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1/32 Academy F-18D to CF-18B kicked up a notch.


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What, whaddya mean it doesnt look like much... your ganna make it more better. Thats it, Im putting mine back in the box. Me gives up.

Thanks for your kind comments Charlie! I was having some difficulty getting into this build build because my last build was the F-14 Tomcat, which takes no inspiration to fall in love with. This build was a bit of a let down until tonight, because both the Canadian Snowbirds and TWO CF-18's flew low over my house on their way to our annual Grey Cup opening ceremonies (Canuck Super Bowl-so to speak). If that doesn't inspire you, nothing will! I have new modeling energy.

Edited by chuck540z3
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Looking forward to follow this one! :)

Cheers,

Anders

Oh Man! John, Guy and now Anders looking in. The building pressure is going to be HUGE! :o Welcome Guys!- and thanks to everyone else for looking in.

Today I finished painting the Aires gear wells, which I do before I install them for ease of handling and painting. The way I do mine is to spray them Insignia White enamel first, let them dry, then hit them with a coat of Future. The reason for the Future is to seal the white enamel so that brush stroke mistakes can be removed easily with solvent. You need patience and a steady hand to get all those plumbing lines, so the odd goof-up is inevitable. Since my weathering wash is also solvent based, you need to protect the white enamel.

Most of the plumbing lines appear to be dark steel colored, which I have yet to find a MM enamel in the right color. So, to get the right shade of steel, I mixed up some MM chrome silver with a little flat black and gunship grey. I prefer using this enamel mix over acrylic because you can work it for a minute or two without it drying and getting lumpy. Here's a "before" pic taken about 1/3 of the way through painting all those little plumbing lines- and there's PLENTY of them. For the big vent hoses I used gunship grey and some steel colored joins.....

Gear6.jpg

Now some "after" pics, after painting, weathering and some dull coat.....

Gear7.jpg

Gear11.jpg

Gear8.jpg

Gear9.jpg

Gear10.jpg

I know from experience that the next step has to be the front nose gear, because it needs to be painted andd placed into the front fuselage FIRST, before you can seal up the rest of the front fuselage, including the cockpit. Last time I tried to do it at the end like I usually do- and it wasn't pretty! Sometimes the instructions are right, just like the main gear on the Tamiya F-16 has to go in before you seal everything up. Don't ask me how I know that too!

Thanks for your interest.

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Thank you some much for sharing Chuck. I am building a much more humble CF-18 as we speak and you are a sensational inspiration to push my limits further.

Looking at your gorgeous seats, I was wondering about a discrepancy: the white markings that you can see at headrest level on the picture below.

CF188B.jpg

Different seat, different time than the plane you are building? These pictures date from 2006 if I'm not mistaken.

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Thank you some much for sharing Chuck. I am building a much more humble CF-18 as we speak and you are a sensational inspiration to push my limits further.

Looking at your gorgeous seats, I was wondering about a discrepancy: the white markings that you can see at headrest level on the picture below.

CF188B.jpg

Different seat, different time than the plane you are building? These pictures date from 2006 if I'm not mistaken.

Thanks and good eye Voltaire! One of the things I really like about a build thread is the feedback I get along the way so that I can tweak or change some things before it's too late. I am building that exact jet, so the light colored seat markings are a must, even though the Eduard placards did not have one for this. I'll try to find something to replicate same, which is usually a decal that I'm not using that looks close.

Again thanks!

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Hi Chuck,

Outstanding paintwork on those wheel bays. :D

Your latest update puts forward a very strong case in favour of using the resin sets. The pipework looks exceptional and certainly saves a ton of home made scratch building.

The hose clips came out well, they look very neat and effective.

Superb job allround. (I need to get a set of these now for my future build.)

:worship:

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I think that the markings on the seat are very similar to the ones seen on the CF18 Century Hornet...

Seatmarking.jpg

Might help your layout.

Looks like I'm going to need some red ones too for the pipe-like stuff behind the headrest. I did, however, get the red painted rivets on either side of the headrest, which is hard to see in my photographs.

Again Thanks!

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Thanks to Voltaire's keen eyes and feedback, I've been able to make my first "save" of this build. The pics above clearly show that there's a bunch of white markings on the left side of the seat headrest. What the heck are they? I followed the Eduard instructions to the letter and I have a bunch of pics of an F-18C seat, which is what I used to give me this, which it turns out is wrong. Note how high the placards are compared to the Canadian version....

Cockpit9.jpg

It turns out that the answer was just sitting on my computer. I photographed this bird in July, 2007, so maybe there's some pics? Well, sure enough....

188910-6.jpg

Closer....

188910-3.jpg

Closer still.....

188910-4.jpg

Now the other side, which has hardly any placards.......

188910-5.jpg

The white markings appear to be some sort of "best before date", since I took the pics in July, 2007 and the date on the headrest says May 10, 2008. My guess is that it has something to do with the ejection charges, etc., that may expire much like a fire extinguisher. Anybody know?

Anyway, those Eduard placards had to go. As good as they are for detail, they are really thick and look a little phony and I needed some tiny red marking behind the headrest as well. Soooo, searching my extensive decal collection, I tried to find something that would replicate the markings on the Canadian headrest, which are much different than the American F-18C seat I was using for details. After hunting around I found the perfect decals, which come with the Leading Edge decal set I had bought for this build. Duh! I had them all along! This means that I had a pic of the real deal (that I took!) and I had the correct decals to use, but I was too stupid to use them both. Good thing you guys already know I screw up fairly regularly!

Anyway, the decals are not perfect either. The "DANGER" red sign at the base of the headrest is missing, so I carefully lifted them from the Eduard placard. The paint sometimes lifts from the brass backing of Eduard placards, so by bending the placard and using a modeling knife, you can sometimes separate the paint in one piece, much like a decal. I then used Future to 'glue" them onto the headrest, then used the Leading Edge decals for the rest. The improvement, I think, is well worth a night's efforts. While I was at it, I put a little Future on the seatbelts since they really are quite shiny in real life.

Thank you Voltaire!

Seats1.jpg

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Separate the paint from the PE set, much like a decal, he said!!! My jaw dropped a bit at that moment, I must confess...

:worship::worship::worship::worship:

Another useful closeup of a CF-18 seat for those like me who want to read the small print (taken in 2000) :)

seatcloseup.jpg

Edited by Voltaire
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...The white markings appear to be some sort of "best before date", since I took the pics in July, 2007 and the date on the headrest says May 10, 2008. My guess is that it has something to do with the ejection charges, etc., that may expire much like a fire extinguisher. Anybody know?

Chuck, I think you pretty much got the idea - as well as the knack for getting the details on the model just right! The 'big' number (starting with MB - "Martin-Baker"?) Is most likely the seat's serial number for maintenance tracking purposes, and yes, the 'expiration date' MUCH like your fire extinguisher analogy should be the date it is due for its next 'routine maintenance' - whatever that means...complete removal & tear-down of the seat; re-pack of the headbox parachute; R & R of the rockets; tighten cables & lube all pulleys, hinges, etc. Ejection Seats are a complex 'system' of criitcal emergency life support gear, so careful maintenance is a must - especially with a component that kill you as easily as it can save you if you are careless around it.

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I just stumbled onto this build. Very impressive! :D

I noticed that you pay a lot of attention to detail, so here is some info you may find either interesting or useful.

White markings on seat - Harv got it right; they are maintenance stickers (date) and serial number. Good catch on that detail!

"Footrests" on front IP - they aren't footrests - that's what we pilots use the rudder pedals for in jet fighters :soapbox:

They are actually fresh air vents. Cool air comes through those, and it can be directed using some tabs that stick up from them. I used to direct them onto my face, and if my visor fogged up too much, I would crack it slightly up to allow the air from those vents to flow under the visor through the crack between the visor and mask.

Blank spots on the front IP - they are blanking plates, covering where the uninstalled ALR-67 Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) goes on the CF-18. The upper right blanking plate (lower right portion of the main IP) is the Azimuth Display Unit (ADU) location, while the lower one (on the centre pedestal) is the Control Status Unit (CSU) or control panel location.

The aircraft you are modeling is typical of many of our duals - it does not have the RWR installed. The Duals on the operational squadrons usually have them installed, while the 410 Squadron (training unit) aircraft rarely have them installed. Good attention to detail again!

The DDI symbology (which you toned down using alternate decals) is only present when there is AC power on the aircraft (either through ground power or with engines running). When the electrical power is off, they should be entirely blank, and their surfaces are mildly reflective giving an impression of metallic deep green, depending on ambient light. On one of my Academy Hornet builds I replicated this by painting the kit 3-screen part black (the one that the decals attach to), and using a green magic marker on top of the clear parts to give the impression of depth and a metallic green sheen.

For a CF-18, the toned-down displays are accurate for early versions of the CF-18 (prior to the major upgrades around the turn of the century), while the colourful ones are valid for the very latest upgraded Hornets (with colour displays and a digital moving map on the centre display).

On your single-seater, I noticed it has a slanted communications antenna on the upper fuselage, but does not have the CIT (Combined Interrogator/Transponder) antennae (often referred to as bird slicers on ARC). Given the tail number (719), I believe that aircraft was never upgraded with slanted antennae; it should have the older smaller straight-bladed comm antennae top and bottom.

I am learning a lot about techniques from your build, and I am in awe of the quality and attention to detail; that's why I offer the above info in case you're interested. If you have any specific questions, just PM me - I flew CF-18s for 10 years (retired 14 years ago), and am currently working as an instructor at a CF-18 simulator site where I have access to lots of info about the aircraft.

I'll be watching this build with great interest!

ALF

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Forgot one small detail, and one suggestion (was too busy staring glassy-eyed at your amazing cockpit) - the ejection seat handles in CF-18s have a cloth backing on the back. The kit parts (and resin ones as well) have open loops; Canadian ejection handles have a cloth cover that imparts the orange colour. The reason for those covers was cited to us in training - apparently it was to prevent the pilot from getting a death grip through the handle after ejection by preventing the fingers from locking around the loop. This was supposed to facilitate seat/man separation when the time came. The alternative reason (was never sure what to believe) was to help prevent inadvertent snagging of the loop when getting in and out of the seat, or through normal flailing of limbs during a normal flight. Page 6 of the thread in the link I have posted below has some pics of my efforts to reproduce this. I used a bit of masking tape on the back of the loop to do the job.

For the nose gear, I tried (and succeeded) to install it after the fuselage was long joined, using the kit part. On page 1 of this build, you'll see how I did it.

LSP: http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.ph...23&hl=ALF18

I have no idea if that may work on the resin nose well you used; you may want to try dry-fitting/twisting as I did on the kit part.

If you're interested, I can hunt down some pics of the real ejection handle (the ones I'm thinking of are somewhere on Photobucket, but my work computer won't let me near that site). I know for sure I have pics of a plaque from the office next door to mine; the guy who works there got the ejection handle presented to him by the seat techs after his successful ejection over Germany in 1990.

ALF

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I'll be watching this build with great interest!

ALF

Gee, thanks for all the info ALF.! I found out about the wrong slanted antenna on the top a few years ago when another CF-18 pilot by the name of Dan McWilliams pointed out my error when I posted it on ARC. He also makes the 1/32 Academy kit (a LOT of them I think) and it's really cool to have real pilots who actually flew these jets give me tips and info. "719", as you know, is used a lot for airshow display, including the 2007 season and this past one in 2009.

As for the "footrests", I figured out that they probably were vents after I started painting the rest of the cockpit, because they are also on either side of the IP. Unfortunately, I can't make an accurate "B" cockpit because I was shipped a "D" in error, so I've tried to make do with a few alterations like putting a throttle and proper IP back there.

For the DDI symbology (I just learned another new thing!), I know that they should be almost black, but it kills me to leave no detail in there, so this will, I guess, be a bird with the electrical power on.

I will definitely take you up on your offer of info. I had a lot of questions about some things on my last build, so it's nice to have a "real source". :soapbox:

If you've seen any of my other work, you'll know that this bird is going to get dirty! Not as dirty as my last Tomcat below, but nicely soiled like the real deal.

_DSC2401.jpg

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Forgot one small detail, and one suggestion (was too busy staring glassy-eyed at your amazing cockpit) - the ejection seat handles in CF-18s have a cloth backing on the back.

ALF

I was wondering about that. The pic I took below of 910 has this "cover", but I thought it was to prevent goofs like me at the Stampede from yanking on it by mistake and launching a real bull ride!

Back to the bang seat drawing board!

Thanks.

Cockpit13.jpg

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