RAAF EA-18G Growler - Meng 1/48 with some extras.

[Marlin]

G'Day Mates.  

For this GB I'll be building Mengs Growler. 
20250205_155811 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

It should be fun, I've not built this kit before, nor any other Super Hornets for that matter. 
I'll will try my best to make this bird. 
EA-18G Growler A46-306 in it's Centennial colours.
I'll be using this sheet from Syhart Decals.
20250221_174909 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
20250221_174918 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
20250221_175043 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

I've also got Kelik's 3D decals for the cockpit.
20250221_175116 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

I also bought some masking foam plugs for the landing gear bays from Omask that I've never heard of before. 
20250325_181925 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

I'll also be using some paint masks from Ask Distributions. 

And I have a pair of Eduards AGM-88B's in the stash that I might use if the kit one isn't sufficient. 
159 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

/Bosse

[Christer A]

This will be really tasty Bosse!

[81-er]

I've not used them yet, but Eduard added some Omask plugs for the wheel bays in the Royal Class P-40 kit, so they've got to be decent

 

James

[Marlin]

Thanks James,

If they're good enough for Eduard I'm sure they'll be good enough for me. 

And I hope they last more than one kit, I got two additional Meng F/A-18F's in the stash that I hope to use them on. 

 

/Bosse

[Rabbit Leader]

Great project and scheme @Marlin, with all that aftermarket on show, this is bound to be a cracking WIP. 
Cheers and all the best.. Dave 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Welcome to the build with your Aussie Growler. 

[Marlin]

Thanks Gents.

I'm really looking forward to this build and learn a bit more on the Super Hornet/Growler. 

/Bosse

[Marlin]

Hi.  

Yes, it's finally time to start my Growler. 
006 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And as usual we start with the cockpit.
007 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

All this lovely detail has to go in preparation for the 3D decals.
011 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

Then the nose gear bay gets build.
More lovely detail stright out of the box.
008 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
009 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
010 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

After that I started to glue as much sub assemblies I could.
AIM-120 Amraams
012 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

AGM-88 Harm
013 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

Jamming pods.
014 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

Drop tanks.
015 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

Wing pylons.
016 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
017 by Bosse Persson, on Flick

Ejection seats.
018 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

Main Wheel bays.
I think these are the finest details I've seen from Meng so far.
019 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And the Wheel bays mounted to the intakes.
020 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

 

And that was all I managed to do yesterday.
I took a rather nasty Cold with me home from London, so I guess I won't be going to work tomorrow. 🤧
To be continued…..
/Bosse

[Wings unlevel]

Nice project, Bosse. I’ll watch with interest as I hope to build the Meng Growler in RAAF markings myself one day.

[Marlin]

You're most welcome to the show Gerard.

 

/Bosse

[Marlin]

Hi.  

It's real fun to build my Growler.
I've primed the wheel bays, AK Xtreme White Primer was used.
021 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And I've painted them with Gunze Gloss white.
I'll give them a light was later on.
022 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And I've also glued the wing in.
I'll build my Growler with the wings folded.
023 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And I've glued some kind of antenna and exhaust to the top fuselage.
024 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

I've also painted a lot of small parts, pylons, weapons etc.
025 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

When all that was done I felt for a beer.  
And it was enjoyed from a suitable glass I picked up at the RAF Museum in London
026 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
027 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

Today we have half day at work here in Sweden, and tomorrow is a holiday, so lots of extra time at the bench.
To be continued.....
/Bosse
 

[Marlin]

Hi.  

I've had some productive days with my Growler.
I've glued the side panels to the back of the fuselage.
029 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And the fit of these parts was real good.
028 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
030 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

I did get a small gap, but I think that was because I think I didn't sand off an ejection pin mark on the inside.
031 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
032 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

I gave the fan fronts a coat of titanium.
033 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

The second side panel had to be glued in stages to get it to sit perfectly.
034 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
037 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
038 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

I've also glued the wings outer parts together.
039 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
040 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And I've also started to work on the fins and rudders.
041 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

To be continued.....
/Bosse

[Marlin]

Hi.  

I spent this weekend dressing the cockpit up with Kelik's 3D decals.
042 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

First "wall paper" for the back parts.
043 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

The all side consoles.
044 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

Front and aft cockpit instrument panels.
045 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
046 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And all four side walls.
One of the 3D decals shattered on me unfortunately.
047 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

Belts for the ejection seats.
048 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And some stencils.
049 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

The side walls to some sanding and lots of dry fitting to get in place.
050 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And then I glued the IP's in, and glued the cockpit to the fuselage.
051 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

Getting the nose section together took some time.
I elected to glue the nose wheel bay part first and let that dry.
052 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

Then I glued the front section. 
I'll leave the back section to when I can glue it to the fuselage to get a good fit.
053 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

During the time glue was drying I put the under carriage together.
054 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
055 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And that is what I've done so far.
The plan for the coming week is to get the fuselage together and perhaps get some primer on by the weekend.
And with some new equipment on the bench I'll treat this as a test subject. 
178 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
179 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

To be continued.....
/Bosse

[exdraken]

Nice project and also work so far!

[RunRookieRun]

Great work so far Bosse. And enjoy the new Infinity! 

 

Talk to me about those vices though. Where did you find those?

[Marlin]

Thanks Werner @exdraken and @RunRookieRun  

The new Infinity is such a lovely tool, I'm really looking forward to learn to use it.

 

@RunRookieRun

I bought the eons ago at Biltema, who no longer sell them. 
I bought a second set from a company in the UK some years back, but I think they went out of business. 
I see that you're a fellow Swede, so if you don't mind the price tag on them, I think that you can still order them from Rebell Hobby.

 

F-clamps

 

http://www.rebell.com/tvingar-for-modellbygge-3-st.htm

 

/Bosse

[RunRookieRun]

Thanks! Guessed as much. Saw the blue and was hoping for tema, but of course they are no longer part of the selection. 

 

Had to ask when I finally saw something that might be available in our market and not just the UK or US.

[Marlin]

Hi.  

I'm really making some progress with my Growler
Earlier this week I glued the exhaust parts together and now they're ready for primer.
056 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And I've started to marry up the nose sections with the bottom of the fuselage.
And this is a tricky sequence of this build.
II started to glue the upper parts of the nose section to the fuselage before I glued the rounded part to the fuselage.
057 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
058 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

This was of course NOT the road to victory.
I got a twist in the sections and ended up with a horrible step between the segments.  
On my next Super Hornet I'll not be doing it this way again. 
059 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
060 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

I then had to spend two evenings with sanding, polishing and a meager attempt to re-scribe the lost panel lines.
I really have to some better tools for re-scribeing.
061 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
062 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
063 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

When this was fixed I could continue with gluing the top fuselage to the bottom segment.
I've been gluing it in stages to have a more controlled situation to work with. 
064 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
065 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

I've not glued the whole fuselage together yet, but that's something I'll do this evening when I'm waiting for Swedens first match against Slovakia in the World Championship in Ice Hockey that starts today, a tournament that is actually played here in Stockholm.  

To be continued.....
/Bosse

[trickyrich]

Gosh Bosse, I nearly missed this one!!!!

 

I have this model and am very interested to see how she builds up when compared to the Hasegawa one I built. Though it looks like you have had some fun with her!

 

Plus I see you have bought an Infinity!!!!  I truly love mine, the best money I have ever spent, easily one of the best Airbrushers out there! I only seem to use the 0.2mm needle/nozzle combo for everything. Even considering buying a second one.

 

I have build this exact same scheme, it is such a cool scheme, and those Syhart decals are perfect and super nice to use. Just be careful with the blue, I originally went too pale and had to re-do it completely using a darker blue, Tamiya's X-4 Blue. .

 

There is another company (who I won't name, they are not far from me) the does a set, but they are hopeless. I bough a set, after 11 week still didn't arrive, complained and as a result have been banned from ever buying from them again!!! What a bunch of clowns....well clown!

 

 

There is a good chance next year that my son will be a "back seater" in one of these with luck.

[Marlin]

Hi, and thanks Rich.  
I remember your build.
Tamiya X-4 you say?, I've used MRP FS15050 Blue Angels Blue on my fins, but I think that now looks a bit brighter than yours.
I don't have any Tamiiya paint, so I might order one of those. 
I also like my Infinity, a much better tool than my Grex, and much easier to clean. 
I might get me a second one to exclusive use it for metalics. 

I can report some more progress on my Growler. 
Late Thursday evening I sprayed a lot of completed parts with my absolute favourite gloss coat; AK's Super Gloss Finish 1K.
You spray it neat directly from the bottle and with bit higher air pressure than usual.
Let it dry at least over night and you end up with a hard and very glossy surface, which is what I wants as a decaling surface.
Without the flash.
066 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

With flash.
067 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
068 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

I was of course a bit eager to do these, and I didn't check that the propeller is a different colour. 
But I'll mask them of this evening and give them some more paint. 
I've also glued the fuselage together. 
069 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

I did end up with a seam in the back to one side that I had to fill with a small plasticard strip.
070 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

The nose cone is in place, and I remembered to add the right panel on top of it. 
No gun on Growlers.
071 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And I've primed the fuselage with my normal primer, AK Xtreme Grey Primer with Microfillers.
And I've used Omask foam plugs for the wheel bays. 
They fitted very nice even if the zig-zag parts at the ends of the main bays was a bit fiddly to fit.
072 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
073 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

I'll most likely spray the belly with Light Ghost Grey this evening.
Hockey night to night with Sweden facing Finland in the World Championship Tournament.
To be continued.....
/Bosse

[trickyrich]

I like the wheel well plus, what a great idea!

 

That AK Super Gloss looks interesting, what's it like to use? I may have to get some to try! 

[Marlin]

51 minutes ago, trickyrich said:

I like the wheel well plus, what a great idea!

That AK Super Gloss looks interesting, what's it like to use? I may have to get some to try! 

Thanks Rich.

 

AK's Super Gloss in something I pickup last year from their own web shop. 

https://ak-interactive.com/product/super-gloss-finish-1k-varnish-barniz-super-brillante-1k/

 

I guess it caters mostly to car/MC builders for that new shiny finish. 

I like them since they gives a perfect finish for decaling on. 

If you need to thin it you can use their regular AK Real Color thinners. 

It a bit on the thick side, but just crank up the compressor a bit and you're fine. 

 

Omask wheel plugs was a great find, I'll be ordering some more sets of aircrafts I intend to build multiples of.

I hope that actually is re-usable.

 

/Bosse

[81-er]

Lovely work so far, Bosse

 

James

[Marlin]

Thank you very much James @81-er 

It's actually a very nice kit to work on. 

/Bosse

[Marlin]

Hi.  

The work on the Growler continues. 
This week I've painted it, must have use a couple om meters of masing tape.  
074 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

The topside is painted.
075 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

More masking and sprayed blue over the spine.
076 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And of with all masking tape.
077 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

Next I'll give it a clear coat and start with the decals.  
To be continued…..
/Bosse