I start this yesterday and it's going faster then planned .
Cockpit is painted up following the kit instructions . Since the intakes needed white paint everything called for white was sprayed .

I had this fear that there was going to be fair bit of seams to clean up but over it's not bad . More so in the nose cone area which is glued up and drying at the moment .



Markings will be VFA - 105 Gunslingers " 404 " NAS Oceana , USA .
















Terri

Very cool Terri, I always liked the Gunslingers.

Later

Very nice Terri

I will follow this one for sure, I have the F version.
Good progress so far !

I was going to build Hasegawa's F/A 18C , but I really like how Revell did their engineering on the fuselage assembly . Seems in the nose area has less sanding/filling and is better detailed than Hasegawa's kit ( early nineties )


Here are the results so far . I will leave off the rudders and paint these and weather them as separate same with the weapons pods . I figured this would make per-shading and painting easier in the long run .


The turtle deck right behind the pilot was shot shot and needed filler and a bit of sanding other than that rest of the fit is pretty good . All other seems got Mr. Surface 500 and I left this to dry for 24 hours and sanding this with a fine sanding stick followed by a three grid polishing stick . I also had a mishap and spilled my Microscale glue over the workbench . Two of the fuel wing tanks didn't make it I was able to salvage one out of the three so I can still have one hang from the belly and still be able to use the gunslinger decals


















Terri

She has got her colours on and clear coated ready for decaling !

For the under side and all that stuff hanging off the wings I sprayed Tamiya sky grey . On the top side it was sprayed with dark sea grey .










Terri

Really? Wow, that’s totally the opposite from the 48th scale versions. The 48th Revell kit fit is not that good and quite poor in the nose assembly compared to Hasegawa. I built Hasegawa’s 72nd Super Hornet a few years ago and there was not much to it. Hasegawa’s 72nd SH is not truly a scaled down version of the 48th scale kit (it came out prior to) unlike the 72nd Revell SH, which also unfortunately carried over all the shape inaccuracies from the 48th scale Revell SH.

Hasegawa’s 72nd SH did have some fit problems and was less detailed than Revell. In addition problem in the nose, I experienced fit issues around the intakes. I was curious how the 72nd Revell Intake fit was, since the 48th scale version was quite poor. Not much in the form of ordinance is included in the Hasegawa kit as well, unlike Revell.




Nice work. Are you leaving the intakes open(uncovered), and if so, how are you masking the demarcation line from gray to white?

Mike

Terri......great work on the Super Hornet. Since you are doing VFA-105 here are some photos of a Gunslinger Hornet, Canyon 410, that I photographed at a local air show in 2011. This one was very weathered and even worn down to bare metal in spots. Anyway, looking forward to the finished bird.

Best wishes,

Ian

Hi Mike , I had no idea that there is a demarcation line in the intakes between the grey and white . I did have a look on line but came up empty . In the instructions for the decal placement it calls out of decals to be placed on the inside , but even this I couldn't find anything on . So I will leave as is .


Ian , thanks for sharing the photo's I can see that my colours are waaaay off!


Here is where I'm to-date on this . It took me three days on getting all the decals on , man - there is a fair amount of decals to apply , still have the missiles and bomb decals to go . The panel lines got a wash using Vallejo black with grey mix in for a dark grey thinned with water and a drop of dish soap . Once dried and cleaned up the top surface a pin wash was added of very thinned black paint using the above method and sealed in with dull coat and ready for the second round of weathering ...




























Terri

Terri, the Super Hornet looks good. Like the MUTHA motif on the tail. In answer to your question about the demarcation line in the intakes; the grey extends 2 to 3 feet inwards from the lower lip of the intake, back towards the fan. The line then goes straight up, roughly perpendicular to the bottom of the plane. It does not follow the slant of the intake. As for the decals in the intake, you can probably leave those off because they are really not visible on Super Hornets now. Just gray and white paint is really all you see now.

Best wishes,

Ian

Terri,

Don't know how I kept on missing your build blog, guess I just don't stop by modern aircraft enough. My apologies.

Looks like you're well on your way to completing another excellent build. Very nice two tone gray camo paint scheme. Believe me, I feel your "pain" with all those decals. The 1/48 F4B build has literally hundreds of stencils. I've been decaling for more then a week, and I'm not even halfway done. And like you, I haven't even started the loads yet. Some times I feel like there just isn't any end to it.

Your weathering as usual is most realistic.

Looking forward to your next update.
Joel

Hi Ian , thanks for answering on the intakes . Too late on doing this now but I will be building another one on the larger side 1/48 . The LHS has Trumpeters in 32 scale , but at 230 bucks is a lot of cash of a model kit !


Joel , it took me three nights on placing the decals and they are small ! Not one of my favorite things on doing .





Terri

I'm putting in 3 or 4 work sessions of several hours per week just decaling. At the rate of completion, I'll be thrilled to be done after 3 weeks time. Just not use to all these little stencils.

Heck, 1/48 scale WW11 Naval aircraft took just a few hours top side, then a 2nd session for the bottom and it was done.

Jets are a whole new ballgame for me.

Joel

I hear ya on Jets being a whole new ballgame but must say though , very enjoyable so far .


Round two is finished up ready for round three which I will focus on the panel lines ...
















Terri

Terri,
Have to agree that jets are certainly different, but just as enjoyable a build. Will be doing 2 props to 1 jet for some time to come.

Weathering really looks really convincing. Certainly looks like an operational F/A-18E.

Joel

Hi Joel


Weathering on the main airframe is finished and landing gear in place which now get weathered tieing it all together then it's finish the decaling on the weapons and more weathering again . Fix them in place and then a final seal of dull coat install the canopy and she will be done !


Beginning to think that the weathering never ends either ... Will have pic's up soon .




Terri

As usual Terri, a most impressive job. Weathering is spot on. Painting and decaling are always the fun bits for me.
Weathering, not so much

I am looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Later

Great job! Don't sweat the "Shades of Grey" issue - trust me, these Navy Rhinos are worked hard and put into the stable wet a lot! I worked corrosion for a while in VFA-27 and you would be SHOCKED at how fast that poly paint fades in the sun & weather!

Terri,
Sure sounds like you're seeing the finish line. Looking forward to your next update.
Joel

Hi Bruce , nice to hear from you ! Thanks for the support and encouragement and not to let you jet guy's down .


Calvin , online photo's show this aircraft very well used and I'm surprised on how fast they weathered so it's nice to know I going in the right direction


Hey Joel , last of the decals are on . This will be wrapped up tomorrow so pic's are coming soon






Terri

Terri,
Looking forward to your pictures.
Joel

Well Joel , you don't have too wait long . She is finished !

Finished off the weapons last night and left them to dry over night . Installed them this morning final touches with the weathering and sealing all this in with a dull coat and placed the canopy on .










































Terri

Terri,

Great looking Rhino! Looks every inch a combat jet.

Best wishes,

Ian

Terri,
Great job! Beautiful Rhino and load out.

Terri,
Just a rock solid build, perfect paint & decaling, and your weathering is simply outstanding.

You sure come a long way from bi-planes, to WW11, to a helicopter, and now modern jet fighter. I'm more then duly impressed. So what's next on your build plate?

Joel

I'm properly impressed!! Well done, indeed!!!