F/A-18C and E from Hasegawa

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July 21, 2022
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July 22, 2022
Finished the two offices. Did some minor modifications to the seats since they are pretty basic.
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July 22, 2022
These kits need putty. They fit only partially…
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July 22, 2022
Got the wings attached to the fuselages. Used hate, violence and putty…
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July 23, 2022
I guess these kits show their age. Half an AMRAAM on one of the sprues… Luckily I got plenty of spares.
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July 23, 2022
Making some progress with the C and E model. Both kits have som minor fit issues regarding canopies.
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July 24, 2022
Started painting. First time I´m using stencils to make that worn look after months at sea. Curious about the end result.
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July 24, 2022
Starting to get that faded look, but still a long way to go before it is finished.
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July 26, 2022
Most of the decals are on. They are of very good quality, but some of them are a couple of mm too big.
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July 28, 2022
I have finished the F-18C. I guess the result is ok for such an old kit… not my best, neither my worst. Only thing left is to build a base.
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July 28, 2022
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July 28, 2022
Only thing i changed in the kit (with the exeption of some cockpit detailing) was the weapons. The kit has only some bad molded Aim-120 and Aim-9 and I switched those with missiles from the spare box. I also changed the kits sensors with a Litening pod from Hasegawas JDAM set. The 500 pound JDAMs are from the same set. I deliberatly painted them green to add a bit of color to a very grey scheme.
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July 28, 2022
US Navy F-18E
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July 28, 2022
The F-18E is finished.
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July 28, 2022
Put some GBU-10 on the BRU-55. Both kits come without any air to ground ordonance.
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July 29, 2022
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July 29, 2022
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July 29, 2022
«Made» a base for the F-18E. It is a cardboard cutout…
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July 29, 2022
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July 29, 2022
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July 29, 2022
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July 29, 2022
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July 29, 2022
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July 29, 2022
Final pictures of the F-18C. It has been a blast.

Erik Torp
I have just finished the F-18E which was built in parallel with the F-18C. The E model is a much better kit than the C, which tooling goes back to the 80s. Summerized it was two fun builds, but I will stay away from Hasegawas «two in one» in the future. Putting new decals on old kits and call it limited edition is a business model which don´t appeal to me.
What is left is to make a pair of simple bases for the planes. And btw, two models in a week is a new rekord for me 🤗

28 July 2022, 23:12

Fritz01
Well done, Erik, the colour modulation is very convincing. The "simple" base of the flight deck is also a very good idea. Is it a photo print or painted?

29 July 2022, 15:40

Erik Torp
@Fritz: the base for the F-18E is a print I bought years ago. For the F-18C I painted one myself, using the printed one as a «template». It would have been better if I had used a bit more time but I was getting fired of fighting these old kits. I used about one hour painting the base, drying time between layers not included.

29 July 2022, 17:34

Fritz01
Thanx Erik. The result was worth the effort!

29 July 2022, 18:38

Daniel
Great result! Especially for a week only😅
Are these A.Mig greys directly from the bottle or did you add white for the last coat? Looks very realistically bleached 👍

30 July 2022, 13:15

Erik Torp
@Daniel: I sprayed a coat of Mig grey after some pre-shading with black. Then I used a stencil from AK and sprayed thinned white and gunship gray in a random pattern on all parts exposed to the sun. Finally I sprayed a top coat of the original gray color, but thinned a bit. Did some additiona weathering with gray and white oils.

30 July 2022, 20:41

Neuling
👍

31 July 2022, 08:35