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F/A-18A Kit Bash

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40 replies
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  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Saturday, December 15, 2018 6:48 PM

Yes Thanks sickdude  glad you’re enjoying the build

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 6:50 PM

Time to relax for the evening. Feeling pretty good about this. The plane itself is done! Cockpit is unmasked, I can finallyget those glamour shots the pilot wanted before i closed it up for painting. I used AK Interactive pigments and fixer for the walkways. This was so much less involved then some of the other methods i read about. Already colored and it has texture to it like the antislip surface. Horizontal stabs are still wet so will get them on for thefinal finished pics later.

 

tomorrow and onday i will end up doing the painting and decals for all the ordnance, looking forward to that. It’s getting pretty heavy, may have to get a steel rod instead of plastic. Will have to see if my balance point worked out or not for the final decision.

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
    August 2016
Posted by Keyda81 on Saturday, December 15, 2018 7:23 PM

I like it!  Can't wait to see it all finished up.  So if you don't mind me asking what method did you use for the anti-slip area?  I'm not familiar with AK stuff, not carried in any of the local hobby shops, but if I can order it online I will.  I need to simulate anti-slip on the wings of my current project, and I like how yours came out.  Thanks!

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Saturday, December 15, 2018 8:04 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
    August 2016
Posted by Keyda81 on Sunday, December 16, 2018 9:09 AM

Awesome, thanks!  I'll have to order some.  I've got a while before I'm going to need it.  I was looking for a good method to re-create the anti-slip rather than just dabbing on flat black paint. 

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Tuesday, December 18, 2018 12:45 AM

Finished her up in time for our club meeting. Wonderful night for sure. Here are a few pics on display. Will get some nice shots with my sons camera and macro lens later in the week for the FINISHED post. Still running high on the coffee i had in order to make the 3-1/2 hour drive home  tonight so thought posting some pics would be good to wind down on. The base is all sandpaper made to match Shaikh Isa AB in Bahrain where these fighters flew from.

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
    April 2003
  • From: USA
Posted by keavdog on Tuesday, December 18, 2018 1:14 AM

Really cool display.  Nice job.

Thanks,

John

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Monday, December 24, 2018 9:03 AM

FINISHED!

This build was for our local clubs Marine tribute in honor of past club President, avid modeler, and Marine Ed Kinney. I wanted to do a Desert Storm Hornet from the Hasegawa F-18 kit I had. Going through all the options I decided on a stinger from VMFA-451 because it received a purple heart for damage incurred from a SAM missile to the sidewinder station. The Warlords frlew out of Shaikh Isa AB in Bahrain. The Warlords were also the first Marine unit to attack Iraqi locations in Desert Storm so there was alot of history here to model.

This has been my most involved build, which ended up taking 6 months to complete (although there were a few family interruptions and that leaking 2nd floor bathroom lol but that's another "remodeling" story). Forward dating the model, which was essentially the prototype AC, was a chore helped along by 3 great LSP'ers (a special note, that's RedDog's belly tank you see). To this I added the Avionix cockpit and tail resin F/A-18A conversion set, AMR Reaver screens and vents, Flying Leathernecks decals, TwoBobs ordnance decals, a Navy pilot from my stash plus alot of scratch building.

My logic on weathering was that since this stinger was in action my first time weathering efforts would be ok if they were a little on the heavy side. I learned as I went along, practicing on the Haz parts I didn't use before doing the real thing. I used The Scale Hornet by Jake Melampy for reference. My WIP page has all the details on scratch buildings and techniques used to complete the project. Check it out!

Let's start with some main profile shots and then I can add some details in second post (Note the flap and tail position are set for the takeoff orientation I use on the stand).

FrontDownUnder-L.jpg

FrontProfileMain-L.jpg

Top_Rear-L.jpg

TopReaMain-XL.jpg

TopFrontMain-XL.jpg

Top_Main-L.jpg

TakeoffBelly-XL.jpg

TakeOffMain-L.jpg

LeftRearMain-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
    January 2015
Posted by TheMongoose on Monday, December 24, 2018 9:04 AM

...and here are some detail pics along with the cockpit B)

GhostCanopyMain-L.jpg

WeaponsLeft-L.jpg

MarinesMain-L.jpg

ProfileL-L.jpg

CockpitMain-L.jpg

CockpitCloseup-L.jpg

CockpitProfileR-L.jpg

 

Left1-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
    November 2018
  • From: Saskatchewan, Canada
Posted by sickdude on Monday, December 24, 2018 11:20 AM

Perfectly done man! Weathering done to the T Yes

William (Willy)

 
  • Member since
    August 2013
Posted by Jay Jay on Tuesday, December 25, 2018 6:53 AM

WOW that's about as close to the real thing as you can get . Fabulous job Mate.

 

 

 

 

 

 I'm finally retired. Now time I got, money I don't.

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