ESzczesniak Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 I am finally presenting my completed Kinetic 1/48 F/A-18C Hornet, VFA-151 Vigilantes. This was built to be a "working girl"...dirty and loaded for combat. The Kinetic kit is not bad, but is sure no Tamiya kit. The first go through of this kit met an unfortunate end in a Testors dullcote disaster. But such is life, and away I went again. There is a build thread located here http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/312213-kinetic-148-fa-18c-vfa-151-in-progress/. The build included: -Kinetic 1/48 F/A-18C Kit -Eduard Exterior PE set -Two Bob's VFA-151 sheet, USS Constellation 2002-2003 OIF Deployment -Eduard Brassin bombs/missles -Reskit resin wheels The goal was to build a realistically finished bird, but was dirty. Hence the desire for a combat deployed line bird. I looked at some Marine schemes, but also wanted to fold the wings. So that got me to the Two Bob's sheet. The decals performed well, but I don't trust/believe the color for the tail art still. I think they're too blue and too light. The use of the Eduard set started as a replacement for the fuselage slime lights lost in filling, and then used the rest of the set. The Brassin munitions are things of beauty. The Reskit wheels were used because...well the kit ones are hideous. So on to the pictures! To start, some general aicraft views: And on to some detail shots. The classic aft belly stains were made with a combination of diluted sprayed paints and oils. The landing gear wells are out-of-the-box, but all the piping was carefully and then the piping clips painted for added color. The CMS dispensors were "loaded" to reflect a mission ready bird being powered up by the pilot. Some time was taken with the Eduard munitions. They really standout when finished well. The AGM-65 was kept pretty clean based on reference photos, but the Sidewinders and LGB-12 got some weathering. Also seen is the chipping on the front of the pylons that seems pretty prevelant on the Hornets. The other wing was loaded with an LGB-12. This also shows a good closeup of how impressive the Sidewinders are. The gun door ordnace markings were added with a pencil, again reflecting a mission ready bird. All of the upper surface weathering was created with oils. A good view of the Maverick seeker head, which again, is a gem from the Brassin set. A bit of detail can be seen on the main landing gear as well. The aft side shows the burner cans, some corrosion control touchups, and the classic grime that accumulates around the resting/parked position of the horizontal stabilizer. The sump vents were also weathered with oils. This close up also helps show the mottled overall finish. As always, comments, questions, or criticism are welcome! Thank you for looking! Eric Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Whiskey Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 Wow Eric that is awesome! I really like the small details you did. It's not that things were like super duper detailed but it definitely looks like you took great care to make simple things stand out, even with just a little paint or pencil. The munitions are fantastic! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 Beautiful Hornet, Eric! Really nice paint, weathering and finish ... -Gregg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 Very nice, the weathering looks excellent Eric Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 Very life-like weathering, Eric! Really amazing work. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewPerren Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 Fantastic work - well done on the finishing touches. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 Awesome Hornet! Nice touch with the gun door markings. Great work! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ESzczesniak Posted May 31, 2020 Author Share Posted May 31, 2020 Thank you all for the kind comments! I definitely tried to take the time to give this some "life" and unique aspects. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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