Community Build Project - 1/48 F-18C

Nice to see you're back Bayonet Recon. Thought you had jumped off the planet, for a while!

My Italeri F18E is not going as smoothly as I wanted.. As expected, the fit of the two intake/side fuselage units was poor and I'm left with big gaps everywhere. Can't see where I'd have made a mistake, so I put it down to the weird break-up of the parts until I can find someone who can tell me in the face that I'm a complete moron... So, I've been puttying for several days now... Another thing I did not like at all was to have the main landing gear struts in 3 pieces each, two halves and a bottom bit, leaving awful seems all over. I might be starting the priming soon, though.

Been reading back through this thread to catch up on it.

Sounds like I made a good choice in kits.

It's nice to have a resource like this forum to be able to research various kits before buying them (or before opening them up).

dariencharlie - That's awesome you setup a place for people's pictures! One minor thing - mkish's is labeled as being an Italeri when the picture shows it's actually Testors. I know mkish posted earlier that he thought it resembled the Italeri kit, so maybe that caused some confusion.
http://www.safeplace.net/darienk/mkish.html

mkish - Now that you've had more time to work with the Testor kit, what's your opinion on it? Just curious.

Well, better late than never...

Looks like I have some catching up to do - both reading and building.

I finally picked up my F-18 for the CBP. I went to the local HobbyTown USA store at lunch. They actually had four different versions.

Revell F-18C - $13
Revell F-18 Blue Angels - $ (forgot)
AMT/Ertl F-18 - $19
Testors F-18 - $12

The first one I saw was the Blue Angels kit. Nothing against the Blue Angels, I just didn't care to model a blue F-18. I wanted to do something more like what is usually flown into combat and not air shows.

I couldn't remember for sure, but I thought that someone had said the AMT kit was bad - plus it cost more so I put it back. I was debating about the Testors kit (had a date of 1994) but looking at the pictures on the box, it didn't look as detailed. Maybe the pieces were, but as far as decals it looked very plain compared to the Revell kit. The Revell kit was the only one that stated it was a "C" version. So splurged and paid a dollar more.

Hopefully I'll start tonight. I'm going to let at least one of my sons help out. He's going to be 5 soon, but he love to sit and help. Plus it'll give me an excuse to just have fun and not worry about the details.

The web page was updated on the 16th with progress pictures from djmodels1999.

Well, so much for the idea that 'sleeping on it' will lead to a better decision. As you could probably tell, the brush painting is NOT going well. I am seriously appreciating the air-brush right now... I'm gonna power through though and am making the best of it that I can.

Some lessons I've learned:
- thinning the paint down helps, but requires several coats.
- using a large, wide, soft brush with bristles that stay in the brush is good too.
- I'm using 600 grit sandpaper to lightly wet-sand in between coats. This makes a big difference.
- I just need to accept that it's not gonna be a contest winner...

M.

I've got primer on mine, but it still needs some 'filler' touch-ups here and there. I'm actually toying with the idea of 'brush' painting mine. I've read some good discussions in other forums about brush painting and I'm actually considering using this project as a bit of a prototype?

I'll sleep on it before I actually start applying the paint...

M.

Hello everyone,

Well, thanks to the holiday (Presidents Day) and a massive blizzard, I have made great progress on my CBP. Today I was able to prime and paint my model. This week I will assemble and paint the landing gear and wheel wells. Next week decals and I'll be done. I haven't taken a single picture of it yet. At this point I will wait until it's done.

Do to the large amount of filling and sanding I have lost large areas of raised detail. I was thinking of using some stretched sprue or something to replace it, but gave up on that idea. I hope all those flashy decals will help detract from the bare spots. I figure most peoples attention will be drawn to the overall look of it. Blue angels planes certainly are sharp looking.

I hope everyone else is moving along well also


Darren

Ha Ha, Well if you insist.
There at the hobby shop today were 4 FA18C kits. . .were, now there are 3.
The little thief swears the kit in question was his and I took it, yeah right.
I'll get the camera warmed up. . .

Don (and Ian)

Yep, sign him up!! I think it's only right that the model in question was intended for entry into the CBP. It should stay in the CBP, regardless of who built it.

After-all, the intention of this (at least in my mind) was to remind us of what it was like to build when we were younger and didn't have a array of 'tools' to access. Here we have a PERFECT entry into the project as the spirit of the build could not be more in-line with the intention.

I'll be disappointed if we don't get to see some pictures!

M.

Ouch! Oh, well, that also mean yet another modeler in the CBP, then..!

Here is a tip for all of you who share a modeling room with a younger modeler. . .
DON"T.

My FA18 has been kidnapped by the 12 year old and the building process begun as only a 12 year old can, i.e. it is almost completed and with only one bottle of glue!
I (whimper) am at fault (whimper whimper tears appear) In my haste to actually clear off the bench to begin working on it, I placed it on HIS counter. I was called away to do errands and upon my return found the model almost complete. (moisture at full flow now)

I guess there is no real harm done. . .I'll just go get another one and is a visit to the hobby shop ever a bad thing?

Don

Although not on the list, Nail Polish Remover is a 'common' substance in any home (Mum's, wife's..), so I feel pretty safe in using it, as anyone should have easy access to it (unlike a mini-drill for instance). But I haven't used it yet, and I'm quite ready to go back to the old wet & dry if the majority feels NPR is too exotic!

This F-18E is a beauty. It's a mold dated 2001. But as I expect some trouble and some major putty work when I attach the intakes. Those come with a substantial portion of the side fuselage, and seems to leave some large gaps, particularly on the underside. There's a bit of 'see-through' because of the numerous intakes too. But nothing that could not easily be fixed. Other than that, I am cruising on this one.

Is nail polish remover an approved 'substance'??

I have tried it actually and it does work (at least with squadron white it does, I haven't tried it with squadron green...). You have to be careful about what kind of remover you use though because I've tried some that DID NOT work and actually caused the putty to clump-up. Not nice.

The stuff I've used is by Cutex and is actually acetone free. The problem is that there is a warning label on the back that states that the stuff shouldn't be used on PLASTIC. I haven't seen any major incompatibilities yet....

Can't wait to see the pics. Did you say that you are doing the Italeri kit? I'd be interested in comparing a few things because although I've got the Testors kit it has some Italeri decals on the decal sheet. Overall, I think the detail on my kit is kinda weak and the panel lines aren't very 'consistent'. Some are sharp and crisp, others are barely noticeable. Overall fit has been pretty good, except for the wing joint with the fuselage.

M.

Mkish, I've never used Squadron fillers at all. Might be worth trying to see if the nail polish remover works..!

Been cutting and glueing my first plastic and, although I thought of using some of those nice etched parts for the cockpit area, I managed to resist the urge.. (the Edward sets are now in my stacks of 'to do' projects...because I might buy myself another F-18E from Italeri because it is, so far, a damn nice kit to build. Picturial update tonight I think...

OK,

Third post in a row for me now... (I just realized that I'm now a "Junior Member". What an honour... do I get a prize??)

Re: using Future. I don't think you cheated if you tinted the canopy? As long as you used future and some sort of paint to provide the 'tint' you should be OK. That assumes you didn't use your 'airbrush'. If so, we'll have to BAN you from the project and have the fsm guys remove you from the forum.

Nah, that would be too harsh. We'll just give you a hard time instead...

Enjoy the build, whichever way you decide to do it...

M.

dkmacin,
Get building!! We didn't start this project to talk about it!! We started it to DO it!!

Just kidding. Enjoy it at your own pace. I'm personally not too concerned with a 'completion' date.

M.

dj,
I'm actually using squadron white for doing the filling. Might not be the best, but it's all that I have. I put a base coat on last night and today I'm going to try to finish it off with some ca glue.
To be honest, other than a few panel lines, there's not much detail to harm!

Charging on!!!

M.

Mkish, those are nasty looking gaps... In normal times, I would have filled that with Milliput, but that's a tad out of our means, isn't it... Are you using Tamiya filler? If so once dry, you can smooth it with nail polish remover. No need of sanspaper, nor destroying of details and panel lines... Might require several applications in your case, though! Good luck. I'm gonna start on mine today!

The web page has been updated with pictures from mkish, and I added the tool list. Anyone correct me if I am wrong about anything on the tool list. Again, the link is http://www.safeplace.net/darienk/cbp.html

Am I dreaming, I thought I saw someone say they are from Brookfield, IL. I grew up in Brookfield! 3637 Raymond. Now live in Darien. So I'm sure you know Al's Hobbies and LaGrange hobbies. Or again, did I see that or not...

dkmacin, if it is any consolation I am not moving too quickly either , although am passed opening the box. . Have the pilot and cockpit partially painted.

As far as Future, do you mean sorry you used it, thinking it is not on the list, or sorry it was tinted. If the former, I believe it was agreed to have Future on the list. Although I'd guess the latter, as I have not seen, at least, any pictures of the real thing with a tinted canopy; or is there?

I got a book from the library on the F-18 with lots of pictures. The project makes the book more enjoyable, and visa versa!

Jeez oh man guys
SLOW Down!
We have a month right???
Sounds as if most of youse guys are ready to apply decals. . .
So far I have: opened the box. Closed the box. Reopened the box. Removed some parts. . .realized I cheated. . .just a tiny wee bit ( I dipped the caopy in tinted Future. . .Sorry) but I have another canopy. . .my first FA18C had two in the box.
So now I await your judgement.

Don

Hello all,

Correct me if i'm wrong, but I believe the following people are participating:

Myself (darrenbb)
FreedomEagle1953
djmodels1999
mkish
dariencharlie
dkmacin
Bayonet Recon? not sure if he was able to get a kit.

I find myself in the same boat as your in Freedomeagle1953. My Revel kit is a bit.... "fussy" shall we say. But I'm ok with that. At this point it's a matter of principal and/or pride.

So far I have most of the assembling done. Now i'm in the middle of filling and sanding all the seams. I may need to buy a case of gap filling CA glue to finish. I hope to be painting this weekend and decals and final assembly next weekend.

I thought there would have been better representation of this subject in 1/48 scale. It looks like there are gaps even in common aircraft kit offerings.

Still having lots of fun!

Darren

Hello fellow HORNET builders ...

Just an update on my progress ...

If you will recall, I had posted the following:

"I plan to build an old (1988 issue) AMT/ERTL (ESCI) 1/48th scale F/A-18A HORNET. I had never opened the box until today ... it doesn't look like a bad kit."

Gee ... was I wrong about that first review ... this thing is ... well, ... a poor excuse for a model kit ... comes to mind. But, I am an adult, (Ichecked my ID) and I shall finish what I set out to do! And, I won't force you to listen to my complaints ... but, did I mention ... this kit really is rotten!

Anyway, I am forging ahead and shall make this look like a proper United States Navy fighter/attack a/c if it is .... (thought processes are taxed to limit, builder is wondering if .... naw, I said I would build this and I shall)

Sorry, I get distracted looking at some of these parts that don't look like a/c parts at all ... but, I promised you won't have to listen to me whine.

Hope all of your HORNET projects are going well ... mine WILL improve! Yes, that is the correct state of mind to have isn't it???

Say, does anyone have any idea how many builders are taking part in this first CBP?? Just wondered!

Hmmm, not sure why that happened. djmodels1999 did so successfully a couple days ago.

Again, the address is darienk@safeplace.net

I know recently my ISPs home page was not coming up for me for a brief time, if cooincidentally they were having trouble and emails were being rejected at the time... Or I know if my mail box is very full a limit is hit but that is 10 meg. Last night I received a movie clip file from someone ( not from the forum), which was pretty big. Maybe that was the problem. It is deleted now.

Kick it again....

dariencharlie
I tried to email you some pics of my progress, but I got an 'undeliverable' message??

The web page has been updated with pictures from djmodels1999.

http://www.safeplace.net/darienk/cbp.html

You know. . .I might take the easy way out of this project. . .The more I think on it, a dangerous occupation at the best of times, The more I believe I will. I won't cheat, and it'll be box stock. . .
Too many projects going at one time, Rally Car, HH19B, Spitfire MKI (or is it a MKII?) and the FA18C. Thankfully I have the space to do it all at once. . .except the xacto is always way over there and I have four of them!

Don

hmmm ... opening the box ... it seems to me that right around that time is where I get into trouble ...

but, kidding aside this is fun! I haven't gotten much past the trimming parts, sanding parts stage ... and yes, the picture in my "minds eye" ... the very best part of any project ... there is always so much potential at this point.

My F/A-18's cockpit includes bare or rather "flat" instrument panels ... to be covered with decals. Will save the great tips on "dry-brushing" for another project.

... dariencharlie/ Thanks for the info on sending pictures ... and the magnifying/light combo ... great things I use mine alot. I hope you find yours helpful. It takes awhile to get used to seeing things under the magnifying lens, but it all becomes second nature after some practice. Oh, and glad to hear that you are enjoying the jet project.

ON SENDING ME PICTURES -

I changed my profile so the Email icon should show on my posts now, the address being darienk@safeplace.net.

Suggestions for emails with pictures:
- Include make of model, which plane it is, scale
- Include your Forum handle
- .jpg or .bmp format
- 75 bpi if you can; I can change it, but monitors display at about that, I forget the exact number, so there is no advantage to putting a higher resolution picture intended only for viewing anyway, on the web anyway; makes for faster downloads and transfers.
- I have PKZIP if you wish to Zip up the picture file you can.
- We'll continue to use the link I gave before to show my first picture, http://www.safeplace.net/darienk/cbp.html I'll just change the coding. Unless I get a chance to ask FSM, I won't include the words "Finescale Modeler", not being sure of rules about that, etc.

REPLY COMMENTS - Thanks for all the help on my question! Tonight I just bought one of those combination magnifying glass and light to help with the details. I can tell I am not as experienced as you all however but I try to not let that get me down and just enjoy doing what I can and think of doing something better than the last project. I'm also starting to doubt if I will get it completed, but I remember it said along the way that that does not matter either. I do always get the feeling here everyone just having fun.

I'd like to also say I was not that interested in doing a jet, most of the few projects I have done have been WWII planes. But I really like this! It won't be my last jet.

Hello everyone,

About the cockpit coloring, according to my references the instrument panel is gray. The instruments are black and the CRT's are dark green. I got a good tip out of FSM years back about painting panels. After painting the instruments flat black, dry brush them with the color steel. This makes them stand out quite nicely. If I pose the canopy in the closed position this about the extent of the detail painting I do. A quick wash and dry brush of the switches and knobs and I'm done. Generally the canopy obscures things too much to make out any fine details. If it's open then I will spend more time. I always wash and dry brush to pick out the details. The key is to use very little paint and brush it multiple times to build up the color.

One last thing. No offense was taken about the wing warping comments. I did look at both wings before determining that one was warped. We all need reminders from time to time. Thanks for the help!

Darren

Nah, I didn't take it that way.
Just thought maybe some of the folks doing this were making a plane for the first time, I'm sure Darren knows a warped wing when he sees it. . .though I myself thought the Revellogram kit wings were warped when I first built it.
Here's a update on mine so far:
I got the box opened.
Stay tuned for more up dates.

Don