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(2022 F-18 Group Build) 1/48 Meng F/A-18F Super Hornet


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Here is my entry into this group build. The Meng F/A-18F kit. Will be in VFA-103 markings as pictured on the box. The wheel wells have been primed and painted white. Ready to apply a clear coat to them before applying Mig enamel panel line washes, as they have been painted with Mr. Paint (MRP) white paint. The cockpit tub has also been painted. Time to cut it off of the tree and paint the black panels by hand.

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  • 6 months later...

It has been a while since I posted any updates, here are some photos of my work over the past few months, it has been a slow build as life gets in the way of our hobby at times. Here are photos of the cockpit, I used the Quinta Studios 3D Decals on it.

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Ran into an issue with some aftermarket exhaust nozzles produced by RESKIT. They didn't fit! The diameter of the exhaust ducts was much larger than that of the kit supplied ones, as well as the opening in the model to install them in to. UGH! Will have to use the kit suppled ones instead.

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Marvin

 Looking good! Question's for you. Did you have any issues with the fit in front of the cockpit? I have a partially built E and the area in front of the cockpit that attaches to the nose piece I ended up with a slight step there. Second question did you glue the cockpit tub to upper half instead of attaching it to the nose gear tub like instructions show?

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On 11/28/2022 at 6:49 PM, tosouthern66 said:

Marvin

 Looking good! Question's for you. Did you have any issues with the fit in front of the cockpit? I have a partially built E and the area in front of the cockpit that attaches to the nose piece I ended up with a slight step there. Second question did you glue the cockpit tub to upper half instead of attaching it to the nose gear tub like instructions show?

tosouthern66,

 

I did glue the cockpit tub to the upper half instead of attaching it to the nose gear tub like the instructions say you should do, as I test fitted everything before assembly and gluing the cockpit tub to the upper fuselage gave me the most accurate fit/seating of the tub to the fuselage versus following the instructions. I did not have any issues with the fit in front of the cockpit, I took my time in gluing that area a little section at a time to ensure proper alignment was kept preventing any steps, etc., that required major amounts of sanding/puttying.

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On 11/26/2022 at 6:37 PM, marvin20 said:

Ran into an issue with some aftermarket exhaust nozzles produced by RESKIT. They didn't fit! The diameter of the exhaust ducts was much larger than that of the kit supplied ones, as well as the opening in the model to install them in to. UGH! Will have to use the kit suppled ones instead.

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What if you increased the size of the hole?  Do the nozzles themselves fit in diameter?

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3 hours ago, jenshb said:

What if you increased the size of the hole?  Do the nozzles themselves fit in diameter?

The aftermarket nozzles are the correct diameter to ft this kit, I may try and replace the kit nozzles with them, however they are also slightly longer than the kit supplied ones, so not sure which are the correct length. As for increasing the diameter of the hole to accept the replacement assembly, I had thought about that, but realized that it wouldn't work as there is an internal bulkhead placed inside the rear of the plane that acts as a stop to help secure the exhaust assembly once it is installed, that too would have to be increased in diameter to make the aftermarket parts fit, and that would be a huge undertaking to perform that type of surgery this late in the build process. See the attached photos: #1 - shows the height differential between the kit and aftermarket exhaust ducting. #2 - shows the internal bulkhead as discussed above.

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That's good to know the nozzles match the diameter.  As to which is correct, I don't know - do they look more detailed than the Meng parts?.  Appreciate that it is a bit late to get the ResKit afterburner in now.  Got the Growler kit and was thinking about getting the ResKit exhausts.

 

 

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11 minutes ago, jenshb said:

That's good to know the nozzles match the diameter.  As to which is correct, I don't know - do they look more detailed than the Meng parts?.  Appreciate that it is a bit late to get the ResKit afterburner in now.  Got the Growler kit and was thinking about getting the ResKit exhausts.

 

 

For what you're able to see of the inside of the nozzle and exhaust ducting due to the small size, either one would be okay. However, in my humble opinion, the ResKit nozzle detail is slightly crisper and more defined than the kit supplied one, so my choice would be to use the ResKit exhaust nozzle. Too bad that the entire assembly won't fit into the kit as designed. Guess that's one reason why I like the Eduard Brassin' line of products as they are direct replacements for the kit parts, no major surgery required to get them to fit into/onto the model you're working on, as their products are designed to specifically fit the kit, you're working one. This was my first go with trying to use the ResKit resin set, makes me wonder if the other sets I have for different kits will have me modifying the kit in order to make them fit. Brings back memories of trying to get the Aires aftermarket items to fit into your models. Ugh!

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  • 2 months later...

I finished this build in December, but just getting time to post the photos of the finished build. I used Quinta Studios 3-D printed cockpit, Eduard Brassin' Ejection Seats, Brassin' Wheels, Brassin' GBU-16s, Brassin AIM-9Xs, and the kit supplied AIM-120Cs. Hope you enjoy.

 

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