ESzczesniak Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 I'm building Kinetic's 1/48 F/A-18C using Two Bobs Werewolves of Beaufort. The planned bird is BuNo 164271 in Sept. 2008. How to I figure out if I should follow the instructions for "early" or "late" parts in Kinetics instructions? This primarily seems to affect the antennas under the nose in front of the nose gear bay. Thank you for any help! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 I have asked the same question on this and two other forums and have yet to see a definitive answer. Apparently the vents on the nose under side changed from louvered to mesh at some point during C/D production, and based on the options that Kinetic offers, the array of 5 antennas (?) appeared at some point before the change from louvered to mesh vents. What nobody seems to know (or want to tell) is even roughly in which production blocks these changes occurred. I'd also like to know what those 5 bullet-shaped protrusions are. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 164217 (C207) is a Lot 13 Charlie and depending on the time frame you are doing would determine the "lumps & bumps" it has, for 2008, I would go with the late parts. hth GW Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 3 hours ago, GW8345 said: 164217 (C207) is a Lot 13 Charlie and depending on the time frame you are doing would determine the "lumps & bumps" it has, for 2008, I would go with the late parts. hth GW Good to know for that particular plane, but where can we look to find what to use for other BuNos? For example, I'm going to be doing two -Cs in the near future, and the short list of BuNos I'm considering includes 163464, 163467, 164252 and 164703. I presume the two 164XXX's would have the late configuration, but what about the 163XXX's? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jmel Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 9 hours ago, seawinder said: , but where can we look to find what to use for other BuNos? The Modern Hornet Guide https://www.reidairpublishing.com/product-p/rap011.htm I think the info may also be available in the DACO Hornet book. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 1 hour ago, jmel said: The Modern Hornet Guide https://www.reidairpublishing.com/product-p/rap011.htm I think the info may also be available in the DACO Hornet book. Thanks for the reference. Being primarily a prop guy, I'm unlikely to be spending $40 on a book for one or two projects. I don't suppose anybody with access to either the Modern Hornet Guide or the Daco book would be willing to take a look and let us know what they find? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
airmechaja Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 It sounds like a naval conspiracy to me. 😎I'd build it the way you want! Everyone else got it wrong if they didn't spend more 💰 to find the truth. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Quixote74 Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 7 hours ago, seawinder said: Thanks for the reference. Being primarily a prop guy, I'm unlikely to be spending $40 on a book for one or two projects. I don't suppose anybody with access to either the Modern Hornet Guide or the Daco book would be willing to take a look and let us know what they find? I don't have the MHG but can confirm the DACO guide, excellent though it certainly is, doesn't provide a specific BuNo for the changeover on the nose vents. In the section covering those details, the text simply says the change from louvered to mesh was made "halfway through production run of the C/D models." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 24 minutes ago, Quixote74 said: I don't have the MHG but can confirm the DACO guide, excellent though it certainly is, doesn't provide a specific BuNo for the changeover on the nose vents. In the section covering those details, the text simply says the change from louvered to mesh was made "halfway through production run of the C/D models." Well, that's certainly helpful. I think I'll just find the median BuNo of the C/D production run and declare it the turning point. Apparently few if any will be able to say I'm wrong! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Quixote74 Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 25 minutes ago, seawinder said: Well, that's certainly helpful. I think I'll just find the median BuNo of the C/D production run and declare it the turning point. Apparently few if any will be able to say I'm wrong! With the Zone Five info as a reference point I did a search on the BuNos indicated as early vs. late. The photos that turned up aren't super clear but it does appear the louver vs. vent change corresponds to this break point. (For ease of confirming the grille type without closeups, note only the early louvered type have diagonal cross members). F/A-18C 163782 (last of the "early" C/D airframes): http://www.airfighters.com/photo/65887/M/USA-Marines/McDonnell-Douglas-F-A-18C-Hornet/163782/ F/A-18D 163986 (2nd of the "late" C/D blocks): http://www.airfighters.com/photo/219731/M/USA-Navy/McDonnell-Douglas-F-A-18D-Hornet/163986/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 21 hours ago, seawinder said: Good to know for that particular plane, but where can we look to find what to use for other BuNos? For example, I'm going to be doing two -Cs in the near future, and the short list of BuNos I'm considering includes 163464, 163467, 164252 and 164703. I presume the two 164XXX's would have the late configuration, but what about the 163XXX's? 163464 - Lot 10 F-18D 163467 - Lot 10 F-18C lost on 6/21/94 while assigned to VFA-82 164252 - Lot 13 F-18C 164703 - Lot 15 F-18C The F-18C/D production spanned from 1986, starting with 163427 (Lot 10 F-18C) , and ended in 1997 with 165687 (Lot 21 F-18D). Lot 15 and below are considered low lot F-18's IIRC. If you google "F-18" and the BUNO you should be able to find pictures of the aircraft and that will show you why type of vents are on door 3 along with all the lumps and bumps for that aircraft. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 Thank you Quixote74 and GW8345! That clarifies things greatly. Do you know what the array of 5 bullet shaped things forward of the ventral blade antenna is for? If the Kinetic parts options are to be believed, they were present on some planes with the louvered vents and all of those with the mesh vents. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Quixote74 Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 11 hours ago, seawinder said: Do you know what the array of 5 bullet shaped things forward of the ventral blade antenna is for? If the Kinetic parts options are to be believed, they were present on some planes with the louvered vents and all of those with the mesh vents. Per the DACO book the '5-point' antenna is part of the ALR-167 radar warning system. Based on the references I have this seems to have been added at the same time as the other "late" C/D features, but also retrofitted to some earlier airframes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 Thanks again, Quixote74. Now I'm really good to go, once I make up my mind which BuNos to build. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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