1/72 F/A-18 Hornet

It's not often (read: almost never) that I think a kit is a total dog, and I sort of pride myself on the fact that I'll build damn near anything. But this one was pretty bad. It almost didn't get built.

Even after assembling it I have no idea as to it's pedigree. I saw no discernible manufacturer's name or emblem on the box or instructions. It was one of those last minute E-bay scores - finding something ending in the next few minutes that was only going for 99 cents. At least I wasn't out a lot of money.

The seat looked like something from the set of a bad 60s sci-fi show, and the side console detail was 3 raised rings on each side of the cockpit - as if the plane came equipped with 6 drink holders. I was not interested in scratchbuilding a cockpit, or cannibalizing another kit. But I decided I could use it as a "test bed" for a painted canopy.

Sometimes in this hobby, folks will recommend you try a new technique out on a "throw away" model first - well, I don't really have any throw away models. But I did have one that could only improve! I also decide to try making an inflight display, something else (along with the opaque canopy) I hadn't done before.

The canopy was painted blue from the inside after having been coated with Future. It was masked for the framing then installed (and the gaps around it filled with white craft glue - which dries clear, won't craze clear plastic, and can be shaped while wet with a damp Q-Tip, meaning no sanding marks on your canopy). The supports for the inflight display are 2 K&S aluminum tubes bent to shape and cemented into a wood base I grabbed at Wal-Mart.

To make it look somewhat interesting, I used Superscale decals for "Strike U", and made a TACTS pod out of a Sidewinder missile. Weathering was with pastels.

Kit: ???
Scale: 1/72
Markings: Naval Strike Warfare Center ("Strike U")
Date: 2008
Aftermarket: Superscale Decals, K&S aluminum tubing

1/48 EA-18G "Shocker"

No, I'm not calling a "Growler." That's a ridiculous name.

I started with the Italeri kit, as it's the only 1/48 -18G out there right now. It has it's shortcomings - aside from temperamental fit, the basic airframe itself represents an early block F and there are some changes to be made both to the basic airframe and to represent the electronic warfare gear that got added on. You could use a Revell F/A-18F, but you'd have to come up with the wingtip receiver pods, the ALQ-99 jamming pods, and even then you'd still have some of the add-ons to make yourself.

The cockpit is basic, and the panels/consoles are represented with decals. I replaced the aft instrument panel/coaming with a resin part from Steel Beach, which represents the ACS crewstation in the back of the G's.


Main assembly is pretty straightforward, but the engineering and parts breakdown does invite some fit issues, as you can probably see from all the green. There's also the issue of "early" Super Hornet features that need to be corrected, such as these square-shaped holes in the wingroot and the pieces that go in there.


Add-ons include a more or less conformal antenna on the spine (it's saddle shaped), wing fences, antenna blisters on the side of the nose and near the horizontal stabilizers, and in the case of the Italeri kit, the IFF interregator.

The kit's molded ECS exhausts (between the tails) are also incorrect and need to be replaced - Steel Beach also makes resin parts for these, and Darren Roberts was kind enough to send some along with the ACS instrument panel. Also, in the picture below, you can see the fairing at the 'dogtooth' in the wing leading edge, another unique feature of the EA-18G.


The external stores are 3 ALQ-99 jamming pods from Cutting Edge, 2 AGM-88 HARM from the kit (stripes from a Hasegawa weapons set decal sheet), 2 AIM-120 AMRAAM from the kit, and drop tanks from the kit. The last Italeri inaccuracy here was the pylons - they're inaccurate for any Super Hornet, and you'll need to rob a Revell kit - or have a generous friend willing to part with the pylons from one of HIS Revell kits. In my case it was the latter, thanks to the generosity of Brian Marbrey.

I went my own way for markings. Italeri gives you a choice between VAQ-129, the fleet replacement squadron, and VAQ-209, the reserve squadron. It's an open question as to whether or not VAQ-209 will make the transition to EA-18Gs or be disestablished when the Prowler is finally retired, so I wasn't too keen on that one. And I didn't really dig the conceptualized FRS markings in the kit. So while I used the kit's stencils, numbers and whatnot, I raided the decal stash for an old Superscale sheet for squadron markings, putting the bird in VAQ-137 colors (my former fleet squadron). The oversized air wing tailcode on the inside of the tails is not quite congruent with current "big Navy" dictates, but I'm sort of hoping the VAQ community will stand it's ground when it comes to more creative paint schemes. A guy can hope...





Kit: Italeri (and parts from Revell)
Scale: 1/48
Markings: VAQ-137
Date: 2007
Aftermarket: Steel Beach ACS cockpit and ECS exhaust, Cutting Edge ALQ-99 pods, Superscale decals

1/48 F-14D

This was the first project I've done intending to give to someone else (though truth be told, I haven't figured out the logistics of getting it to its recipient yet...).

The kit is Hasegawa's F-14D, with the addition of Eduard's "Big Ed" photo-etc set and TwoBobs decals.

Here's what Eduard's set buys you with the ejection seats:


And here's what it gets you in the cockpit:


Construction is relatively straightforward. Hasegawa's Tomcat is what some might call over-engineered - more parts than are really needed to make the kit work. While this admittedly complicates assembly, it also allows the company to put out different versions of a subject. To me, this flexibility makes it worth the added effort in assembly. Another manufacturer might label the box "F-14D" but to get an accurate portrayal you might have to do a lot of work to what is REALLY a model of an F-14A, for example.

It took me two tries to get the cans right, because I forgot that in the D you don't generally see the "one open, one closed" thing like you do with the A's. But it was easy enough to get right. They were painted with Alcad.


The friend for who I built the model flew F-14Ds in OIF, so I endeavored to arm it appropriately, using Hasegawa weapons sets. To create the ablative coating on the bombs, I worked one at a time, coating a bomb with ProWeld (Tenax or any other similar cement would work just as well - you could probably use lacquer thinner too), then dabbing at it with the coarsest sandpaper I had while it was still soft. I mounted them to the model using small lengths of wire.


Painting was fairly straightforward, using Testor's Model Master gull gray for most of the plane and Ford Engine Blue for the accents.


I used Two Bobs' decals for VF-213, the squadron my friend flew with.


The base is a Custom Dioramics section of carrier flight deck mounted in a picture frame. I elected to put it UNDER the glass for durability, given that I intend to part with this EVENTUALLY.

Now to hope I can get it to its intended owner before they find it online!!


Kit: Hasegawa
Scale: 1/48
Markings: VF-213
Date: 2007
Aftermarket: Eduard photo-etch, Hasegawa weapons, Two Bobs decals

General Lee

Every once in a while, it's cool to venture outside your normal "genre" and try something different.

This is the first car model I've attempted since I was in junior high, back when I was applying heavy, sloppy coats of Testor's gloss enamels (which may still not have fully cured).

Knowing my affinity for modeling, and recalling my enduring appreciation of The Dukes of Hazard television show, this kit was a Christmas gift from my family, and I undertook it as a break from some of my more involved aircraft projects.

To be honest, gloss finishes still rather intimidate me, however I found Gunze Aqueous Hobby Color to be pretty idiot proof in its application (even if I did choose an orange that was a shade or two too light). To protect the decals I applied Future floor polish full strength though my airbrush. Not a flawless job, but better than I had anticipated!

Kit: AMT/ERTL
Scale: 1/24 (I think)
Markings: "General Lee"
Date: 2007
Aftermarket: None