Navy Bird Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 A day late and a dollar short - story of my life. Actually, it's more like several weeks late for the Group Build deadline, but hey at least she's finished. I'm pretty sure I don't need to give any back story about the F/A-18 Super Bug. <rant on> One thing that "bugs" me though, is this Boeing thing. The original YF-17 design came from Northrop, the follow-on development of the F/A-18 was done in conjunction with McDonnell Douglas who did the final assembly (due to their experience with USN aircraft). Development of the Super Hornet was done by McDonnell Douglas at the McAir facility in St. Louis, and the first seven full-scale development aircraft were built and flown prior to Boeing's acquisition of McDonnell. So all of a sudden it's the Boeing Super Hornet. Well, OK, if that's the case then I guess the P-51 is a Boeing Mustang as well. <rant off> My usual long and boring (or is it Boeing?) executive summary: Project: Boeing (it's really McDonnell Douglas) F/A-18F Super Hornet Kit: Hasegawa Kit No. 00809 Scale: 1:72 (that's as big as it gets honey) Decals: TwoBobs sheet 72-046 Rockin' Rhinos #3; Galaxy Model G7205 F/A-18 Bounty Hunters OEF; kit sheet Resin: Aires 7282 cockpit set, 7327 exhausts (open); RES-IM 7209 wings/flaps down set; ResKit RS72-0126 wheels and tyres Photoetch: Eduard 73229 cockpit and exterior set Masks: Eduard CX133 Paint: Mr. Hobby H11 Flat White, H12 Flat Black, H25 Sky Blue, H90 Clear Red, H94 Clear Green, H307 FS36320, H308 FS36375, H309 FS34079, H317 Dark Gull Gray, H329 FS13538 Insignia Yellow; MRP Super Clear Gloss MRP-048; Mr. Color GX114 Super Smooth Flat, SM205 Super Titanium 2; Alclad AC103 Dark Aluminum, AC111 Magnesium; Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black Weathering: Colour modulation on the greys, washes in the gear wells and on gear struts Improvements/Corrections Replaced kit cockpit with Aires resin set Detailed cockpit with Eduard photoetch Added HUD with photoetch frame and dual combiners from film Detailed canopy (hand holds, mirrors, latches, cross brace) with Eduard photoetch Replaced kit wheels and tyres with ResKit resin Add photoetch brake lines on all landing gear Replaced kit wings with RES-IM resin wings and flap down set VFA-2 red, white, and blue stripes painted on AIM-9L/M Sidewinders from The Island of Misfit Missiles WIP can be found here. If you visit the WIP you can learn all about my adventures with VFA-2 decals, and why I chose to paint the stripes on. It's not Homer (is anything?) but you might find it interesting. Enough - now for some pictures! Now I'm off to finish a real McDonnell Douglas bird - the F3H-2 Demon! One of McDonnell's "Spooks," the Demon was a descendant of the FH-1 Phantom and an ancestor of the F-4 Phantom II. Good company. Since I'll be building the Emhar kit, it might take a while. Cheers, Bill 54 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k5054nz Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Beautiful work Bill, she's gorgeous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Simply stupendous work Bill, it looks rather nice! 🏆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry1954 Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 One word for one bird. Awesome! Looking forward to seeing the Boeing Demon come to completion. 😂 Terry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 She’s a beauty. I think I can see where the extra weeks went into a superb looking model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 A Navy bird from @Navy Bird, what's not to like? This is typically gorgeous, and the painted stripes really set it off (not to mention all the fine detailing you put into it)! Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearmatt Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Well…always excited when I see a « Navy Bird » rollout. I know before opening that it’s gonna be awsome 😎 I really really like your (Boeing…) SH and it’s not too worn look. and re Boeing vs MDD I will never get used to it. for me, those birds will always remain MDD. or how does it sound to you: Boeing F-15 Eagle?…come on :) Great job Bill. Looking forward to the Demon. btw: why emhar and not sword? Cheers Ben 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 The cockpit alone is gorgeous. I can't do that in 1/32 scale! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 2 hours ago, SAT69 said: The cockpit alone is gorgeous. I can't do that in 1/32 scale! Agreed! That HUD looks really fiddly, I can’t imagine doing that in 1/72. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vultures1 Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Very nice work Bill, especially given your tribulations with the decals. The end result looks fantastic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted May 11, 2022 Author Share Posted May 11, 2022 17 hours ago, Terry1954 said: Looking forward to seeing the Boeing Demon come to completion. 😂 Oh, don't you start! Technically, it's a McDonnell Demon as Douglas didn't join the fray until 1967. So if we follow the trend, the DC-3 was Douglas first, McDonnell-Douglas second, and is now Boeing. Ugh. I guess I can understand calling the Super Hornet a Boeing product as it's still in production after the merger. But it still bugs me. 🐞 17 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said: She’s a beauty. I think I can see where the extra weeks went into a superb looking model. I thought for sure that I'd have it finished before the Group Build deadline, but the decal fracas cost me a few weeks and then the extended family had some fun with Covid, and generally life got in the way. But we all survived and the model is finished. 17 hours ago, giemme said: A Navy bird from @Navy Bird, what's not to like? This is typically gorgeous, and the painted stripes really set it off (not to mention all the fine detailing you put into it)! Yeah, I should have painted the stripes right from the get-go. Ultimately they look better than a decal would have. I was really surprised with the problems with the TwoBobs sheet (printed by Microscale). On close examination (my magnifier) I honestly think they forgot to add the carrier film. I could see no trace of it - and once I added clear lacquer over everything the decals performed fine, although I had to trim everything real close. Weird. 12 hours ago, bearmatt said: Looking forward to the Demon. btw: why emhar and not sword? Thanks Ben. I'm doing the Emhar kit as I already had one in the stash (which I bought when the kit first came out), along with all the aftermarket that was made for it. Besides, I like a challenge that turns me into a berserker. 11 hours ago, SAT69 said: The cockpit alone is gorgeous. I can't do that in 1/32 scale! I couldn't either - it's too big! I think it's much easier to add detail in 1:32 scale (I did that with my Tamiya Spitfire) but you have to add so much more of it or it doesn't look right. With 1:72, I can add just a bit and it looks good. Since I'm naturally lazy, it's a good scale for me. 9 hours ago, billn53 said: Agreed! That HUD looks really fiddly, I can’t imagine doing that in 1/72. Actually, it wasn't too bad. The HUD framework was one photoetch piece with two folds, and the combining glasses were easy to cut out of the film (just follow the printed outline). The hardest part was getting the film positioned correctly on the frame - hard to see without the correct lighting and a good magnifier. My old man eyes didn't help! But we got there. 7 hours ago, Vultures1 said: Very nice work Bill, especially given your tribulations with the decals. The end result looks fantastic Thanks. Hopefully I'll not have problems with the Demon, although some of the decals I want to use are a couple or three decades old. No doubt I will give them a coat of clear lacquer just in case! ***** Thanks to everyone for the nice compliments! Cheers, Bill 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 Impressive Navy bird, uh, Navy Bird (Boeing better not buy you!) I really like the drooped flaps and the markings are exquisite. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardiff guy Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 nice work, well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted May 15, 2022 Author Share Posted May 15, 2022 16 hours ago, Cookenbacher said: Impressive Navy bird, uh, Navy Bird (Boeing better not buy you!) I really like the drooped flaps and the markings are exquisite. Thanks Cookie. No chance of Boeing buying me, I don't think they could afford the debt burden. 9 hours ago, cardiff guy said: nice work, well done. Thanks! I got pretty frustrated with the decal shenanigans, but I like the final result. She looks good next to my other two Hornets (Canadian Tiger Meet and USN Centennial). Cheers, Bill 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard E Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 1/72nd scale modelling at its best and a finished kit to be proud of. I think the one detail which competes the scene is the very credible load of inert/training munitions which you would probably expect to see the aircraft carrying during routine training operations. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 I do love a full colour CAG bird, this Hornet is lovely 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndM Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 A Hornet in museum quality ! Colorful markings are on gray jets a really nice touch. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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