mlicari Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 My wife gave me this kit a couple of weeks ago for my birthday. It's the new press-fit kit from Academy, following on their press-fit F-4. I have the F-4 in my stash and it looks good, as does this one...so since my Me 262 is done, and I'm struggling with the challenging SB2A-3 from Special Hobby, I thought and easy build would be just the thing! Nice instruction book: Multi-colored parts are a drag from my perspective, as they make things challenging to paint, but I get that Academy's strategy is to pitch these kits to both experienced modelers and newbies as the same time. It's a good strategy, as anything to get new people into the hobby is most welcome. I started it today, so in-progress pics will be coming soon! Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevehnz Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 Looking forward to seeing how you go with this, I've the Revell F/A-18F in stock with similar markings to this one, it might go on our local auction site yet. :unsure: Steve. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RKic Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 How does the detail compare to the Revell and Hasegawa kits? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted October 9, 2016 Author Share Posted October 9, 2016 1 hour ago, RKic said: How does the detail compare to the Revell and Hasegawa kits? I don't have the Revell kit, but this Academy one is more detailed than the Hasegawa kit. The cockpit is much better, as are the wheel wells. The intake trunking is deeper and ends with engine facings rather than the flat panel in the Hasegawa kit. Surface detail/panel lines/etc. is at least as good as Hasegawa's. The only problem I can see so far with the Academy kit is the Academy decals, which are well-known to be difficult to work with. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted October 9, 2016 Author Share Posted October 9, 2016 Here's progress so far today... Easy assembly of parts! Painting gear, wells, and intakes white...the gear/wells took about 60 seconds to build, with perfect fit. Cockpit builds up nicely and has good detail for a 1/72 kit. Control panels are detailed with a mix of drybrushing and decals. Cheers! Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aussie_superbug Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 Great start so far, Mike. I saw a YouTube vid of this kit being built and was impressed how well it went together. Looks like I will go grab one or a couple myself Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grandboof Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 Cockpit looks great . Looking forward to more of this one Martin H Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted October 11, 2016 Author Share Posted October 11, 2016 Thanks guys! Here's a bit more progress. The one-part nose is receiving a couple of fishing sinkers; my balance test showed the finished build would probably not be a tail sitter, but I didn't want to take a chance. The nose is the only part so far that didn't fit well. The gaps were big enough to cause me to break out the Squadron putty. You can also see a little white swipe of Vallejo Plastic Putty aft of the cockpit. Having built the Hasegawa F/A-18C, which is has several fit issues, this one is a treat to build. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RKic Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 The cockpit looks superb, and you flew through the rest of the build. This is fast, even for you! :) Are the decals that bad? The recent Academy kits I have built have had pretty decent decals. Just use hot water to melt the adhesive adequately. A tea-warmer under your decal water works great for this. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted October 11, 2016 Author Share Posted October 11, 2016 Thanks. Yes, unfortunately the decals are hard to work with. I used hot water for the cockpit decals and still had to use multiple applications of Solvaset...even after that I had to press on them pretty firmly with a damp cotton swab. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted October 14, 2016 Author Share Posted October 14, 2016 A bit more progress. The seam resulting from the poor fit of the nose has been taken care of. There is a seam in the middle of the canopy that runs the entire length. This is common with large curved canopy parts like this, so I wasn't surprised to see it. Very easy to take care of. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted October 15, 2016 Author Share Posted October 15, 2016 Moved over to the paint booth last night. Coat of Light Ghost Gray on the underside. Assembling bombs and missiles... Some of the small parts. First coat of Life Color "Tire Black" around the rims of the wheels. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted October 16, 2016 Author Share Posted October 16, 2016 Dark Ghost Gray on top... Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
murad Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 that's a nice build considering it's academy, surprised that fit was this good honestly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted October 16, 2016 Author Share Posted October 16, 2016 9 minutes ago, murad said: that's a nice build considering it's academy, surprised that fit was this good honestly. I wasn't sure what to expect with the press-fit approach, but I'm really, really happy with the kit so far. Very enjoyable build, and the Academy press-fit F-4 just might move a bit more quickly out of my stash and onto the workbench. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted October 18, 2016 Author Share Posted October 18, 2016 Masking for the black area around the cockpit. And painted! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kurnass77 Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 Wow,you're very fast mate,and the Academy kit look very good! Gianni Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted October 22, 2016 Author Share Posted October 22, 2016 Standing on its gear! The tight fit of parts really makes it easy to paint...like being able to paint the vertical stabilizers before attaching them. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
murad Posted October 22, 2016 Share Posted October 22, 2016 Chuck Norris approves! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grandboof Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Looks great . Press fit to a whole new level . Well done Martin H Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RKic Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 I very much like what I see. Really too bad about the decals. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted October 28, 2016 Author Share Posted October 28, 2016 (edited) Thanks guys!!! Quote I very much like what I see. Really too bad about the decals. Here's the results after applying the decals. They were miserable to work with. They didn't stick worth a d*mn and are almost totally immune to Solvaset. They also are very shiny and, from past experience, will almost certainly silver badly under a flat clear coat...in other words, par for the course with in-house Academy decals. Edited October 28, 2016 by mlicari forgot the pics! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted October 29, 2016 Author Share Posted October 29, 2016 DONE! Thankfully the decals did not silver under a flat coat. Attaching the bombs, drop tanks, and missiles was very easy: no more than a few minutes to get all 9 attached. MUCH more pleasant than the traditional model where that stage takes me an entire evening. I weathered the plane using MM Acryl Black and Brown (for the vertical stabilizers) washes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Nice result Mike, Looks like I will have hunt one of these down when they get to this side of the rock. Glad the decals played the game. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted October 30, 2016 Author Share Posted October 30, 2016 Thanks! Certainly worth picking up and fun to build when you need something fast and simple. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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