, I did so with the intention of building the Golden Dragons versions from the sheets at some point, and Part 1 of the pair has an F/A-18A in a 50th Anniversary scheme with all of the markings in blue and sporting yellow fin caps, which looks just as colourful. I will take photos of the sheet for the next update. Because of your preference for the Golden Dragons version and with that scheme being the main reason for purchasing the sheet in the first place, that is what I am going with for this build.

 

I have pushed this along quite a bit since the last update, the wings have been fixed in place, I've added a pilot figure to the cockpit and glued the canopy on. Yesterday I masked up the canopy and primed the model, have left the fins off so that the decalling of those parts should be easier to do, and they have had a couple coats of satin black sprayed on. Today I sprayed some satin black along the spine, and tonight I carefully masked that area to define the final shape. I hope to get the two greys on tomorrow FS36320 on the upper surfaces and FS36375 on the lowers and sides.

 

51977891161_ef19aaacd9_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

51976881527_a2dbcbb979_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

John.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • nimrod54 changed the title to 1/72 F/A-18C Hornet, CAG Golden Dragons 1996 - Build No.2

I was able to airbrush both of the grey tones on today using Humbrol 128 for the top and Hu127 for the sides and lower surface. Now I have both of my Hornet builds at roughly the same stage which means that I need to detail and decal them both by next weekend, hopefully at least one should make it over the line, lets see how things go.

 

51980441043_97bac7751b_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

Just a little touch up required to the black on the starboard side of the nose.

 

51980648459_c40e4d4d06_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

51979365522_7cfb387270_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

If like me you initially thought that there was little difference between the two grey colours, this shot shows the contrast quite clearly.

 

And finally, here is the Golden Dragons 18A from the Part 1 Stinging Hornets set. Hopefully this version will make an appearance at some point later in the year.

 

51980926670_ab65415f16_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

John.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've made good progress with this one over the last few days. most of the decals are on, just those for the nose and centre tank to sort and a few more stencils to add. The undercarriage doors and pylons are ready for fit leaving the aerials as one of the last jobs. This is how things stand at the moment.

 

51989653645_58814a9873_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

51989152658_f7717c34cc_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

51989653715_681e915f30_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

51989152568_183ab3a785_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

John

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 08/04/2022 at 16:03, Vultures1 said:

Looking great John!

 

Thanks buddy. Apologies for the delay in replying but I have had a hectic time trying to get both builds finished before the deadline. I wrapped things up by about 9:30pm, any way here is the final result. I have given this one yellow main legs in homage to what I understand is a tradition for VFA-192 aircraft.

 

51994652697_052453ff42_b.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

51994652812_9d127c24b5_b.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

Cheers.

John

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • nimrod54 changed the title to 1/72 F/A-18C Hornet, CAG Golden Dragons 1996 - Build No.2 ## FINISHED ##

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...