1/72 F-18s

[Gun Grape]

Good job! Are you putting on some matte finish?

Yes, or maybe a satin one. But the humidity here is so high lately that air brushing is on hold.

Will probably wait until I get all the birds done. Then have a big varnish party.

If anyone is interested in doing a 1:72 F-18c. Don't by the old box (or the Royal maces combo) The old school Hasegawa kit sucks.

Ejector pin marks all over visible places, Ill fitting parts. For a 30 year old kit, its what you would expect. I hear the Academy kit is far better.

[Gun Grape]

Finished, except for satin coat, F-18C. Built as A F-18A+

My first Jarhead bird. OOB except MAU Decals. VMFA-232 when assigned to the Nimitz airwing in 2007

VMFA 232, The Red Devils, are the oldest active Marine Corps Fighter Squadron. Established on 1 Sept 1925

[Builder 2010]

Good job! It will look great with the matte finish. I always have trouble with those big tail decals.

[Gun Grape]

Good job! It will look great with the matte finish. I always have trouble with those big tail decals.

Thanks

MAU decals broke the tail down to 4 decals. The diamond, The Tail code, slime light and CAG are all separate decals. The hardest one to put down was the walkways. They were kit Hasegawa decals. Thick and with a mind of their own.

[Builder 2010]

What kind of decal solution are you using? I've used Walther's Solvaset and the Micro-sol products. Solvaset is sometimes a bit too aggressive.

[Gun Grape]

Usually MicroSol/Set. On really thick decals or places there are a lot of detail/contours, I use Tamiya Mark fit, Strong. Never had any problem with it eating decals but every once in a while it will react with the Acrylic paint/future. But nothing a little touch-up paint doesn't solve.

When my bottle of MicroSol runs out I'll probable replace it with regular strength Mark Fit.

I've had many instances where SolvaSet did bad things to the decal. Quit using that.

On decals that have a rep for silvering, I'll lay them on a thin coat of wet Future.

[Builder 2010]

Does the Future dry with the decals over top? I'll have to try that sometime. I'm also using the Micro-sol decal film on the really bad actors that are going to fall apart. Even then I sometimes can't save them. It's almost better to scan them and print them on new decal film.

[Gun Grape]

The few times I've used it, had no problem with the Future drying.

I agree about jst printing off nw decals. I've ried the MicroSol decal film and spraying them with a layer of clear acrylic. Neither worked great.

back 30+ years ago, it was said that MicroSol/Set was nothing but a vinegar solution. And I was using a home brew of Vinegar/water and a drop of soap. Worked good. But, decals are alot thinner now.
So I'm afraid to do that again.

Same with using Solvaset. Back then I would cut it 50/50 with water. And would still have bad things happen sometimes. It would eat Microscale decals every time. Back when they were the only aftermarket decal company

[Gun Grape]

I really like these CAG birds. So much that I got a 18D And 2 more Fs. My problem now is that not many companies do 1/72 scale decals anymore. Everyone seems to have shifted to 1/48.

In the works is are CAG birds for:

F-18D VMF (AW)-225 Vikings with a FAC loadout

F-18F VFA-102 60th Anniversary markings

F-18F VFA-2 Bounty Hunters if I can find some replacement decals. Its a old Hasegawa kit with Ivory instead of white. (if not I may do the FVA-102 50th markings)

F-18E VFA-137 Kestrels in digital camo

F-18E VFA-143 Puking Dogs.

That should keep me pretty busy on the bench this coming year. Maybe I should have named this thread "Hornets Nest"

[Gun Grape]

Couldn't manage/deleate pics so I deleated the post. here we go again

I was planning on finishing the VFA-14 bird this weekend. But the aftermarket decals went crazy. It wasn't the Fightertown set that I posted a pic of. They only do them in 1/48. I bought the 2 Bobs set.

Was using a combo of kit decals and 2Bo for the general data. Then 3 of the 2Bobs folded over as soon as I put them in water. No big deal a little patience got 2 of them sorted out, and I used the kit decal for the last. Then the CAG bird specific decals were next . The Red slash decal that goes down the spline broke into 3 parts. Aggravating, but I pieced it together. When I put the tail decal in water, it pretty much disintegrated. No fixing that. So its back to the paint shop. I'll finish her as a 2009 CAG Bird using kit decals. Wasn't happy with the Bob decals anyway. The red stripe in the US insignia was a separate decal. The white background on the NAVY and 200 was separate. Slime lights were multipart . Writing was illegible Not a game changer, substituted kit decals. But not what I expected.

So we go from this


To this

[Builder 2010]

Notice how pristine those planes are. Fellas that want to weather the heck out of modern fighters are missing the boat. I can understand it when doing a battle weary Corsair that was stationed on some tiny island in the Pacific, but modern fighters working off of our carriers generally look pretty darn good and those pictures show. Even accenting the panel lines is usually exaggerated.

Nice work Gun!

[Gun Grape]

Got the fuselage painted and a coat of Future on her this evening. Decals on Tuesday,Bit hanging and should be finished Wed.

She will be in the Wet 5 configuration.

Agree about the weathering. Birds are kept clean. Mostly because its hard to detect leaks on a dirty plane. But mention that on some forums and they immediately post pics of DS birds flying over oilfields. Or the Navy float where the carrier lost part of its desalinization plant and only had water for essentials.

Same with panel lines. Step 50ft away from a real bird. You wont see any panel lines, unless there is a fluid leak/stain. Won't see them at 1/48 or 1/72 distance

But the armor builders are just as guilty. Heavy mud around the running gear is how you burn our wheel bearings and throw tracks. Dirt in the fighting compartment is kept to a minimum because the vehicle is also our house. Where we eat and sleep.

I am enjoying building 1/72, because there isn't a lot of detail you can add. I think that's what got me on the Fletcher build. AMS, took the fun out of the hobby.

[Gun Grape]

In before the end of the year. Mostly, I did notice that I need to repaint the canopy gray before she is completely done. Due to a new paint job after the original decals STB.

But here it is, w/o canopy

Hasegawa F-18E, Kit decals
CAG Bird configured in the 5 Wet load out

In late 2002 while the USS Nimitz was steaming to the PG, The USS Lincoln asked for 2 F-18Es from VFA-14 and 2 F-18Fs from VFA-41 to fly forward to support their operations.

The E's were used as tanker support for the Lincoln Airwing of 18C's, the Fs were used as FACs

Vallejo Model Air paints

Quickboost Bang seat (really Nice)

Wolfpack Buddy Store

Touchup paint and satin coat soon. Love the way a picture picks stuff up that you don't see with the Mk-1 eyeball

[Gun Grape]

Next Hornet on the list is a D with Orion Decals.

If I can get some Mavericks, I Plan on a FAC load out

[Albany Rifles]

Looking great Gunny