Thadeus Posted November 14, 2014 Author Share Posted November 14, 2014 #50 Revell 1/72 F/A-18 E, VFA-81 AA200, 2010, Authentic Decals. Built in october 2014 for the Hornet's Nest GB. I've added the pilot and built the JHMCS. Decals were slightly problematic since that stripe on the spine broke on me. Looks nice with his wingman. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted November 14, 2014 Author Share Posted November 14, 2014 #51 Hasegawa 1/72 F/A-18 F, VFA-11 AA100, 2006, Superscale decals. One more participant in the Group Build. I've completed it in october 2014. Replaced kit coaming with an unused one from Hasegawa F/A-18 E and added intake covers made with kitchen foil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted November 14, 2014 Author Share Posted November 14, 2014 #52 Hasegawa 1/72 F/A-18 E, VFA-14 NH200, 2003, Hasegawa decals. Finished in october 2014 for the Group Build. I've added canopy brakers to the seat and some detail to the turtle deck aft of the seat. Intake covers are almost mandatory ;) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted November 14, 2014 Author Share Posted November 14, 2014 These are the ones I have so far. There are a lot of medicore ones, and even more heavily dusted - sorry for that. Individually they may not stand out, but in a pack? Well, see for Yourselves! Legacy Hornets: Super Bugs: You can even see my cleaning aid in the background. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rodney Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Wow! Nice hornet collection! Rodney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted November 28, 2014 Author Share Posted November 28, 2014 Thanks for stopping by! I really enjoy looking at them in my display case despite all their flaws:) Here's one more. Though this one goes to the closet. I've run out of shelf space! Damn this is going to be a major problem... #53, 1/72 Hasegawa F/A-18 F, VFA-102 NF102, 2005, decals from Hasegawa VFA-102 History combo, done for the Hornet's Nest GB here on ARC. As usual, covers for the intakes were done with kitchen aluminum foil, seat belts with masking tape, and I've added canopy breakers to the seats. There's some silvering on the decals, but I don't really see it in the pics. So lets just pretend there's none ;) Here's that silvering... You can see small modification to the aft IP coaming and canopy breakers. Considering I have about 60 more Hornets planned I really should consider casting my wingfold in resin... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Roberts Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Very impressive collection. It was fun to see how you've improved from your early ones. Keep building! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted November 29, 2014 Author Share Posted November 29, 2014 Thanks for watching! It sure was fun to build them :) and probably it will be fun rebuilding some of them ;) What's starting to bother me, is lack of clear coats on most of them. I've had bad experiences with matt coats in the past which made me not apply them. Did not encounter them recently though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share Posted December 8, 2014 #54 1/72 Academy F/A-18 A+, VMFA-115 AC200 around 2004, Superscale decals. Done for the awesome Hornet's Nest Group Build. Another milestone, this time as big as the first folded wings and drooped flaps. I've replaced horrible kit main gear legs with Italeri ones. They look so much better! I simply can't wait for the next Academy Hornet I'll tackle with! I've also modified the kit MLG's but they go to my other Hornets. The spine decals were a little too long, I've had to shorten them a bit. I've also fitted Aires SJU-5 in the cockpit. Just look at those beutiful MLGs! It was completed together with the next one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share Posted December 8, 2014 #55 1/72 Academy F/A-18 C, VMFA-312 AC200 from around 2009. Authentic decals were used. Done for the Hornet's Nest GB Decals were a slight pain... Authentic Decals have cracked on my on multiple occasions. Usually, a clear decal film solves the problem, so was the case here. There was some silvering involved, but I've managed to fix it. Plus the color on the decals was slightly shifted, and they were not opaque enough. This was a problem on the CVW tailcode only. I've fitted Pavla resin SJU-17 in the pit. Looks better than what Academy offers. I really like the weathering effect on this one. And this here is my personal pride - modified kit gear legs. They look so much better now! Solution was so simple! All I've had to do is to change the angle at which gear sits, stretch it a little, and make a new oleo strut. Here's the side view. Not perfect, but quite close! They look pretty nice from behind too! Thanks for watching Guys, I have one more Hornet on my work bench right now! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kurnass77 Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Hey Thad, do you like the Hornet? Great collection mate! Gianni Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mrblujet Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 So what you're saying is you like the F/A/-18. Where the hell do you put all of these models? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share Posted December 12, 2014 Hey Thad, do you like the Hornet? Great collection mate! :thumbsup:/> :cheers:/> Gianni Thanks Buddy! It has been a very Hornety year for me ;) I can't wait to start another one... So what you're saying is you like the F/A/-18. Where the hell do you put all of these models? I guess it would not be untrue if I said I don't have adverse feelings towards them ;) Or in normal folks english - Yeah, I do like them ;) If You're ever at my place and open the fridge there may be a Hornet there just between ketchup and lettuce! Seriously though, storing them is slightly problematic. Thanks for stopping by guys! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share Posted December 12, 2014 #56 1/72 Academy F/A-18 C, VFA-146 NG300 from around 2001 - 2002. Print Scale decals. Done for the magnificent Hornet's Nest GB! I've added the seat from Pavla and modified the kit landing gear. Plus the obvious flaps and wingfold. Decals were awesome, very thin and durable - the flag on the nose caused minimal problems to align perfectly. Other than lack of one set of modex numbers (I've had to buy another sheet for them), no crew names and renaming the carrier as USS John C Stehng they were quite good. I've modified the carrier name to look more like it should but it did not came out too good. That'd be the last Hornet for 2014 and the last model for 2014. Thanks for watching! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Dang, your Hornets are getting better and better. That last one is a stunner. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share Posted December 13, 2014 Thanks Phantom! Your Phantom collection is a never ending inspiration to me :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 #57 1/72 Academy C.15 (F/A-18 A), ALA 15, Spanish Air Force from 2007 Tiger Meet. Academy F/A-18A kit decals. Done for the Tiger Group Build here on ARC! I've added Verlinden SJU-5, which doesn't look like an SJU-5 ;) Still, It's not bad, and better than kit seat. Decals were pretty good, the only difficulty was with the tiger stripes on the fuel tanks. Plus, I've modified the flaps, and main landing gear. This one is actually the first model completed in 2015! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 #57 1/72 Academy F/A-18 D, VMFA(aw)-224 WK01 from OIF, around 2005. Academy kit decals. Done for the Tiger Group Build here on ARC! I've added the awesome Wolfpack SJU-17 NACES seats. Apart from that and some weapons it's an out of the box build. The decals were even better than the previous ones. Unfortunatly, most of the markings should be black, while on the kit sheet they're dark gray. Still, it's not bad. So far, it's my favourite build of this year ;) Thanks for looking! Hope You like my new bugs Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tosouthern66 Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 #47 Hasegawa 1/72 F/A-18 C, VFA-151 NE300, 1998, Eagle Strike decals. Again, Hornet's Nest GB participant, Aires cockpit with Pavla SJU-17 seat, and Quickboost intakes. Thad I thought I impounded this bird? They all look nice bud! What you doing trying to catch up to Phantoms Phantom's? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted April 4, 2015 Author Share Posted April 4, 2015 Thanks Mate! Well I can't really release this one without a court order and a couple dozen signatures ;) Don't worry, it's all going according to plan, only... 86 to go :) 62 Legacy and 24 Supers :) I'm going to need a bigger display case... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tosouthern66 Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 I may have to abandon all other builds and get to my Hornet stash. My problem is I do not have enough room for them all! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted April 4, 2015 Author Share Posted April 4, 2015 Oh man, I know the feeling. Not enough shelf space was one of the reasons I've had to scrap close to 40 of my older models at the begining of tis year Plus I've had to abandon one display case at my parents place. Frankly this killed my modeling mojo a bit. For storage I use Hasegawa Combo boxes (same size as 1/48 Hornet box) to store some of my completed models. One Hase box can carry up to 5 1/72 scale Hornets :) just have to be carefull when handling it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
balls47 Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Yo Bro, That's quite a collection of F-18's. I have a couple or so questions for you: 1. Is there a Blue Angel build in your future? I'd love to see that one. 2. I noticed on some of your in-flight builds that the canopies look pretty well glued down. On some of the static builds, do you just set the canopy on the model to it can be removed to see the cockpit? I'm starting the same thing with ANG jets. I like inflights, but I'm gonna do some that are parked on the ground. Just wondering how you did it. 3. Do you build them one at a time, or do you do them assembly-line fashion? Thanks, and again, that's a great collection. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted April 6, 2015 Author Share Posted April 6, 2015 Thanks Mate! I hope You will post Your ANG builds in the display case - I'd love to see them :) I'm planning on building a Blue Angel Hornet in the future. It's going to be an Academy one. There was only the issue of that wrong-shaped MLG. Now that I've found out how to fix it, it's just a question of time :) I used to have a BA Hornet from Hasegawa, but the decals weren't opaque enough and the yellow decals didn't look good. I usually glue canopies in my in-fligt displays, sometimes You just have to sand them flush with the fuselage. Opened canopies are mostylu glued. Usually with a drop of super glue. This way it's easy to remove it should the need arise :) I rarely build a jet with landing gear down and canopy closed. I build them just whenever I get the feeling to do so :) - that actually is quite often ;) usually no more than 3 - 4, but I've been know to do as much as six at once for the Hornet's Nest GB. I just have to remember to finish them off one by one. If I try to decal or apply wash to 4 models at one time, I'll loose interest by the end and just rush the last one. And that's not good ;) This doesn't happen to me with earlier steps of the build, including painting. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SERNAK Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 You definitely need to add some more Adversary Hornets to your collection!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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