1/72 AirfixF-18A Hornet

[stillp]

Jim, it must have been a nice kit once... back in 1982! It'll look okay-ish with some paint and decals on.
Pete

[stillp]

Well, I'm bored with filling and sanding, so splashed a bit of paint on the u/c bays - Vallejo white primer followed by Vallejo white.

The doors were stuck to a scrap of plywood with double-sided tape and given the same treatment:

Not forgetting the legs:

That can dry overnight, then (domestic duties permitting :rolling I'll get on with some of the stores:

I've already put some Humbrol cream on the noses of the drop tanks: (Edited; now the correct photo!)

A slight drawback to the plan is that my Maskol has turned into a nearly solid rubbery ball. Humbrol say you can thin it with water, but mine doesn't seem to know that.:anguished:
Pete

[Guest]

Use PVA glue instead, that will come off a plastic kit easily too.

[stillp]

Well, I was going to go out to get a new jar of Maskol today, went to get in the car and a back tyre was flat - down to about 10 psi. One of a pair of new Michelins that was fitted only a few months ago. Managed to pump it up, took it to the nearest tyre fitter but they didn't have a spare time slot for a couple of hours so I had a stroll around the town and a coffee then returned at the appointed time. There was a wood screw in the tyre - luckily in the middle of the tread, so it was repairable and only stung me for £25. Didn't have much modelling mojo when I got back home.
The PVA I usually use is really difficult to get off plastic, but I think I have some cheaper stuff in the garage, I might try that, or I might just use blu-tak.
I did get something done though:


The 4 LDGP bombs resplendent in Vallejo Olive Drab primer. Airfix say these should just be OD, but most of the photos I can find of these bombs show a yellow band around the nose. That'll be fun to mask...
Pete

[stillp]

I wish I hadn't Googled to find what the yellow band means, as it seems I need to paint two yellow bands!
https://www.globalsecurity.org/milit.../14313_ch1.pdf page I-18. For Navy bombs they should also have a rough surface to represent the ablative thermal coating but I'm not going to do that!

Pete

[stillp]

Well I messed these up:

I'll have to repaint those. Might just try a piece of 1mm masking tape over the yellow, then repaint the OD.
All the bay doors and the airbrake are now in place, held by a combination of Maskol and blu-tac:

And the topside now has a coat of paint:

I'm going to do the low vis scheme for VMFA-451, unless the decals disappear into the background, in which case I'll take them off and use the hi-vis ones!
Thanks for looking in,
Pete

[Guest]

TBH, the best way to paint those rings on bombs is probably to do the yellow first, then mask it and paint the rest of the bomb. Freehand is usually asking for uneven lines (I speak from experience, yet still forget to do it the proper way much of the time ).

[stillp]

Yes, thanks Jakko, I'm coming to that conclusion! I was trying to be clever and use a yellow marker pen held steady while rotating the bomb, but kept wobbling!

[boatman]

Well at least you tried Pete an if at first you don't sucseed try again like jakko said as im in the same class cant paint a straight line to save me life I get the shakes even holdin my breath an doin it but you are gettin there looks good love the hornet an tomcat
chris

[Guest]

Another method, that I’ve never tried, is dipping them: paint the bomb OD, dip the front into yellow paint to the rear of the ring, and when that’s dry, dip it in OD to complete the ring. I suspect you would get a lot of paint building up on the tip, though, and wiping that off will risk wiping through your nicely defined ring, I’d think.

[stillp]

Another method, that I’ve never tried, is dipping them: paint the bomb OD, dip the front into yellow paint to the rear of the ring, and when that’s dry, dip it in OD to complete the ring. I suspect you would get a lot of paint building up on the tip, though, and wiping that off will risk wiping through your nicely defined ring, I’d think.

Thanks Jakko, I promise to be very careful when wiping my ring. :tongue-out3:

[boatman]

Thanks Jakko, I promise to be very careful when wiping my ring. :tongue-out3:

HI Peter HAHA that can be taken another way lol
chris

[stillp]

The underside has been sprayed XF-19. I'll leave the masking on the top until I've fixed the undercarriage though, to avoid any scratching.
Under the fuselage are three blade aerials (I think that's what they are) which have given me some grief - they were too thick at the base to fit into the slot for them. The first one I did was tricky to hold, as they're only about 2.5mm square, and slightly tapered in two direction, but I managed to sand it down until it fitted. With that one in place I felt a bit more confident, started sanding the next one, which of course pinged out of the tweezers into the clutter on top of my desk. Had a quick look fit it, but there's no chance of finding something that small, so I made another from about half of the number tag on one of the sprues. When the glue had dried I took the fuselage down to the garage to paint it, and noticed a slot for another aerial to fit in! I've thrown out all the sprues except one as I've used all the parts, or so I thought, but I must have missed this one. So, another number tag, and a few minutes carving and sanding, and the last of the trio is fitted.

Now I need to sort out those pesky yellow stripes on the bombs!
Pete

[stillp]

Another problem! See the parts 87 and its corresponding un-numbered opposite:

Quite important, the Sparrow missiles attach to them. Well, I distinctly remember cleaning them up, but I can't find them anywhere! I think I'd better empty the recycling bin tomorrow. :anguished:
If they're not in there the pilot will have to rely on his Sidewinders.
Pete

[colin m]

I think I'd better empty the recycling bin tomorrow.

A couple of builds ago, I was working on a very small part. I dropped it, watched it bounce off the desk into a very full bin. Then it vanished into another dimension and was never seen again. I now empty the bin before every new build !