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Here is my first entry on ARC.
It's my recently finished Revell F/A-18C Hornet in the markings of the CAG
aircraft of VFA-195 'Dambusters', ca 1995.
The spues are obviously from Italeri although they come in a Revell boxing with
new, spectacular decals. This also means raised detail. The kit went together
nicely, only minor filling and sanding was needed eg where the forward fuse
joins the main fuse, and between the top and bottom wing halves on the underside
of the wing. Some decent detail was added to the cockpit: The original plastic
triangIe which was to represent the 'HUD' was replaced by a scratchbuilt version
built from plastic sheet and a bit of clear plastic painted with Tamiya clear
green. A pilot figure from a Hasegawa F-16 was also added (Hasegawa Block 50
Vipers come with three pilots!). I stuck with decals for the instrument panels
since with the canopy closed and a pilot in place, they are hardly visible
anyway. Speaking of the canopy: the front windshield needed some filling at the
bottom edge due to fit issues with the main part of the canopy.
Once all the major components were glued together, it was time for the paint
job. After preshading the panel lines with black enamel the typical US Navy
Tactical Paint Scheme was applied consisting of FS36375 (Model Master) and
FS36320 (Revell #375) underside and topside, respectively. Airbrushing a
preshaded aircraft in this scale requires some patience since some of the panels
which are to be painted individually are really small. But I am quite satisfied
with the end result.
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Click on
images below to see larger images
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Prior to the
application of the decals the model was sealed with Revell Clear Gloss in order
to avoid silvering of the decals. I chose to use the kit's decals because the
nose art promised to look pretty spectacular, and I have never seen an F-18 in
this finish before, although I think the beautiful box art could appeal to many
modellers. I was almost a bit surprised as all the decals went on very nicely,
especially in the curved nose area, needing only little softener. After the
decals weathering was next. I could not find a photograph of that particular
aircraft for that period of time, but since plenty of reference material
for the F/A-18 is available, this posed no real problem. First some pencil
powder was applied with a hard brush to simulate oil and grease strains. Black
drybrushing brought out the panel lines, and a black enamel wash accentuated the
landing gear. Then the model was sealed with a Flat Coat. Adding all the small
bits such as antennae, landing gear and underwing stores completed a very
enjoyable build.
Hope you enjoy the
pictures
Andy,
Switzerland
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