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1/48 Hasegawa F/A-18C


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Long week at work... I was hoping I'd be a little further along on this build, but at least I got to do a little bit of work to my Hornet here and there. I mainly worked on weathering the bottom of the jet. Again, I'm not really going for a "end-of-deployment-I-need-a-bath" look, but a generally "well-maintained-but-flown-every-day" appearance. Keeping that in mind, I simply added some random streaks of heavily thinned flat black for this pass. Just dab, wipe in direction of airflow, repeat- over and over. Looks more natural to slowly build up layers than just hit one spot once with a heavy mixture. I'll repeat this process with a couple of different shades of brown to add some depth, and also because not everything that leaks out of the Hornet is a homogenous tint of black.

Here is a general view of the bottom. H-Stabs are loose-fit for appearance. I have yet to touch those beyond paint:

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A closer view of the engine bay doors. This is generally the dirtiest region of the jet, so I'll be adding some more weathering here:

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Did a little more work to the top side, too. Added some grime aft of the walk ways where a lot of foot traffic happens. I also lightened up the black I used for the non-skid coating. Looks a little too light in the photo, I may go back and over coat some thinned black on top of the light ghost gray weathering. What do you think?

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Finally, here is an inventory of the bits and pieces I'll be adding to the model - hopefully this weekend! I really hope, any way.. wife and kid might have other ideas for me... One note on the drop tanks: they were a PITA. First of all, the real tanks don't have any showing panel lines. The Hasegawa parts have panel lines that go around the entire circumference at different locations. I chose to fill them in with CA and eliminate them. Also, the two halves don't line up very well, which is odd by Hasegawa standards. These 2 tanks took a considerable amount of effort to clean up. I'm glad they are just about finished. I weathered them a little bit and lightened the paint finish since the tanks are moved from jet to jet often, and are stored where ever there is room when they are not in use, inside or out. The AIM-9X is from the spares box, from the Revell F/A-18E kit I believe.

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That's all for now - thanks for looking! Comments welcome... at this point, I'd like to get critiques and pointers before I start my home run trot!

Jake

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That's all for now - thanks for looking! Comments welcome... at this point, I'd like to get critiques and pointers before I start my home run trot!

Jake

Hey Jake! I'm on a TDY and not quite home yet so I am a little late checking out your post. Personally, I am not sure what I would suggest. It all looks like it has come together well for you. If anything, maybe you could re-evaluate what you wanted to achieve with this build and ask yourself "Did I accomplish ______ (insert goal here) to my satisfaction?" To me your work is a great piece of "eye candy" that I would love to have in my display case (if I had a display case! Haha.) I can't tell the finer points you mention about the color with the photos you have. It all looks well done to me. What do you think? (we all are our biggest critics when it comes to our own work). Nothing and no one could tell you that you couldn't build another one if you didn't quite reach your desired goals here. Finish it up and post some pics in the Gallery!

-Mark

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Finish it up and post some pics in the Gallery!

-Mark

Mark - thanks as always for the encouragement. I am working to get this baby done soon! But, I just hit another "out-of-practice" delay on this model. Let's just say I had to remove the windscreen (again) because I didn't properly paint the glare shield region under the windscreen glass. I also had some bleed through on my canopy mask. Looks like I will be doing some cleaning and polishing this week. I'll be posting my latest lament later with some pictures.

Amazing work!

Thank you so much!!

Great work on the Hornet and thanks for sharing your work. The weathering and attention to detail are nothing less than spectacular.

Jim

I appreciate the comments. Having been away from the hobby for a while, I am still nervous about some of the more advanced modeling techniques I am trying. I am pleased with the results, and I know that my own opinion is the most important factor, but a little reassurance goes a long way. Thanks for the feedback!

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Baby steps, but it's still forward progress! I spent a great deal of time on the windscreen problem. It really pained me to remove the glass since I had a good seam after final paint, but I had to. I couldn't just leave that huge unpainted area the way it was. The removal did afford me easier access to polish out my paint mask bleed through, so it wasn't totally a bust. I still haven't reattached it. Here's the ugly status:

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In between sanding, buffing, and polishing, I attached a number of bits to the model. Landing gear, ordnance, most of the antennas/sensors, pitot tubes, V-Stab strobe lights, and motors. Once I get the windscreen back on and touch up the paint around the seam, my to-do list is very short: tail hook, landing gear doors, and remaining clear light lenses. Almost time to clear the space on the shelf for my latest plastic money pit!

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Thanks for following!

Jake

Edited by jacobp51
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Very well done Jake! It takes a lot of courage to go "back in" and correct mistakes made at this stage. Also, I think, it's bit more tricky to get a good bond (at that area you are pointing to) with it all painted. It's almost as if you have to hold back and leave some unpainted surface to get a strong bond between the plastics! Test fitting, if you will, between the painted surface and the coverage of the windscreen.

Your build looks amazing! Just the right amount of weathering (IMHO) for a CAG bird. I am looking forward to the "final reveal." I know you will "glide" through this setback!

-Mark

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Very well done Jake! It takes a lot of courage to go "back in" and correct mistakes made at this stage. Also, I think, it's bit more tricky to get a good bond (at that area you are pointing to) with it all painted. It's almost as if you have to hold back and leave some unpainted surface to get a strong bond between the plastics! Test fitting, if you will, between the painted surface and the coverage of the windscreen.

Your build looks amazing! Just the right amount of weathering (IMHO) for a CAG bird. I am looking forward to the "final reveal." I know you will "glide" through this setback!

-Mark

Mark - courage isn't what drove me.. more like necessity! I really didn't want to do what I did. But when I pulled the masking tape off and saw that huge unpainted band forward of the coaming, I winced knowing what I would have to do to correct it.

When are we going to see an update on your build(s)?!

Oh yea! Your Hornet is really looking great. I keep seeing little details that jump out and look awesome. I too applaud you for pulling the windshield to fix it, as I'd have been too terrified to do it.

Yup, terrified is putting it mildly. Breaking the bond through the filled joint was heart breaking! I used a fresh #2 Exacto blade. Inserted into the joint, and gently twisted to pry the thing off. Every time it moved, I shuddered thinking I cracked or gouged the clear plastic. THANKFULLY, I didn't use a ton of glue to put it on, so I only had to break 3 bond points. It was the putty that really held the whole thing together.

Thank you both for the comments! Yesterday, the windscreen sat all day letting the new future coat dry while I was at work. I glued it back on last night after the paint corrections. Today I hope to apply a new mask and touch up the joint and refinish the frame/trim.

Also, I was toying with installing the nose landing gear doors last night, but when I got down to it, I noticed ejector pin marks on all of them! Filled last night, curing today. Seems like everyday I am waiting another 24 hours for something to dry or cure!! I swear I'll finish this jet someday!

Speaking of which, I chose these markings because the squadron is one of the ones I locally support at MCAS Miramar. I am really considering presenting them with the finished model for their trophy case after they return from deployment. Has anyone ever done this before? My only hang-up is my own desire to keep it! But I think it would make the squadron happy. Not sure what to do!

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Mark - courage isn't what drove me.. more like necessity!

Ahh, I see now! Even so..... I takes "guts" to go back in to make the corrections! Looking forward to the new re-work! Everything seems to take time (about your comment on waiting for "stuff" to dry or set)!

When are we going to see an update on your build(s)?!

Well, I could take some pics and post but, I must admit that most of what I have been involved with is blending, sanding, priming..... repeat......repeat again! Haha. In other words not very photogenic but, since you asked, I may try to put something together shortly. Just be aware it may not be "mind blowing" progress! Haha!

Speaking of which, I chose these markings because the squadron is one of the ones I locally support at MCAS Miramar. I am really considering presenting them with the finished model for their trophy case after they return from deployment. Has anyone ever done this before? My only hang-up is my own desire to keep it! But I think it would make the squadron happy. Not sure what to do!

Well, personally, that would be a VERY nice gesture honoring the squadron!

If you go that route.... let me know, and I will supply you with a new 1/48 F/A-18 A/C Hasegawa kit (the same kit I am building) to build another one for yourself!

-Mark

Edited by taggor
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Well, personally, that would be a VERY nice gesture honoring the squadron!

If you go that route.... let me know, and I will supply you with a new 1/48 F/A-18 A/C Hasegawa kit (the same kit I am building) to build another one for yourself!

-Mark

Very generous of you, Sir! I will let you know what happens. They don't get back until later this year, so I'll have some time to chew on the idea.

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