marvin20 Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 Oh that is some lovelly detail in the cockpit. Can't wait to see some progress! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Messersch Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 Nice ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
okthree Posted April 29, 2022 Share Posted April 29, 2022 I’ll be watching this one. I heard this is a very nice kit.  Tamiya like in its fit and engineering. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BastianD Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 Will follow this one! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvin20 Posted November 26, 2022 Author Share Posted November 26, 2022 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvin20 Posted November 26, 2022 Author Share Posted November 26, 2022 Here is the assembled fuselage and it in black primer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvin20 Posted November 26, 2022 Author Share Posted November 26, 2022 Here it is with the paint applied, I used Mr. Paint and Gunze Mr. Color brand paints on it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvin20 Posted November 26, 2022 Author Share Posted November 26, 2022 More photos of her as the painting process continues, with the vertical stabilators completely painted and the entire assembly gloss coated in preparation for the decaling to begin. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvin20 Posted November 26, 2022 Author Share Posted November 26, 2022 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvin20 Posted November 26, 2022 Author Share Posted November 26, 2022 The decaling process has begun..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tosouthern66 Posted November 28, 2022 Share Posted November 28, 2022 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? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvin20 Posted November 30, 2022 Author Share Posted November 30, 2022 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tosouthern66 Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 On my next one I will try it your way! Thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jenshb Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 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. What if you increased the size of the hole? Do the nozzles themselves fit in diameter? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvin20 Posted December 1, 2022 Author Share Posted December 1, 2022 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jenshb Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 (edited) 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.   Edited December 1, 2022 by jenshb Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvin20 Posted December 1, 2022 Author Share Posted December 1, 2022 Decaling continues, almost done with this portion of the build. Only have to apply the stencils and national marking to the underside. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvin20 Posted December 1, 2022 Author Share Posted December 1, 2022 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! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
eraucubsfan Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 I have the Brassin ones for my build, I'll let you know how they fit.  Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvin20 Posted February 3, 2023 Author Share Posted February 3, 2023 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. Â Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BastianD Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 Big fat Hornet, I like it. And really nice to see the nasty VF-103 Tomcat heritage coming back, well done! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 Looks pretty nice. Love the heavy load. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvin20 Posted February 6, 2023 Author Share Posted February 6, 2023 21 hours ago, BastianD said: Big fat Hornet, I like it. And really nice to see the nasty VF-103 Tomcat heritage coming back, well done! Thanks BastianD, it was a really fun build. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvin20 Posted February 6, 2023 Author Share Posted February 6, 2023 21 hours ago, Thadeus said: Looks pretty nice. Love the heavy load. Thanks Thadeus, I had fun building it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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