Kit: The
F-18E Super Hornet is the single seat version of the Italeri F-18F, with the
rear decking part added. All parts are the same in both kits, including
the weapons load out. The kit is molded in the standard light gray and has
recessed panel lines which I found to be a bit shallow.
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Construction: Several
well known modelers to ARC (Kelly Quirk, Kaan Gok, and Joe Hegedus) have written
great articles on the construction of this kit. Many of the modifications
which I made were based on these points.
I began by replacing the cockpit with the Black Box F-18E detail
set. The detail in the BB set is superb. However, as with many of
the Black Box kits I’ve constructed, It seems that there is always a fit
problem. It’s not your drop in kits as with Cutting Edge, but non the
less, a great set.
I painted the cockpit with Model Master enamel Aircraft Gray. I
know this isn’t the recommended color, but I found that this color is lighter
and brings to life the cockpit detail of the BB set. Once the cockpit was
painted, I sealed it with Future to prepare it for a dark wash, which
highlights the details and brings out the instruments. Careful attention
was paid to painting the CRT frames and dial rings, in black. Next came
the side panel instrument also painted in black. The seat was painted in
black with a green cushion and green/blue seat belts. The seat was given a
dark wash and dry brushed to highlight details.
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I filled in the LEX
using Magic Sculpt putty, as well as the rear speed brake which are omitted in
the production aircraft. The spoilers are a little undersized and they too
were filled with putty and the new panels re-scribed. The aft exhaust
ports which are of a polygonal design, where removed and a new rectangular port
installed using sheet styrene and putty.
I used the Two Bobs decal sheet as a reference to re-scribe the
panel lines. Some of the panel lines on the Italeri kit were wrong based
on my observations of production aircraft seen in photos. I filled these
lines in with super glue and then drew the correct panel lines first before
re-scribing.
The IFF box, forward of the windscreen, was made with Magic Sculpt,
shaped and sanded to size.
Painting: Once all
the corrections were made and the kit mostly assembled, I primed the whole thing
with Mr. Surfacer 1000 to check for flaws. After several more corrections
made, I re-primed the kit and began the painting process. Model
Master enamels where used throughout the painting. I first began with
pre-shading the entire kit’s panel lines with flat black. For the
underside, I used MM Light Ghost Gray as a base coat. Using an Iwata
Eclipse airbrush, I lightly airbrushed the Light Gray, until the shading
underneath was barely visible. Next, I took the same base coat and
lightened it with about 30% white and thinned it to about 70% thinner. I
then went and sprayed the center of each panel to lighten it up. Once this
was completed, I took the base coat and thinned it down to approximately 70%
thinner to paint, rather than the usual 50-50 mix when spraying the base coat.
With light passes over the entire model, I checked for a balance of the panel
shading and panel lines. This same procedure was used for the Dark
Ghost Gray top side.
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The intake covers
where fashioned from tissue soaked in a water/glue solution and shaped over the
intakes. Once dried, they were painted red and a few coats of Future
applied so that the TopHatters emblem could be applied.
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Weapons/stores: I
omitted the kit weapons and opted to use GBU-24 and GBU-31s from the Hasegawa
Weapons set D. The AIM-120 AMRAAM is from SOL resin kits. These are
excellent kits with fine casting, including the fins which rival any photo etch
set. The center fuel tank was lengthened by ¾ inches to represent a
FPU-11.
Decals: The kit sports markings for VFA-14 TopHatters, in a
low vis scheme from Two Bobs (48-040). The model was sprayed with Future
and allowed to dry for two days. A wash of dark gray was then applied to
all panel lines and rivets and allowed to dry for one day. The decals were
then applied and set with Solva Set solution. I then took a knife and
sliced through the decal at all panel lines and re-applied a wash over
this. Once the decals dried for about a day, The entire model received a
flat coat of Testors dull coat.
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Conclusion: Although,
this kit is not without its fit problems, it does turn out to be a unique and
interesting subject, given, that it is the only kit in town. Rumor has it,
hat Revell/Germany is coming out with their F-18E in 1/48 scale. If it’s
anything like their F-15E or Rafael, I’m sure it will be a hit in the modeling
community. I hope you enjoyed this article and pictures of my completed
model. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Henry
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