Thanks for the comments so far. As promised, here's the next installment of this Super Hornet WIP.
I've got to say, this kit is going together better than I expected. The few "advertised" fitting issues I've had really haven't been to bad, and with the exception of one gap between the, I believe starboard, intake, I could've lived with them a year ago. Still, there are a few... I dunno, sloppy?.. seams that I almost wondered if the C.A.D. operator had came in with a hangover and worked on the kit at some point. I don't know if it's the tooling or the plastic. That said, a little sanding and re-scribing and it's not to bad... So, here we go. Lots of pictures with this one folks:
After completing the office, step one continues by glueing the cockpit deck to the top fuselage. I still need to go back and clean this up a little, but this is one of the spots I was talking about where a drunken sailor laid the line out ;-). Still, the fit was good, and the lines straightened up after a little prep work.
Next came the intakes. The instructions call for the entire interior of the intake to be painted flat white. That said, every picture I've looked at, shows the white starting well aft of the opening. So, I masked off the each part at the appropriate point (near as I can tell), and painted the opening Dark Sea Grey and the remainder flat white. Once I had hit that with a coat of clear, I started on the decals that go inside. Two words of note for those of you thinking about doing this kit in the future. First, the schematic that shows the location of the decals is intuitively backwards. It's really not a big deal, but it takes a second to get your bearings... at least it did for me. Then, there are two tabs (parts 58 and 61) that cover some outside detailing. The pin mark are accurately placed, including the staggering of the pins. At first glance it does appear that the part will fit to high on the aft end and top. The reality is that they will line up with the fuselage, once you insert it into place. Once I had everything painted, decaled, and a couple of dry fits in the bag, I got the two intakes assembled. Again, the fit's not to bad. Remember, the top edge of the two tab parts are meant to be there and will act as an additional glue point.
By the way, here's the compressor blades. I probably could've done a little better job on them, but I had run out of flat black. I ended up using Tamiya's standard black, and between the glare and working under the magnifying hood until I was cross eyed, I had some run over. Honestly, the parts are so small and sit so far back, you can't tell... They actually look awesome in real time...
I don't have a clue why I didn't get a picture of the entire assembly. Sorry for the over site. Next comes attaching the two intake assemblies to the fuselage. This is one of the areas that the reviews warn everyone about, and another drunk C.A.D. operator moment. Still, a little prep work and a lot, and I do mean a lot, of patients goes a long way. WARNING: Getting the parts into the fuselage is a biscuit eater! What I did, and would suggest, is to glue it in place in sections. Once I had the part in, I slide it out to a point just past where the intake and fuselage start. Then on the fuselage itself, and at the front portion of the intake (the intake proper), I laid down a thin line of glue. Then slide the assembly in place and held it there until the glue had set. The assembly runs under the wings and just forward of the exhaust. After I was satisfied with the fit in the front, I carefully pulled the back portion out and finished glueing. I did have one small fit issue here. On one side, the starboard I believe, there was a small gap between the intake and the fuselage as it ran under the wing. The way the kit is set up, you can reach this area easily from the top. Again, I laid a thin line of glue down and applied a little pressure until it had time to set. Gap gone! A year ago, I would've been happy with the fits, but I wasn't quiet happy with it. So a little putty here and a little there, to go along with some sanding and re-scribing and I called it a night. FYI, the wheel wells are flat white. I'll probably go in and weather them a little, along with adding a little "metal" here and there, but not much.
Well, that's it for now. I'll get the cockpit in place and the upper fuselage assembly put together next. I hope you enjoyed the play by play. Again, constructive criticism is welcome, as well as advice! Thanks for looking, Raymond