SEARCH FINESCALE.COM

Enter keywords or a search phrase below:

F/A-18A Kit Bash

4515 views
40 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    January 2015
F/A-18A Kit Bash
Posted by TheMongoose on Thursday, November 15, 2018 8:06 PM

Ive been working on this for awhile but feel i just got to a point where I can post some interesting stuff. I got the 1/32 Hasegawa YF-17 verson of the Hornet for under $15 so I thought it was the perfect starter to do a Desert Storm Hornet conversion. Some guys over on LSP sent me parts for free - cockpit, ordnance, gear bay doors, flaperon hinges, full intake tract, exhaust nozzles, resin wheels, and a few smaller parts needed to make it look right. I bought an Aires cockpit and vertical stabilzers all as 1 kit, then I also picked up an AMR Reaver steel PE for all the screens on the plane. 

Here’s the cockpit as it stands now

And tonight we have paint! I put just a guide coat on it tonight so i could look at the filler to see how much more I’ve got to do :D the top looks pretty good but the bottom of the lerx and the wing joint both need some help. I used black because it shows everything ... it shows my 1st attempt at scribing panel lines well too.

Any experience with filling larger areas like the lerx and where top and bottom of wing join would be appreciated. I’m wondering if I need to widen the area I’m applying the putty to in order to fade it out better? 

IMG_3653-L.jpg

 

IMG_3654-L.jpg

 

IMG_3655-L.jpg

 

 

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Thursday, November 15, 2018 8:12 PM

Have you already glued the wings in place? The simplest method would be to make the LEX fillers with sheet plastic and sand it smooth to match the surrounding area. You will also address the wing and stabilator snags, making both leading edges straight for a production aircraft.

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Thursday, November 15, 2018 8:43 PM

Thx Stikpisher. The wings arent glued in yet So I definitely have some flexibility with how to address this. Hasegawa original design was 2 pieces and a hollow area under just half the root extensions. Weird, but I’m assuming the real YF had something like this as part of the prototype program. I’ll have to see if adding thin sheet plastic will work without adding thickness to the edges. A definite work bench project for tomorrow Big Smile

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Thursday, November 15, 2018 9:16 PM

Yes, the development Hornets had all those features. Flight test showed the problems that they created, and they were removed for full scale production. An old early 90s issue of FSM has the same kit being modified into a production bird and shows exactly what to do. The old Detail & Scale book on the early Hornets also shows the changes to make. 

I have a 1/32 Revell Hornet that I will be updating in a similar manner with somebody else’s cast off Academy parts and sheet plastic surgeries. One day...

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Northern California
Posted by jeaton01 on Friday, November 16, 2018 8:07 PM

I doubt you can actually make a YF-17 out of that kit.  The YF-17 was a Northrop only project and was physically smaller than the F-18 which was a joint Northrop/McDonnell Douglas project.  Whole new airplane, similar to the F-18E/F morphing out of the F-18A/B/C/D.

Hasegawa kit SO23:5800 is supposed to represent the first 5 development airplanes.  It's also 1/32 scale.  I has the development decals also, of course.

John

To see build logs for my models:  http://goldeneramodel.com/mymodels/mymodels.html

 

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Friday, November 16, 2018 9:12 PM

Haven’t found that FS article yet. I’ve got the more recent 10yr series I guess.

making more progress tonight!

Working on the vertical stabilizers tonight. Took awhile at home depot to find some 1/16” wire. Once i did i was all set. Here’s the 1st one. The other is in front of me and almost done. It’s just sitting at a little angle but I should have it lined up shortly :fight:

8D5DB8F6-8B68-47B4-83C7-C3F9A9CCE363-L.j

 

9FB5EAF3-2432-4738-9545-BE5380E1F218-L.j

 

next up tonight is to get rid of the slash on the horizontal stabs. Dandiego sent me a piece for that which is probably the best piece yet because I didn’t know how much work it was going to be to get the leading edge correct.

 

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Friday, November 16, 2018 10:55 PM

That leading edge snag filler piece is cheating... 

Wink

but to quote somebody that I once knew, “ if you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t trying”... 

that looks great!

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Sunday, November 25, 2018 9:46 PM

After some advice about how best to glue the odd wing joint on this one I’ve made some great progress this weekend. Here’s the first pic of it starting to take shape.

IMG_3689-L.jpg

 

this one shows some of the amr reaver vents. still some clean up to do but thought I’d show it as it’s turning out pretty nicely i think.

IMG_3690-XL.jpg

 

i decided on a full military power near vertical takeoff for the presentation of the model. To do that the tabs needed cut off the stabilators so they could be repositioned. The plan is to duplicate the rotation from the Tamiya F-16. Ordered a bag of o-rings today. Once they come in the surgery starts again. Looking over some pics i believe the rotating center is in line with the circular marks on each of the stabilators. It all seems to line up on the fuselage too based on what I’m seeing. If you see something out of whack here let me know. Below is a picture of the markup.

21002C95-0614-4948-BD81-41D9DCD21625-L.j

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: Twin Cities of Minnesota
Posted by Don Stauffer on Monday, November 26, 2018 9:06 AM

jeaton01

I doubt you can actually make a YF-17 out of that kit.  The YF-17 was a Northrop only project and was physically smaller than the F-18 which was a joint Northrop/McDonnell Douglas project.  Whole new airplane, similar to the F-18E/F morphing out of the F-18A/B/C/D.

Hasegawa kit SO23:5800 is supposed to represent the first 5 development airplanes.  It's also 1/32 scale.  I has the development decals also, of course.

 

I would agree- the size problem would be a real issue.

 

Don Stauffer in Minnesota

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Tuesday, November 27, 2018 10:19 PM

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Wednesday, November 28, 2018 2:48 PM

Here it is using my handy iphone level app lol i hate finding new uses for this stupid thing. After a double check I’ll spot glue them before using epoxy to lock them into position. Let me know if you all see anything goofy in this pic?

 

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Saturday, December 1, 2018 10:10 AM

While I’m filling and sanding the lerx area my goal is to finish up the cockpit this weekend. To that end I’ve got some detail added to the upper movable canopy deck. Making use of new skills in straightening wire and pin drilling here.

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Sunday, December 2, 2018 9:34 PM

Not as far as I’d like but had more family stuff to do than i thought :-)

the upper movable canopy is done and drying in the canopy now. Made up 3 rear view mirrors but still need to install them. Found i didn't have the right paint for a Marine so will make a pit stop at LHS after work tomorrow. Hopefully done tomorrow 

Looked at this pic and realized some paint chipped so i got that fixed. The HUD frame came from the Hasegawa kit, cut them off and made a tab on the bottom to mount in the Academy coming. The green light is one of those sticky backed jewels from the art area at walmart.

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Tuesday, December 4, 2018 10:02 PM

Hit a milestone today, the cockpit is done and ready for a final check. :piliot:Let me know if you see something I should correct before I seal it up and get ready to primer the whole plane. I'm very happy I didn't launch one piece into the stratosphere! I masked the canopy while I was waiting on paint to dry. Wish I hadn't been so productive now that I had a chance to borrow my son's camera with the wide angle lens or I could have gotten some shots with it on too. The pilot is Vallejo's Green Grey which seems to be the match to sage green. I lightened the color with white and yellow for a few different tones. I darkened it with black and didn't like it at all, seemed to come out a deep grey instead of a green tone. I'm debating if a black wash would make it look any better. Let me know your thoughts. 

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Thursday, December 6, 2018 9:18 PM

Started my first black basing trials tonight! The MCW paint is thinned 50/50 with gunze leveling thinner. One of the guys at our local club suggested this to get a smoother finish and to be able to control how much paint is going down. One of my best lessons yet has come from this experience. Probably the first time I’ve been able to get a fine line and this method is helping me learn how to put the paint down n layers rather than an overall spray that tends to be too thick. Below is just the mottle coat. Will do more over the weekend following some more practice before i spray a cover coat and some other shades. 1st I’ve got to get the whole thing together tho lol

IMG_3731-L.jpg

IMG_3753-L.jpg

IMG_3730-L.jpg

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: Between LA and OC, SoCal
Posted by oortiz10 on Friday, December 7, 2018 12:55 PM

Hey Mongoose,

I'm interested in seeing how your paintwork turns out. Please post pictures of your progress. I'd love to compare notes when you're done.

So far your build's looking great. Looking forward to seeing it finished.

Cheers!

-O

-It's Omar, but they call me "O".

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Friday, December 7, 2018 3:55 PM

oortiz10

Hey Mongoose,

I'm interested in seeing how your paintwork turns out. Please post pictures of your progress. I'd love to compare notes when you're done.

So far your build's looking great. Looking forward to seeing it finished.

Cheers!

-O

 

 

O sounds great. So far I've learned that setting the stop on the back of my airbrush to limit travel is IMPORTANT lol at least for me. It was really easy to splatter paint. Now I'm figuring out speed and control. I still have some "dots" where it seems I'm stopping and staying in 1 place for too long. Did you have these when you did the random spraying? If so did they cover up with the next several coats? 

One thing I tried was to vary the black coat. It's not so heavy in spots like on the top side of the tails and on the trailing edge of the flaperons. Will see how that looks once I put a few different shades on it. I tried white on the top side of the tails and it didn't have the affect I thought it would so it may be that solid black is the best.

More on where I'm at in the build below...

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Friday, December 7, 2018 4:04 PM

So I took a day off work for this. Originally this was supposed to be for a Marine tribute at our local IPMS club meeting in September. Since the water dripping into the family room from the upstairs bathroom took over my late summer lol, it has become a December meeting goal...So I took a day off work for this because it still felt too far from done to make the meeting on the 17th. 

Here is the overall state of things today (did some weapons too but no pics of those till they're done).

Does anyone have experience with how the filler looks once you start putting color on the aircraft? The black primer shows it way too well. When I use grey primer it seems to blend in pretty good. Will end up testing things out on the stabilator before I do the main plane so any advice ahead of time would be great.

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Friday, December 7, 2018 10:53 PM

One thing I can conclude, I must do a better job blending in the filler. Jury's out on how I'm doing at black basing. Let me know what you think good or bad? Some of my mixed opinion is that the paint is really glossy after applying the top coat with 70% thinner. The thinned coat is hard to lay down because it's hard to see the paint. Took aswhile to find the right reflection and set up the airbrush different than for the mottle coat.

1st off I'll show two stabilators side by side. On the left are 3 coats, primary color and a lightened mix and darkened mix. I used white and black to change the shades. 

 

Here's some progress pics. This 1st one is the set with just the base color on them.

Here they are with all 3 coats prior to doing the thinned cover coat with the base color.

And whenever I had some paint still in the cup I threw it on the hornet :-)

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Saturday, December 8, 2018 2:58 PM

It’s a model fest weekend!!

heres the gark ghost grey and lighter dark ghost grey mottle coat. After the kids christmas carol concert tonight the darker dark ghost grey will go on mist likely Stick out tongue

I also redid the stabilators. Used bondo glazing putty instead of perfect plastic putty.it looks much better. Pics later once i get them repainted.

 

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Sunday, December 9, 2018 12:54 PM

Who hoo thanks for the encouragement Anthony! 

 

This morning the bottom mottling is all done. Starting with th small parts was definitely the wayto go. If for no other reason this method is great for impoving air brush skills. Recognizng when it needs cleaned out and when my strokes are getting sloppy, like going too fast. So heres where I’m at plus a shot of all the different mixes and a bonus, had a few pieces of cork board left from my daughters room decorating request that were put to good use.

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Sunday, December 9, 2018 4:36 PM

It's been a completely uninterrupted day in the paint booth :thumbsup: Another 2 hours gone and the bottom is done in light ghost grey. The tails were supposed to be LGG too which I almost missed. Glad Dave Roof has the graphics with his decals for sure as I kept that sheet right next to me all day.

 

Here's something I really like about this system...I think I said that a few posts up too haha. These 3 pics are for a repair I did. Once I had the mottle coat finished I noticed some poor filler work, yeah I know go figure lol. In order of progression you can see how the repair goes and prior to the top coat it's almost unnoticeable.

 

I still need more work on my sanding and filling but it's getting better.

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Sunday, December 9, 2018 8:20 PM

Calling it a day. Time for a beer and some nfl football. I see Hornets over Hanoi is updated so maybe I’ll read a few build threads first...

Here she is with a gloss coat on her, ready for weathering. The last one is a collage of all the small parts i did as well.

the mottling really shows up under the gloss clear. Assuming it will fade when the matt clear goes on. Anyone with experience with this that could confirm how it looks with matt clear?

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: Between LA and OC, SoCal
Posted by oortiz10 on Monday, December 10, 2018 12:14 PM

Hey Mongoose,

I think your paint looks great. Looks like a well used USN line jet. I agree that one of the benefits of this method is how easy it is to fix boo-boos. When there were a few spots on my build that I had to go back and address, the ensuing paint touch-ups just added to the overall effect. Even after final assembly! Some freshly painted spots ended up looking just like the random cover-ups we'd see on the real jets. 

As far as the mottling goes, yeah, it'll tone down a bit under the flat coat. I think that's one thing I'll do different with this method. Next time, I'll let the black show through a little more. I think that spraying my top coats a bit thinner will give a bit more contrast after the flat coat.

Anyway, your build is shaping up. Keep up the good work!

-O

-It's Omar, but they call me "O".

  • Member since
    August 2016
Posted by Keyda81 on Wednesday, December 12, 2018 9:26 PM

I've been following along, but couldn't comment, got locked out, lol.  I've never tried the black basing, or pre-shading.  Haven't gotten into either one yet.  I might have to give something a try with the current build though.  Looking good!

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Wednesday, December 12, 2018 11:54 PM

Keyda it’s worth trying on anything that’s seen some rough service. My camera and location for pics isn’t the best so it’s hard to capture the tone variations accurately. They’re either too harsh or soft it seems in the pics. I tell you being able to fix my goofs here and there without feeling like i ruined the paint has been awesome. It really seems more realistic in person. My son stopped over and that was one of his first comments about it.

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Wednesday, December 12, 2018 11:56 PM

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Thursday, December 13, 2018 10:44 PM

Just one pic tonight but it represents about 10hrs of work. Always surprising how much time passes when you sit down and do decals! Flaps are on and weathered, gun burn marks on, exhaust painted but not on yet, landing gear doors ready to go on, and pylons ready to go on (all sitting on left side of the booth).

 

tomorrow I’ll finish up decals and put a matt coat on it. My pilot decal fell apart. Not sure if i want to put another name on it or not yet. I may put out a call on the trader board first. Then Saturday it’s all weapons day! My sons going to start the base for me and then Sunday it’s time to travel with it. Going to be a busy few days for sure. Comments and critiques welcome. I still have some time for changes built in.

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Saturday, December 15, 2018 10:52 AM

Here’s a teaser for today! I’m chained to the bench today on a mad dash to finish her up...

In the pattern: Scale Shipyard's 1/48 Balao Class Sub! leaning out the list...NOT! Ha, added to it again - Viper MkVii, 1/32 THUD & F-15J plus a weekend madness build!

  • Member since
    November 2018
  • From: Saskatchewan, Canada
Posted by sickdude on Saturday, December 15, 2018 11:12 AM

She's looking real good man. Great job on my favorite fighter! Big Smile

William (Willy)

 
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

SEARCH FORUMS
FREE NEWSLETTER
By signing up you may also receive reader surveys and occasional special offers. We do not sell, rent or trade our email lists. View our Privacy Policy.