WIP for Revell F/A-18E Super Hornet

[JMan]

This is my very 1st WIP on here in a very very long time. Due to personal issues that unfortunately have taken me out of the one thing that made me happy I think I am finally at a point where I am able to enjoy this hobby once again. I know its gonna take me awhile to get back to the level of modeling that I used to be at, but Im hoping that it kind of be like getting back on a bicycle. I guess time will tell, wish me luck boys.

This I guess you could say is the obligatory box art shot, but Im also testing it out and making sure that PhotoBucket still is the place to go to post our build pics. :pray:/>/>/>/> :unsure:/>/>/>/>

Since I havent built a kit for awhile I would like to see where my skills are before I start work on a more expensive kit. Please bare with me as my knowledge and muscle memory come back to me.

Any and all feedback, good or bad......yes I do mean bad would greatly be appreciated!!!!!

Edited January 31, 2016 by JMan

[JMan]

Now I dont have a lot of progress at the moment since work takes a huge chunk of my time, but I will show what I can when I can.

Normally I would start in the cockpit but this time I decided to change things up a little and start with the intakes. As you can see there are some ejector pin marks that need to be cleaned up. In the larger section I was just able to sand everything smooth, but in the smaller section they were pretty deep so I filled them with some Tamiya white putty.

I also decided to look at the top panel just in front of the windscreen and thought since I have some small drill bits I would hollow out the hole for the 20mm Vulcan gatling gun. Can anyone tell me if the 2 slots on either side of the gun hole are open vents? If there are I will just make sure a black wash goes into it. Not sure I would be able to open them up without it getting ruined.

I promise more updates will come as I am able, again this will actually be a build I will finish!!!

[Skinny_Mike]

Welcome back Jman. You're off to a good start!

[galileo1]

Good start for sure! Dump photobucket and try imgur. Much better and faster.

Looking forward to more pics!

Rob

[JMan]

Ok, its been a few days since my last update. With work and just not really having much to show and not bore you guys. Here are some photos of the cockpit. It seems I may have lost a little of my touch I used to have with cockpits but, it could also be that its a Revell kit and the detail is just very very lacking. Either way it definitely isnt up to my usual painting standards. Just so you know that the painting isnt done, just thought I would show you that I am still very interested in completing this model.

Here is the Flight/control stick. Not really much to show, but I will be adding some gray buttons soon.

Here are a couple shots of the cockpit tub. I can see that my lines and I will be going back and making some detail brushing and fixing those little booboos!

I will also be adding gray, silver, and other colorful switches and buttons before my next update!

This is the new Super Hornet bangseat. Not 100% sure but it sure does resemble the Tomcat D model ejections seats. Anyone have any idea if in fact they are or not? Not that it matters, just curious. I will be adding color to straps, buckles, parachute pack at top of seat, and the straps that go up along the front of the seat to the headrest and connect to the pack.

I noticed in this picture that the weathering looks a bit to be desired so I will be redoing that since it looks like pure rubbish!

Here is the IP. Its not 100% done, but I think you get the jist of it. The kit calls for decals to be placed over a painted panel, but honestly I dont like putting decals on top of a detailed IP since they never line up correctly and in my opinion dont look that good. If they were dials behind the panel and you just saw they through the panels bezels then I would. As with the other things its not 100% completed so it too will have gray buttons and switches when completed.

I did something a little different than what I normally do and hope it doesnt come back to bite me in the rump. As they always say......."A picture speaks a thousand words", so Ill let the picture tell you.

So as you can see I have removed all parts from the sprue trees and trimmed off the sprue attachments and made little cliches of like parts. Just hope the "Carpet Monster" doesnt get ahold of any of them.

Thanks for looking and keeping up with this slow build, but it should get going pretty soon once all the parts are pretty much together. Any comments, critiques, and even criticism is wanted and looked forward to!!!!

Thanks again!

[Joel_W]

JMan,

Nice start. Work at your own pace is way better then no work on your build at all.

Joel

[falcon20driver]

Great start. I kind of like the sprue removal categorizing idea.

[anvil6]

Now I dont have a lot of progress at the moment since work takes a huge chunk of my time, but I will show what I can when I can.

Normally I would start in the cockpit but this time I decided to change things up a little and start with the intakes. As you can see there are some ejector pin marks that need to be cleaned up. In the larger section I was just able to sand everything smooth, but in the smaller section they were pretty deep so I filled them with some Tamiya white putty.

I also decided to look at the top panel just in front of the windscreen and thought since I have some small drill bits I would hollow out the hole for the 20mm Vulcan gatling gun. Can anyone tell me if the 2 slots on either side of the gun hole are open vents? If there are I will just make sure a black wash goes into it. Not sure I would be able to open them up without it getting ruined.

I promise more updates will come as I am able, again this will actually be a build I will finish!!!

The two holes on the side area are for purging gun gas. They open up towards the center, then curve towards the back. The path of the three vents would kind of look like the old Atari logo if viewed from above. Hope this helps!

-Ramon

[JMan]

The two holes on the side area are for purging gun gas. They open up towards the center, then curve towards the back. The path of the three vents would kind of look like the old Atari logo if viewed from above. Hope this helps!

-Ramon

Hey thanks for the info Ramon. I had a pretty good idea thats what those were for. TBH though, I would have no idea or the "huevos" to even think about opening them up unless I saw how someone else had done it. I have more pics but since I had a TON of errands to run today before I had to go to work and am currently at work I couldnt add the additional pics. More to follow in the next day or so!

Thanks for tuning in everyone. Its very much appreciated!

[Major Walt]

I had one of those kits a long time ago. Are you going to scribe the raised panel lines?

You did an awesome job on the ip!

[chek]

Hey thanks for the info Ramon. I had a pretty good idea thats what those were for. TBH though, I would have no idea or the "huevos" to even think about opening them up unless I saw how someone else had done it. I have more pics but since I had a TON of errands to run today before I had to go to work and am currently at work I couldnt add the additional pics. More to follow in the next day or so!

Thanks for tuning in everyone. Its very much appreciated!

The easiest way to open things like those side vents is to mill away the bulk of plastic on the reverse side (or gouge it out with a chisel tool if you don't have a motor tool)

then when you can see that it's translucent when held to the light, cut carefully through the remaining membrane from the front with a sharp pointed scalpel blade.

Opened vents always look best, but on an area that small you can likely get away with a dark wash too.

[JMan]

The easiest way to open things like those side vents is to mill away the bulk of plastic on the reverse side (or gouge it out with a chisel tool if you don't have a motor tool)

then when you can see that it's translucent when held to the light, cut carefully through the remaining membrane from the front with a sharp pointed scalpel blade.

Opened vents always look best, but on an area that small you can likely get away with a dark wash too.

Thanks Chek, I seriously thought about doing that but then forgot about it and now the nose section is closed up ready to be installed on the main fuselage. I think the next time I build another F/A-18 of any variant I may very well see about doing that. There are some other vents on the main fuselage that I may open up just to give her a little more character.

[JMan]

I had one of those kits a long time ago. Are you going to scribe the raised panel lines?

You did an awesome job on the ip!

Thanks for the compliment. Its not quite done yet as I need to add switches and button colors, but soon. Regarding your question about rescribing........YES. As Chuck had stated on his P-38 build the panel line and rivet detail is very shallow, and in some places seems to just fade into non-existence. I am not a very good scriber but after following the directions of Chuck and others on this forum I have learned that a little at a time goes a long way. Also I picked up some thinner CA since all I have is the gel kind, and that doesn't work too well with smaller areas.

Thanks again everyone for checking in, another update is soon to follow, although not a huge one.

BTW, this must be a new tooling cuz this is the 2nd or 3rd Revell E Super Hornet I have built and I havent seen any raised panel lines. Copyright on my decal sheet says 2005 so maybe anything before that had the raised panel lines.

Edited January 17, 2016 by JMan

[Major Walt]

Cool! Must be new tooling. I love your attention to detail.

[JMan]

Cool! Must be new tooling. I love your attention to detail.

Again thank you very much. When I get home tonight I will be doing an update. I will also be finishing the cockpit painting so that I can get a coat of Future on it for a wash in the next couple days!

Thanks again for looking!!

[Sebastijan]

Looks like you are off to a good start! I would advice you to use drybrushing with some grey colour over the seats to highlight the details. And when you are done with painting details, a dark wash to enhance the shadows - check my MiG-31 thread to see what I am talking about.

[JMan]

Looks like you are off to a good start! I would advice you to use drybrushing with some grey colour over the seats to highlight the details. And when you are done with painting details, a dark wash to enhance the shadows - check my MiG-31 thread to see what I am talking about. :cheers:/>

Already a step ahead of you Sebastijan, I have already looked at your MiG-31 thread and must say I am impressed with it. I would love to get the Foxhound, and the Foxbat as I think those are two of the coolest Russian jets. Love the Foxhounds main carriage. You dont see 2 tires in tandem very often, especially not on jets.

In the past I have used a silver color for the highlight of ejection seats, so you would suggest a gray color huh? Thanks for the info.

[JMan]

OK, time for another update. Again its not a big one, but I am taking my time with this build, especially with the scribing since all I have at the moment is a needle in a pinvise. While its no scriber or anything, it allows me to not only scribe it also allows me to repunch the rivets as well.

I thought I would try this needle out on something small and pretty simple so I chose the outer starboard wing section since its apart from the model as a whole. Its not perfect but I think it will look nice with a wash at the end.

Btw, would you guys scribe and rerivet while sections are separate, or would you build it up completely then rescribe?

Here are the forward compressor fan blades. I painted them with Aluminum mixed with a little black to darken them up a little. Not sure I like it so I may repaint a little more of a darker color but still enough light you will be able to see them down the intake trunking.

I have been working on the intakes and trunking attempting to get a nice smooth seamless trunk. Havent gotten it all done yet, but thought you should see some pictures of it.

Here is all 3 together. Just really wish that Revell would have done as good a job on the rear compressor fan, flame holder, and afterburner section of the engine. Its always a bummer when you get half good and half bad. Oh well, just makes me look forward to another kit where attention is put where it needs to be, you know?

Will be putting together the boarding ladder and I think it looks pretty good, but let me tell you those support bars are really, really fragile. If you do use these parts, please handle with care.

Also just wanted to show the canopy. The windscreen doesnt have the awful mold seam down the middle of it so thats good, but the canopy sure does. Here it is before removing and sanding.

Another shot, maybe a little more clearer. All I have now to take photos is my Samsung Galaxy S4. No flash used in this photo.

This is it now, almost completely seam free and polished. I thought I was done, but noticed that there was still a little bit at the front and rear of the canopy so I had to start over again at those places.

As always, thanks for looking and please comment bad or good, its much appreciated! Til next time, Happy Modeling!

[Joel_W]

JMan,

You're really making excellent progress.

As far as the fans go, leave them as is. The amount of light actually reaching them will keep them in the shadows, and thus look quite a bit darker in tone. What I would do is seal them, then a dark wash to make each blade pop.

Scribing is one area of modeling that I really don't like, but at times it's just a necessary function that I have to get through. I prefer to scribe on separate sections as they're just easier to turn and twist as needed.

Nice job on removing that centerline seam on the canopy.

Joel

[caudleryan]

You still got it! Looking great!

[JMan]

You still got it! Looking great!

Hey Ryan thanks for stopping by and thank you. I do think I have lost a little of my touch. Things that used to be easy have become somewhat difficult. Hope it comes back soon! Hey we should catch up sometime, its been a long time since we last talked!

Thanks Joel appreciate the king words. I have a coat of future on the blades ready for a wash!

[JMan]

Ok ladies and gents. Its been a little bit since my last update. With work, Fiances birthday I havent really found the time to work on it, but I now have a couple days off and am able to work on it a little and get an update or 2 in.

99.9% of the time I always start with the front office but this time I changed it up a little. I now have the cockpit nearly finished. Just the bangseat, and flight stick are all thats left to finish. The flight stick just needs a little wear put on the top half then dull coated. The bottom has already been weathered and dull coated, The bangseats would be done by now but I didnt like the color of the parachute straps initially so I changed them. Now I am just waiting on the Future to cure and will give it a wash then dull it and itll be ready. I dont need either of those in the cockpit before I can close it up so no rush there. Here are a few shots of the pit and side walls. I know its not perfect, but hey its my 1st one in nearly 6 yrs. PLZ be gentle!

Here is the IP. Not really sure if you can see it but I placed some Future on the screens and the dials to give the effect of glass. Maybe when I have the whole cockpit together it may show a little better.

I nearly forgot to paint, and weather the sidewalls. Thankfully I was dry fitting the pit and remembered.

While riveting and scribing the horizontal stab I made a little booboo. Even though I was very lightly trying to punch a deeper rivet my needle went completely through and split the corner of the stab. Trust me I know it went all the way through cuz my fingers got the pin hole to prove it. After doing some research and seeing the only thing I could find regarding the rivets on the edge of the stab I came to realize that I could find no such rivets. So I just filled them in with CA and sanded them smooth. If anyone else finds pictures to the contrary then I will leave as is on this model, but the next I will know to in fact keep them!

Well thats it for now. Btw, does PhotoBucket slow anyone elses pc down and take forever to load, and reload? It used to only take me 5 or so minutes to make an update, now its taking an hour and thats because the page wont load. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for stopping by.

Edited January 23, 2016 by JMan

[JMan]

The front compressor fans are finished and a was applied and now they are dull coated. Still need to paint the rim gloss white to match the intake interior.

When I was assembling the cockpit pieces I noticed that the throttle was lacking in every way, and as you can see Revell needs to step it up a little.

Not sure if you can tell the difference between the old and the new, but although its not 100% accurate, it definitely more resembles a fighter jet throttle.

After an exhausting search for the underside of the inboard weapons pylons someone was nice enough to shoot me a pick or two and now I am able to clearly see that the kit pylons are lacking both the anti-sway bars and looks like the rods for the explosive charges that push the munition away and out of the airstream of the plane. I have started to make some modifications to them but with my limited resources and skill it may take some time. Here are a few pics of where I will be cutting and digging out from the kit parts.

Started to drill out the sections behind the sway braces.

Can anyone tell me if these AOA probes needs to be as short and blunt as on the kit, or if they are more needle like?

As always, thanks for looking and feel free to leave a message, or critique as they are welcomed and wanted.

[Joel_W]

Sure looks like you're making excellent progress on those pylons.

As far as Photobucket is concerned, I and a few others I know personally are having similar problems. Uploads are taking way too long, and often never finish completely loading. Sometimes the photos still show up in your library. Years ago I upped my plan and pay $2.99/month, so it's not a bandwidth or storage problem by any means on our end, it's on theirs, as it seems to be server related. I'm looking at going back to Flickr or even using what comes free with Windows 10. Nothing wrong with using multiple cloud storage, and that should save me from the monthly fees.

Joel

[Alpagueur]

very interesting progress! I love so much the F-18E...

which gray did you use for the cockpit tube??