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Trumpeter 1/32 F/A-18E


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I picked up one of these last week and I was wondering what you reckon was the absolutely vital upgrades to the basic kit. I can't see that Aries do a cockpit for the E Model but I believe the kit seat headbox may be small? I'm not sure about the jet pipes either as I raed an IPMS USA review which made no comment about the jet pipes. Someone may be able to save me a lot of time with some good advice please! I'm thinking of using the Topcatters CAG markings, even if the yellow may be a bit weak!!

Many thanks

Simon

Edited by Simon Cornes
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Hi Simon, I purchased the Wolfpack seat, the Rhino intakes, the Aires exhausts, the NorthStar wheels, the Zactomodels AIM-9X, the SuperBug cockpit and the Eduard interior set... all these are excellent items, but the bath tube lacks some details so you will have to scrtachnuild something... also the dorsal spine is too thin and it shrinks too early, SuperBug did an aftermarket resin one but I never found it out there, so you can do this work with some epoxy putty... check this interesting WIP

Super Hornet work in progress 1-32

regards

Edited by Alpagueur
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Thanks guys,

Rhino intakes and wheels ordered today. The cockpit is an issue as Aries do the A/C cockpit but I haven't seen one for the E. Do Zacto do this then? Is the kit seat that bad? If so then I can get an Aries seat easy enough! I can get Olimp exhausts but the Aries ones have different petals?

Simon

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I've seen somewhere the Olimp exhausts have a better "bulge" shape?

However I've had bad experience buying Olimp items in the past - quality, soft detail, etc.

I used the Aires items on mine - no complaints, sharp details, easy to assemble.

Northstar Models makes a really good set of wheels (one set with hub/wheel molded together, one set with hub/wheel separate). They're much better than the Rhino items (which I think might be cast off the kit wheels)

Be careful with the Wolfpack seats - they may not fit the tub. They didn't fit my Growler. I used a Legend Productions item.

There is no Aires pit, the kit pit actually paints up ok - add some PE from Eduard for the floor/sides (kit has no sidewalls), make sure you grab a control stick from Quickboost, kit is oversized.

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Thanks Anthony,

That some realy useful opinion!I e-mailed Aries over the weekend to ask about an E cockpit but you've answered my question. Also interesting to hear about Olimp jetpipes. I am clearly going to have to do some research on the E because there must have been a nozzle change at some point as all the Aries jet pipes have conventional 'straight' petals whilst Olimp have scimtar shaped petals - like the kit. A mate has pointed out that the after market units are larger in diameter as there is no conflict with having removable engines therefore smaller diameter burner sections. So your suggestion about Eduard etch make sense and then maybe an Aires seat? I have already ordered Rhino intakes. Seems as though the Eduard exterior set is also highly regarded - pity its expemsive!! Now to find a decent bok on the Super Hornet!

Thanks again

Simon

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Am I the only one who thinks Aires have missed the boat on the better Trumpeter kits?

They flooded the market with detail sets for Trumpeter kits which in general require a bit of work like the 105D, 105G, Lightning, F-100 etc.

Yet the kits that are pretty good OOB like F-18 Superbug Family, A-6's they have left high and dry.

At least with Revell doing one we may get an E pit eventually but missed chance for the A-6's and plenty of people still want them.

Fingers crossed..

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Am I the only one who thinks Aires have missed the boat on the better Trumpeter kits?

This reminds me of a different thing I noticed regarding some of the Aires sets for Trumpeter kits. They did release sets for e.g. the Trumpeter Su-24 in 1/48 or MiG-23MF/ML and Su-25 kits in 1/32, but those kits have pretty decent cockpits by default. While I don't have the Aires cockpit/undercarriage sets at hand for those kits, from the photos I can't help getting the impression that SOME of those parts don't offer a significant enough improvement over the kit parts for the investment. For example the Su-24 or Su-25 wheelbays or Su-24 cockpit back wall, etc. The recently released Neomega Su-24 cockpit set looks noticeably more detailed than the Aires one.

So, I'm just curious if anybody got some of those Aires sets and was underwhelmed?

Edited by ijozic
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Am I the only one who thinks Aires have missed the boat on the better Trumpeter kits?

They flooded the market with detail sets for Trumpeter kits which in general require a bit of work like the 105D, 105G, Lightning, F-100 etc.

Yet the kits that are pretty good OOB like F-18 Superbug Family, A-6's they have left high and dry.

At least with Revell doing one we may get an E pit eventually but missed chance for the A-6's and plenty of people still want them.

Fingers crossed..

I think you could be right. I had an e-mail from David Lajer from Aries confirming no cockpit for the E, which surprises me as they did the A/C cockpit and the later model ejection seat

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