tosouthern66 Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 I do want to thank Bravosierra001 for starting a WIP on this kit. Everyone should check it out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
azzaob Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 I do want to thank Bravosierra001 for starting a WIP on this kit. Everyone should check it out. Here's the WIP http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=293721 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tosouthern66 Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 Thanks azzaob for posting his link. I forgot to do so, glad there are others out there to back the rest of us up! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
erik_g Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 Well I have an issue with the way they judge any contest. There is no such thing as a perfect kit or airplane! They should be judging on what the modeler did to the kit at hand, not whether the kit represented is in proper scale and every thing looks right. I can under stand if someone enters a contest and says that their model is an Hornet, but it only one intake and engine. Then I can see there being an issue with judging it for accuracy. In Sweden judging historical accuracy is not allowed, so there are no penalties for adding JDAMs to a Gulf War aircraft or building a kit that is filled with basic errors. As long as the kit is skillfully built it is OK. But when we´re talking about recreating bent wings, sloppy paint job and stuff like that we know exist in real life. How do we as modellers recreate that without having it look like we´re the ones that lack the basic modelling skill to get the wings to sit straight or the paint to not run or bleed? And how would I, as a judge, know that the wing on your Hornet is crooked and asymmetric because the original has a bent wing, and not because you were sloppy when gluing the kit together? Show me as a judge that the original aircraft looked like it was built by a 10 year old, and I won´t judge your model like it was built by a 10 year old :-) (but in the junior classes everyone gets a prize, so building like a 10 year old might actually be a winning strategy, if winning is important :-D) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jgrease Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 Well I have an issue with the way they judge any contest. There is no such thing as a perfect kit or airplane! They should be judging on what the modeler did to the kit at hand, not whether the kit represented is in proper scale and every thing looks right. I can under stand if someone enters a contest and says that their model is an Hornet, but it only one intake and engine. Then I can see there being an issue with judging it for accuracy. IPMS judging is about fit and finish. A well-built model is what wins contests. John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Space Tiger Hobbes Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Ahem, I've seen both a tank and a plane bumped from consideration because the interior colors were inaccurate...or judged to be inaccurate. It wasn't my stuff. I have no problem with judging for relevant historical accuracy. I'm just sayin'... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewPerren Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Guys this thread is about the Kinetic F-18. Can we keep on mission please, there are separate threads about contest judging elsewhere. That being said I've started one and so far no unpleasant surprises. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
king of the britains Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Guys this thread is about the Kinetic F-18. Can we keep on mission please, there are separate threads about contest judging elsewhere. That being said I've started one and so far no unpleasant surprises. Please keep us posted! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Roberts Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Here are some resin bits that will be available from Steel Beach in the near future. The build is going pretty smoothly, although I found the gear to be fiddly. I think with repeated builds it will be easier, but the first time through takes some time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
B.Sin Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Darren,looking forward to these. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Solo Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Why forward blister antenna? It is available (2 pieces) in kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Roberts Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Why forward blister antenna? It is available (2 pieces) in kit. Good question. The answer is because of the locating tab on the back of those blisters. They are rectangular, which means you have to cut out a rectangular slot in the kit plastic or cut off the tab on the back of that itty-bitty piece. I just about sliced my finger off trying to get rid of it. So, by including the forward blisters as well, a little bit of sanding and you're good to go. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewPerren Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 (edited) Hey Darren, how did you find the fit of the horizontal stabs into the holes? My dry fits in that area are giving me the feeling that it will be quite loose? BTW nice resin goodies. Edited June 30, 2016 by AndrewPerren Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Roberts Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Hey Darren, how did you find the fit of the horizontal stabs into the holes? My dry fits in that area are giving me the feeling that it will be quite loose? BTW nice resin goodies. I'd agree with your assessment. They were a bit loose. They didn't flop around, but they didn't stay completely put by just inserting them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cliff C Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 ] When fitting the landing gear wells on my kit, I noticed that three sides fit great and then there is a large gap along the outside edge that you can see a bit of in Darren's photo. I thought I was doing something wrong but it looks like Darren you had the same issue? Should be Less noticeable when the gear and doors are installed but it seems a bit odd? Cliff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewPerren Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 When fitting the landing gear wells on my kit, I noticed that three sides fit great and then there is a large gap along the outside edge that you can see a bit of in Darren's photo. I thought I was doing something wrong but it looks like Darren you had the same issue? Should be Less noticeable when the gear and doors are installed but it seems a bit odd? Cliff I noticed the same thing. I'm doing mine as an in-flight bird, I'm just trialling the fit of the gear doors closed. I'll post a pic when I get them on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Roberts Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Yup, I didn't like the separate wheel bay piece. It makes life much easier if you are putting in a resin set, but for the rest of us, it was a bit of work. The gap is there, and when I was test fitting the landing gear, it actually broke loose. I had to use CA glue in the gaps so the whole piece didn't fall into the fuselage. I want to reiterate that I'm being hypercritical. Overall this is a great model. Andrew, let me know how the doors fit. I was thinking of making a wheel bay plug set with the doors in place for those that want to do inflight models. If the doors fit well, it might not be worth it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Raymond Chung Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 (edited) So you care about the gap inside the wheel bay ? Now ? The bay fit wheel to support the MLG already. Is anything I miss ? Edited July 2, 2016 by Raymond Chung Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Roberts Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 So you care about the gap inside the wheel bay ? Now ? The bay fit wheel to support the MLG already. Is anything I miss ? I don't think the gap will show. That's not a problem. The separate wheel bay is an interesting idea. Since it's the first time I've built it, I'm making notes to myself about areas that I had some problems with. Some of it may be design of the kit while some may be builder error. On the first run through, most of the issues will be builder error. The pros of the separate wheel bay is that using aftermarket wheel bays will be a snap. Also, if you want to do an inflight, not having the wheel by in the way allows you to work the gear doors from both sides of the fuselage. You can also paint the bay before installing it. The downside was that I couldn't get a lot of solid contact areas between the bay and fuselage to get good adhesion. I used Tamiya Extra Thin Cement, but when I went to test fit the landing gear, the bay almost popped off into the recesses of the fuselage. I hit the seams with CA glue and that held it in place. On my next build, I'll install the bay with Tamiya glue, then run a bead of CA glue around the outside to make sure it stays in place. Problem solved. Overall, I'm loving this Hornet. It's a great build and a very economical price. I'm at the painting stages right now. I'll post pictures when I'm done. Raymond, don't take the posts on the board personally or as a dig on the Hornet model. Every kit has some niggles that are unforseen, and it's simply us modelers working through those to find the best way to build it. You guys have outdone yourselves with this Hornet kit, and I'm excited to see what you've got planned in the future. You have made a tremendous effort to improve. The few issues with the Hornet kit are far outweighed by the positives of it. Good job! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Roof Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 Just a couple of FYI's on the dual chaff/flare buckets. First, keep in mind they are only installed on a relatively small number of US aircraft, BuNo's 165171 thru 165532. Second, there is supposed to be a fairing on the main landing gear doors that fits up against the aft end of the bucket fairing when the doors are closed. These are not present in the kit. Some where in my files, I have a clear photo showing exactly what they look like. As soon as I find it, I'll post it here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brad-M Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 Thanks for sharing those pics Darren, you have shown me that I'll be sticking with the Hasegawa kit. I thought Kinetic was supposed to have figured out a better fit of their kits, but I guess not. Brad Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewPerren Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 OK so a bit of a report on the fit of the gear doors closed. Firstly it is clear that the kit is designed to have the gear doors open (as it should be for the bulk of modellers) - this is just my opinions and some pictures of my sausage fingered progress. Do not take this as a criticism of the kit, just some observations to share in case anyone else is interested. I've decided to do this work well in advance of main construction so that i get good access to position doors etc. I though about leaving the main gear bay out altogether but it seems to be a supporting structure for the intake trunks and without it there is nothing to build supporting tabs for the doors onto. Main Gear bays The doors all have hinge pieces to remove. The multi piece doors were joined together with strips of plastic card to form one piece. As there is very little "shelf"at all for the doors to sit on I added support pieces where needed to support the doors. The fit is not bad and the contours are pretty good. There are some gaps to shim or use filler in but overall i think I can work with this. Nose Gear bay The fit of the small door H16 attached to the retractions strut is very good after some minor trimming and locates well. The long nose gear door E26 ( taped) is very undersized and will need to be either shimmed out or replaced with card. The twin doors at the front also had to be joined with some styrene strips again leaving some gaps to deal with. OK so the fit is not perfect but it's not disaster either, I think with a bit more work I can have these areas acceptable. Seeing Daves comments above I might need to add a fairing to the main doors as I'm doing a Swiss bird with the twin dispensers. I hope that helps anyone else considering a gear up build. Otherwise the fit is very good in the other areas done so far. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Raymond Chung Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 Maybe we can consider to add a one PC door to easy the gear up build Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 (edited) OK so a bit of a report on the fit of the gear doors closed. Firstly it is clear that the kit is designed to have the gear doors open (as it should be for the bulk of modellers) - this is just my opinions and some pictures of my sausage fingered progress. Do not take this as a criticism of the kit, just some observations to share in case anyone else is interested. I've decided to do this work well in advance of main construction so that i get good access to position doors etc. I though about leaving the main gear bay out altogether but it seems to be a supporting structure for the intake trunks and without it there is nothing to build supporting tabs for the doors onto. Main Gear bays The fit of the small door H16 attached to the retractions strut is very good after some minor trimming and locates well. The long nose gear door E26 ( taped) is very undersized and will need to be either shimmed out or replaced with card. The twin doors at the front also had to be joined with some styrene strips again leaving some gaps to deal with. OK so the fit is not perfect but it's not disaster either, I think with a bit more work I can have these areas acceptable. Seeing Daves comments above I might need to add a fairing to the main doors as I'm doing a Swiss bird with the twin dispensers. I hope that helps anyone else considering a gear up build. Otherwise the fit is very good in the other areas done so far. Good stuff Andrew. That nose gear looks like a bit of work. But as you've said it's not really designed for wheels up. Be interested to see more images of your build. Maybe we can consider to add a one PC door to easy the gear up build I reckon that would be a good idea Raymond if you can do it cheaply Edited July 3, 2016 by a4s4eva Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Roberts Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 Thanks for sharing those pics Darren, you have shown me that I'll be sticking with the Hasegawa kit. I thought Kinetic was supposed to have figured out a better fit of their kits, but I guess not. Brad Then you'd be missing out. This kit is way better than the Hasegawa kit. The ease of construction on the Kinetic kit is so much better and the detail is more refined. I've got a Hasegawa kit that's been sitting on the shelf for years because I don't want fuss with the ill-fitting areas. The gap in the gear bay is really a minor issue. It won't be seen once the doors are on. I'm at the decaling stage of mine right now. I'll post pictures later today. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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