F/A-18A+/B/CF-188

Ron Garcia
Second build of this kit. I still had trouble with the refueling probe section. Not as bad this time. It just sits funny in the cockpit half. I won't make another, but if I did, I'd add part H6 after I constructed the forward fuselage so I could make adjustments to make it sit more flush in the closed position.

I didn't have as much trouble with the cockpit shroud the second time around either. I think the issue the first time was caused by the engineering of the upper fuselage itself. Because of the cut out for the aerial refueling probe, the starboard side doesn't have much plastic attaching to the rest of the fuselage. The plastic that is there is the lip where the cockpit shroud sits. I accidentally broke that the first time so it could have rode high after I repaired it. As it was, I nearly broke it again due to the finicky fit due to - you guessed it - the aerial refueling subassembly. The forward canopy still rode high and required sanding to blend it into the forward cockpit section.

Ron Garcia
Having finished several Hasegawa F-18s, I was interested how this kit would measure up. I thought it was easier to build than Hasegawa's. The flaps and ailerons are easier to install by far. Overall the fit was the parts was great - except for two things that caused me a serious headache!

The first was the aerial refueling probe. Just two pieces if you want it closed like I chose, three if not. The subassembly is added to the nose section, but the instructions aren't very clear how to do this. I figured it out but it sat too deep in the front cockpit. I played with it over and over and even reattached it several times but I was never able to get it to fit flush with the nose section. I ended up puttying it over and rescribed the panel outline. I don't know what I did wrong but I spent WAY too much time on a two piece subassembly.

The second major problem I had was with the cockpit shroud C25 of all things. There are three notches for it to fit into the top fuselage section so I placed it exactly where it was supposed to go. However, when I tried to add the forward canopy, the shroud interfered with it. The shroud sits too high so it forces the front canopy up a few mm instead of a smooth tradition into the fuselage. Again, I played with it over and over, but I couldn't get it to sit correctly. I ended up having to carefully carve the excess clear plastic in the front portion of the forward canopy where the canopy frame is and then add putty to the front of the fuselage to make a smooth transition. Again, I'm can't figure out what happened.

Aside from those two major problems, I liked the kit. I have a second one I'm going to put together next. That will let me see if those issues were bad luck, the kit or user error. I reserve judgement until I build the next one.