Fighting Eighty-Four Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 (edited) Hi all! I just wanted to share my latest completed project, the 1/48 Revell F/A-18F Super Hornet in VFA-2 lo-viz markings. This is my 6th completed model. This kit went together pretty well, with no major issues. The nose was a bit tricky to get all together right and required some putty and sanding. I don't think I got it quite perfect though, as I am still a bit afraid to wipe out detail and have to rescribe. I still have not gotten over my rescribing fiasco on a Monogram Tomcat, and now I think I have a complex about it. LOL I used Lifecolor Light and Dark Compass Ghost Gray, and I had a little better luck with these than I have had with Lifecolor in the past. I was a bit shocked, though, how close in shade/darkness these two colors are. I had (and still have) a hard time discerning where one color stops and the other starts. Looks like it is all one color to me. Oh well. Tamiya primer and Alclad metallics were also used. Decals were Afterburner, and were awesome. First time I have ever used Afterburner, definitely lived up to their reputation for quality. It is too bad they went out of business. This is modeled for VFA-2 in 2004, when they deployed to the Western Pacific aboard Abraham Lincoln with CVW-2 in October, 2004. They returned in March 2005 after supporting Operation Unified Assistance which provided humanitarian support to Southeast Asia after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Since this was the very first cruise of the Super Hornet in VFA-2 after getting them only a year prior, this jet was quite clean. I chose to restrain my weathering because of this, although it is still there, depicting a mid-cruise timeframe. Overall I am quite happy with this one. I am getting a little bit better about NOT leaving things "good enough", even though my sanding/filling skills are still not where I would like them to be. Thanks for looking, and I hope you enjoy the pics! Kit: 1/48 Revell F/A-18F Super Hornet Decals: Afterburner Decals VFA-2 Bounty Hunters F/A-18F Aftermarket: NONE Paints: Tamiya Liquid Primer (white), LifeColor Dark Compass Ghost Gray and Light Compass Ghost Gray, and Alclad II Aluminum and Burnt Iron Edited May 15, 2016 by Fighting Eighty-Four Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fighting Eighty-Four Posted March 15, 2016 Author Share Posted March 15, 2016 (edited) A few more... Edited May 15, 2016 by Fighting Eighty-Four Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TomcatFanatic123 Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 (edited) Looks awesome! I especially like the HARMs...very subtle weathering job that looks perfect. Edited March 15, 2016 by TomcatFanatic123 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tom G Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Super work! Nice tonal variation on the paint, is it preshading? I don't see any issues with the nose at all. Great job! Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChippyWho Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Beautiful work. I imagine the little white squares inside the cans are from the Afterburner sheet -that must have been a fun job! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Parabat Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Super job tthere, that looks brilliant, and only your 6th kit?! Such a great airplane, you've mad a really nice Super Hornet, love the lo-vis markings. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvin20 Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Very nice work! I love the weathering! Do you pre-shade or post shade your models? What did you use to put the white squares in the exhaust nozzles? Are they painted on or decals? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Roberts Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 NOICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Adam1818 Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 What a beauty!! Paint finish is great. Love the low vis scheme Quote Link to post Share on other sites
galileo1 Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Excellent!!! Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fighting Eighty-Four Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 Looks awesome! I especially like the HARMs...very subtle weathering job that looks perfect. Thanks man, I appreciate that. The subtle weathering is exactly what I was going for. :-) Super work! Nice tonal variation on the paint, is it preshading? I don't see any issues with the nose at all. Great job! Tom Thanks Tom! Yep, I preshaded this. I used black and haphazardly shaded most, but not all, panel lines. I purposely made them a bit messy and thick so that it doesn't look so much like a pattern. The nose is mostly good, just the left side there is a bit of a step. The big VF-2 forward fuselage stripe hides some of it. LOL Beautiful work. I imagine the little white squares inside the cans are from the Afterburner sheet -that must have been a fun job! :woot.gif:/> Thank you! Yeah, that was a fun little weekend afternoon. LOL It actually was not so bad, just really tedious. The decals come in strips of three white dots that you push down into the nozzle. What I did that worked well for me was to cut out three of those strips at a time, then dip in water. I put the nozzle on a glob of blue tac, and rotated it a little after each strip was placed in the nozzle. That way I could always have the angle that worked for me to see what I was doing. A little micro-set and a toothpick worked well to push it into place and perfect the placement. Super job tthere, that looks brilliant, and only your 6th kit?! Such a great airplane, you've mad a really nice Super Hornet, love the lo-vis markings. Thanks Parabat! Yeah, this is #6. I am happy with my progress so far, however I am not so sure I will ever match (or even approach) some of the great masters here on ARC due to the fact I am just not into super-detailing. Maybe that will change some day, but so far I just love OOB builds! Very nice work! I love the weathering! Do you pre-shade or post shade your models? What did you use to put the white squares in the exhaust nozzles? Are they painted on or decals? Thanks Queito! Yes, I pre-shade, but not post shade so much. I did do some post shading and a wash on my first build, the Italeri F-14, but since then I have not applied any washes or post-shaded. Post shading is something I think I will try to do more of going forward. The white squares were decals that came on the Afterburner Decal sheet. That particular sheet I think is actually still available to buy at SprueBrothers, which is where I got mine. I will bring this model to the meeting next month. I am also working on a project to possibly enter into the USMC contest. Hopefully I can get it done in time! NOICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks Darren! It is an honor to get a "Noice" from you! What a beauty!! Paint finish is great. Love the low vis scheme Thank you Adam, you kind words are appreciated. I love this lo-viz scheme too! I mostly see the hi-viz CAG scheme from VFA-2, so I wanted to be a little different here. Excellent!!! Rob Thanks Rob! Can't wait to see your lo-viz VF-2 Tomcats one of these days.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Just an outstanding build. Nicely weathered. For what it's worth, I've had the same issue with a few paint brands, as there is such a small difference in tone between the two colors. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tomcat Tweeker Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Looks Great Michael! Your a Modeling Machine! LOL Great Job! Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fighting Eighty-Four Posted March 17, 2016 Author Share Posted March 17, 2016 Just an outstanding build. Nicely weathered. For what it's worth, I've had the same issue with a few paint brands, as there is such a small difference in tone between the two colors. Joel Thanks Joel! After looking at many Super Hornet pics more closely, it appears that the paints fade quickly to almost match each other on the real deal. So I am not so disappointed with that aspect any longer. Looks Great Michael! Your a Modeling Machine! LOL Great Job! Dave LOL Thanks Dave! Yeah, I have been pumping them out at a relatively high rate. I am at about one a month. I like that pace, as I am easily bored, and an extended project might be torture for me. That is why I don't think I will ever get into super detailing or even acquire the so called "AMS" bug. This is fine with me. I still awe at those masters that can do amazing things in plastic, but it is just not in the cards for me... LOL Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tomcat Tweeker Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 Ya know there is nothing wrong with that outlook on the hobby...... That is the way I try to be, But I do find from time to time that I get seduced to the dark side of attempting super detailing LOL You go on keepin' it real! LOL Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 Ya know there is nothing wrong with that outlook on the hobby...... That is the way I try to be, But I do find from time to time that I get seduced to the dark side of attempting super detailing LOL You go on keepin' it real! LOL Dave Dave, Same here. I've been doing more and more detailing to correct errors rather then just to add to the overall detail of the model. At the end of the "day" they get a photo spread on two sites, and a permanent home in my display case. So visual presentation of the overall model is very important to me, more so then if I were to really detail an interior that no one will ever see once it's in display case. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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