Fly-n-hi Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 (edited) Hi guys. I recently finished this 1/48 Hasegawa F/A-18F in the "Expert 101" colors. The kit is completely OOB with scratch built seat belts and a scratch built HUD. The decals are the "Wicked West coast Hornets" by Fightertown decals. The paint colors are my own mixes to best recreate the colors on the plane. They don't quite match up with the decals but oh well. I think the decals may be a tad bit too red (but they were great decals). The real plane is very clean but I decided to weather her up a bit to give her a more used look. This was the first time that I polished and finished a canopy without dipping it in Future. Hope you enjoy it: (These aren't my best pics...sorry) Edited November 4, 2012 by Fly-n-hi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fly-n-hi Posted November 4, 2012 Author Share Posted November 4, 2012 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
guaguachong Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 very beautiful plane, very nice work; congratulations. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sven Harjacek Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Well done I love how you did it OOB,I have one with loads of aftermarket and hope it will look half good as yours. Kind regards Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JesniF-16 Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 (edited) That is a bad a $ $ build /Jesse Edited November 4, 2012 by JesniF-16 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Madhatter Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 man that's great! Really, really nicely done! :thumbsup: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kurnass77 Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Wow mate,this build is fantastic; your paint is perfect,one of the best camo I've ever seen:clean and precise with a good,balanced weathering effect. A reference point for any future build! Gianni. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
warthoglvr Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 That is . .. . well . . . . Wicked! What did you use to get the canopy polished like that? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gonzalo Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Beautiful Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fly-n-hi Posted November 4, 2012 Author Share Posted November 4, 2012 Thanks for the nice comments! I hope you don't mind me bragging a little bit but it took the 1st place and Best OOB awards in its category at the local IPMS show yesterday. Warthoglvr, I used the sanding cloths that run from 3200 down to 12000. Then I used the Novus polishing kit (the #2 and #3 bottles) to polish it to a really high shine. I have done this on a few canopies since then and I can't tell the difference between the polished ones and the Futured ones. I like it because not having Future on the canopy is one less thing that can get messed up from masking, handling, etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
warthoglvr Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Thanks for the nice comments! I hope you don't mind me bragging a little bit but it took the 1st place and Best OOB awards in its category at the local IPMS show yesterday. Warthoglvr, I used the sanding cloths that run from 3200 down to 12000. Then I used the Novus polishing kit (the #2 and #3 bottles) to polish it to a really high shine. I have done this on a few canopies since then and I can't tell the difference between the polished ones and the Futured ones. I like it because not having Future on the canopy is one less thing that can get messed up from masking, handling, etc. Thanks. I like the look of your canopies. Good to know there is an alternative to Future (even though I've been generally pleased with the dipping process). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Thanks for the nice comments! I hope you don't mind me bragging a little bit but it took the 1st place and Best OOB awards in its category at the local IPMS show yesterday. ...this is a SPECTACULAR build.it looks SPLENDIFEROUS :worship: .. And CONGRATULATIONS. ON YOUR FIRST PRIZE.... {. And you should shout all about it from the rooftops and on ARC.} BRAVO..WELL DONE Sir. HOLMES Quote Link to post Share on other sites
iwan_canobi Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Fantastic, really sharp and clean looking! Nice work. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KRI76 Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 I just loooove those aggressor birds! One camo more spectacular than the other! Great job on this particular one. /Kristian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
speedlimit Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 (edited) You did well with the colors in my opinion. The blending and lightly darkened panel is awesomely made. Hope you dont mind my asking what brand of paint you used? Eric Edited November 5, 2012 by speedlimit Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fly-n-hi Posted November 5, 2012 Author Share Posted November 5, 2012 (edited) Thanks again guys! Speedlimit, the brand of paint for the camo was Model Master Arcyl...which I swore I'd never use again. But I thinned them with lacquer thinner and the stuck to the model very well. The other parts (grey, white) were Mr. Color. KRI76, thanks. But I don't believe that its actually an "aggressor" bird. It's part of the Fleet Replenishment Squadron at Lemoore NAS in California. I think they train Superhornet pilots in this squadron. Apparently, the commander of the squadron decided he wanted some non grey Superhornets so they painted this brown one and there's an -E with blue camo. Edited November 5, 2012 by Fly-n-hi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wardog Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Great looking bird. I love the paint scheme and the aligned landing gear. I too use the same canopy polishing method and I love it. Great job. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scapilot Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 What method did you use to polish and finish the actual plane?? Interested in trying a new approach to smoothing down paint jobs myself. Even with Future shoots, it still seems like it takes way too much to get a good gloss coat....then I have to fight getting washes to stay in panel lines. Tried the Krylon Gloss clear, and it's mixed results. Don't know if it's just the grainy enamels from MM, or what, but I've heard a few people talk about using fine sanding pads to bring a gloss shine to a bare plane, just looking for a recommended method. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
xavi84 Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 This is a mean looking Hornet. I really like the subtle weathering. You really knocked this one out of the park! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fly-n-hi Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 (edited) Wardog, scapilot and xavi84, thank you! scapilot, I did go over the model with some fine sanding pads but I don't remember what the grit was. It was probably in the 4000 range. In my experience MM Acryl is a fragile paint so I had to use very light pressure...and I only sanded the areas that were grainy not the entire model. After that I did apply a think coat of Future for the sake of the decals BUT, On my last couple of builds I've started using Mr. Super Clear Gloss and I love it. I'll use this stuff from now on when I can. The major consideration, though, is that it is lacquer and very "hot" so it will melt some paints. But It works just fine over Mr. Color paints. I should mention that I rescribed all the panel lines on this kit with the intention of doing a panel line wash but I changed my mind after I painted her. I'm starting to move away from panel line washes because I believe they tent to look a little unrealistic and cartooney. All the weathering was done with various post shading and oil filters. Edited November 6, 2012 by Fly-n-hi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mam-07grublo Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Very cool camo work. Congrats on the win! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spad Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 This is proof that even an OOB can be a great model! It has a excellent paint, congratulations! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fly-n-hi Posted November 9, 2012 Author Share Posted November 9, 2012 Thanks again! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave1089 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Fantastic! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sledge Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 One of the coolest looking superhornets paint jobs I have ever seen! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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