Osprey Modelling • 16 |
Geoff Coughlin
Consultant editor Robert Oehler
Series editors Marcus Cowper and Nikolai Bogdanovic
Good lighting • Glues and adhesives • Paints • Airbrush work • Sanders and polishers Cutters and scribers • Measuring and etched-metal folding tools
Overview • Cockpit detailing • Wheel wells • Main painting • Weathering Undercarriage • Decals and finishing off • In focus: the canopy
Overview • Main construction • Radar • Wing fold • Afterburner/reheat cans In focus: undercarriage units • Painting, decals and finishing
Overview • The real aircraft – a picture gallery • Cockpit detailing and valuable resources • Additions Main painting • In-focus: afterburner/reheat cans • Touches of detail • Undercarriage • Decals • Finishing off
Overview • Cockpit detailing • In focus: ejection seats • Corrections and modifications Main painting • Undercarriage • Decals • Finishing off • FOD guards
Building the cockpit • The real aircraft – a picture gallery • In-flight refuelling probe In focus: cockpit detailing • Undercarriage units • Other detailing • Painting Removing the masks and preparation for decals • Afterburner/reheat cans • Canopy
Display bases • Grey camouflage weathering • Hornet-specific weathering Using pastels to enhance panel lines and rivet detail • Some interesting projects to try
Key publications • Useful websites
Full kits • 1/72nd and 1/144th scales • 1/48th scale • 1/32nd scale • Detail sets and decals
The modelling evolution of the F/A-18 Hornet and, more recently the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, has been slow. Hasegawa and Revell both produced large 1/32-scale models of the Hornet prototype or early production aircraft. These are long-since gone and rarely available now, and were sparsely detailed. For many years, modellers felt frustrated by the lack of a well-produced model in any scale.
Now everything has changed. Suddenly, it seems, we have or are about to see state of the art kit releases in all the major scales addressing the major operational versions of the F/A-18A/B, C/D Hornet or F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. A full summary of the scale models currently available at the time of going to press is included later in this book.
The recent release of the Academy ‘superkit’ of the F/A-18C Hornet in 1/32 scale stunned many modellers. Academy’s intention to release this kit hit the press some four years before the actual event, and many thought this news just too good to be true. Still, four years in the making and 900-plus parts later, this modelling extravaganza is with us and is truly outstanding in most respects. The tooling is very good, as is the level of detail. Fit is generally very good and several sprues are included that feature just about anything the Hornet is likely to or could carry in the way of stores and weapons. The complementary release of several outstanding resin and etched-metal super detailing sets from Cutting Edge, Black Box and Eduard have certainly proved irresistible to one person – hence the reason why two of these scale models are featured in this particular book!
We cannot forget Hasegawa though. They have produced some quite superb scale models of the F/A-18C and D with both of these kits featured in your book. The F/A-18C in particular is a joy to build with no fit problems, very detailed metal undercarriage units, a decent cockpit and dropped flaps an option. The latter feature is a real bonus as it is commonly seen on real parked Hornets and too complex to create from a kit with the flaps moulded in the raised position – like the F/A-18E and F models from Italeri.
Whilst on the subject of Italeri, they are the only manufacturer to currently offer the Super Hornet in quarter scale – and their releases of both the E and F have serious shortcomings. These mainly concern the inclusion of a dorsal speed brake, which, although a feature of the earlier Hornet, was deleted on production Es and Fs. The stores pylons are incorrect in shape and, most annoyingly, dropped flaps are not an option. Nonetheless, I have included this kit as one of the five projects in this book to try to show what can be done with the ‘only kid on the block’. This is with the aid of the Black Box resin super detail set. Also included are Two Bob’s excellent decals for the F/A-18E/F Super Bug and these are terrific in subject matter and quality. By the time you read these words, however, the Revell/Monogram F/A-18E and F should be available.
However, if you want to drop down a scale, Hasegawa has released both the E and F in 1/72 scale – and neat models they are too.
Every scale modeller is different, and we all use a great variety of tools and materials to achieve the results we want. Here I want to highlight some of the key products that I use and briefly explain why I use them.
There really is no substitute for daylight. However, many of us need to model in the evenings – sometimes into the wee small hours – and to help us there are several options. Until recently I simply used clear blue ‘daylight’ bulbs that are readily available from stores with domestic retail lighting departments. These give out a natural light which works well most of the time, and are very cost effective solutions to the ‘yellow’ light problem associated with most household bulbs.
You can also invest in a purpose-made polarised ‘daylight’ tube light, such as the one produced by Actulite. This is an excellent lighting system that floods your workbench and, in my experience, causes little or no eyestrain. It also offers great coverage across the whole workbench.
Good quality liquid cement is ideal for most tasks during assembly. However I use cyanoacrylate (‘superglue’) for an increasing number of tasks – apart from attaching etched metal and resin parts. It acts as a good filler, especially if you set it instantly using an ‘activator’ or ‘accelerator’ such as those offered by Ripmax and others. Micro Kristal Kleer is ideal for attaching canopies and clear parts as it does not fog or cloud these items.
There are many paint options available, and the best advice I can give is to try out as many as possible and make your choice for each project. All the main paint manufacturers offer excellent products. I mainly use Xtracolor gloss enamels for camouflage schemes. This dries with a gloss finish, so it is ready to decal straight after drying. Incidentally, I thin this paint with cellulose thinners as it significantly speeds up drying time. Xtracolor matt paints are excellent too and I frequently use them. Poly Scale, Tamiya Color and Aeromaster acrylic are handy when time is at a premium as these paints dry so quickly. Ordinary distilled water is fine for thinning Poly Scale, while Aeromaster and Tamiya have their own thinners. For fine detail painting, for example in the cockpit, I often use Citadel Colour watercolours.
After about 15 years of hard use, I recently replaced my Badger 200 airbrush with their new 200X – an excellent all round airbrush. I use it mainly for general spraying of the main colours and it needs very little cleaning to keep it in tiptop condition. Badger Spray Away is good for cleaning out enamels at the end of a session. Paint flow is adjusted using a threaded screw attached to the back of the needle.
For more detailed and fine spraying I use a Badger 150 – an excellent double-action airbrush. Double-action simply means that you can adjust the paint and air from the sliding trigger all in one movement.
You simply cannot do without a decent compressor – a good, regular adjustable airflow is as important as the airbrush itself. Revell offer an excellent if somewhat pricey model – but talk to your local suppliers and try and get one or more on loan before you buy if possible.
Nail buffers of various types are widely available in many stores supplying cosmetics and other hand-care products. A wide variety are available and those I have picked up cover just about every modelling task. The dark, slightly bigger ones tend to be stiff but flexible, making them ideally suited to sanding rough seams or when you have filled a gap with superglue.
I use quite a wide selection of scalpels, for progressively finer work. A good quality set of side cutters is essential to remove parts cleanly from the sprue gate. The yellow-handled Olfa P-Cutter with the hooked blade is incredibly useful for rescribing panel lines, especially those difficult curves. This is where the blue Dymo sticky tape comes in, as we shall see in the projects that follow.
Steel rules are designed for measuring, but also come in handy for trapping fuse wire and rolling bent wire to straighten it. The compass pointers are invaluable, as you can save a lot of time using them to measure distance instead of an ungainly rule.