Mike C Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 I decided to build this in parallel to the Hasegawa Jolly Rogers. I figured it would make sense since I'm building another Hasegawa "F" anyway... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 Cockpit is pretty much done. The rear IP will be installed later, when the tub is installed in the fuselage. One of the things that I REALLY hate about building Hasegawa Super Hornet is the amount of ejection/injection pin marks on the parts! :bandhead2:/> *SIGH* I still have to deal with the same crap for the Jolly Rogers bird.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 Canopies after dipping in Pascoe's Long Life... One for this bird, the other for the Hase Jolly Rogers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted July 10, 2014 Author Share Posted July 10, 2014 Gas bags all painted up... I'm not sure if I'm going to use all three of them. All they need now is some gloss clear and some very light weathering, since the CONA bird pics that I've seen show generally very clean bird (being for show and all, I s'pose). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
2qwik4u Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 (edited) Looking good so far! I've got some pictures of that bird at Andrews AFB back in 2011. They're on my Flickr page here Check 'em out, they're about halfway through the album. -Dave Edited July 10, 2014 by 2qwik4u Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 Thanks Dave. AWESOME pics!! They'll come in handy when I get to painting stage. Looks like I'll have to do a bit more masking than I initially anticipated with some of those smaller parts painted in grey in the midst of blue.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
2qwik4u Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Glad they'll be of help. At least it's not one of those JASDF F-15 schemes though! One of the interested things I noticed when I was taking them was the surface texture on the fuel tanks. It's kind of an unfilled/unfinished fiberglass weave pattern. Not sure how you would replicate it in scale though. You can kind of see it in this picture here: -Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 To be honest, I probably won't stress over that too much. :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
2qwik4u Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 To be honest, I probably won't stress over that too much. :)/> Oh, I agree completely, especially being that you have already painted the tanks. I just thought it was interesting, especially when you consider that most of us try to keep the surface nice and smooth and free of imperfections. Speaking of which, I noticed on decal instruction sheet in your picture that they show a single fuel tank on the centerline, whereas the pictures have two tanks on the wings. I'm guessing you are going to do the same on yours? I was just wondering if the decals came with enough markings to do two tanks with the VAQ 129 swords. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 Just double checked... TwoBobs only supplied a pair of those decals, so only for a single tank, unfortunately. This means that, at this stage, I'm leaning more towards using all 3 tanks, but only using 2 of the jammer pods, rather than 3. So, the load out, I think, will be as follows: HARM-Jammer-Tank (plain)-Tank (with decals)-Tank (plain)-Jammer-AMRAAM I'm assuming Growlers can launch AMRAAM.... Otherwise, I'll hang an AIM-9X there, or another HARM ... OR.... I can split the decals across two tanks, so the load out could be the following too HARM-Jammer-Tank (with decal on "outside" only)-Jammer-Tank (with decal on "outside" only)-Jammer-AMRAAM/HARM/AIM-9X Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spejic Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 I'm assuming Growlers can launch AMRAAM.... Yes, they can. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted July 13, 2014 Author Share Posted July 13, 2014 Glued the front fuselage parts together, in parallel to the Jolly Rogers one... I'm not sure what I'll use to plug the gun port... Any ideas? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spejic Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 (edited) I'm not sure what I'll use to plug the gun port... Any ideas? The usual way to plug holes like this is to take a piece of sprue, sharpen one end to a pencil point, and stick it in the hole firmly with lots of liquid cement. Wait until it is dry, then cut and sand flush. You also have to fill in the depressions on either side, but keep the panel lines and the bump where the gun port is located. http://www.navair.navy.mil/nawcwd/nawcwd/images/photo_gallery/aircraft/ea18g/ea18g_vx31_45.jpg Edited July 14, 2014 by spejic Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 Thanks! There should be something in my spares box that would fit through the hole, without too much sharpening/shaving work. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 Now, I've built 2 of these molds thus far. In the past, I used to glue the top and bottom fuselage halves first, then glued the engine nacelles. Also, I normally would glue the intake inner part first before gluing the whole thing to the fuselage. This time around, I used a different approach. I decided to glue the nacelles to the bottom fuselage half, then glued the intake inner parts afterwards This allowed me to better position the nacelles to minimise the seam lines along the rear-side... ... and the bottom... There were still inevitable gaps where I applied Tamiya white putty. I have also dry-fitted the upper fuselage half. I think it should be OK. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 Putty... Putty... And more putty... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 Exhaust turbine done in parallel to the Jolly Rogers bird... Same as the other bird, used Mr Metal Color Dark Iron, then dry-brushed lightly with Mr Metal Color Stainless. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 *SIGH* More puttying... This is one of the things that I hate about Hasegawa Super Hornets. That area always needs a lot of puttying and sanding. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 Plugged up the gun port with a part that was supposed to hold up legacy/baby Hornet speed brake, then filled with Tamiya white putty. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bravosierra001 Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Looking good so far! I've got some pictures of that bird at Andrews AFB back in 2011. They're on my Flickr page here Check 'em out, they're about halfway through the album. -Dave I see one of my birds in the background. Our little T-45s get around! Brandon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted July 22, 2014 Author Share Posted July 22, 2014 Wings all done... sort of... still need to install the pod at the end (whatever that pod is...) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted August 2, 2014 Author Share Posted August 2, 2014 Just like the JR bird, I deviated from the instruction sheet by mating the front fuselage and the lower main fuselage first, rather than gluing the upper/lower main fuselage halves. ... Then glued the upper fuselage half... Dang! Lots of puttying..... It's frustrating! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted August 19, 2014 Author Share Posted August 19, 2014 Wings on... Interesting... The fit is like the Jolly Rogers bird... Almost perfect. I must've done something wrong on my past Hasegawa "F" builds... Should be pretty easy to fill and sand those seam lines. Pretty sure they need to be filled, but better double check on Airliners... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 I think this bird is ready for the paint shop... I almost missed two things: 1) the "bumps" just underneath the slime light near the radome, and 2) the bits for the "dog tooth" on the wings. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 Laid down 1st layer of FS36375. Noticed a few areas that need a bit more sanding due to some surface imperfection. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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