discussion 1/72 AirfixF-18A Hornet

[stillp]

Ah yes, "fun", that's the word I was looking for.
While waiting for filler to dry on the fuselage I thought I'd make a start on the under-wing stores. Guess what - they need filling and sanding...

Pete

 

[Guest]

Pete .
Fighting all the way and winning by the looks of it. Well done.:surprised::thumb2:

 

[stillp]

Starting to look like a Hornet now:

Still a few more parts to add:

Started the painting on the Sparrows and Sidewinders:

Now, decision time; do I paint the fuselage and bay doors separately then add the undercarriage, brush paint the u/c bays, then add the bay doors, or fit the doors before painting, or finish assembling the undercarriage and bay doors then try to mask them before painting the fuselage? Any suggestions folks?
Pete

 

[boatman]

Starting to look like a Hornet now:

Still a few more parts to add:

Started the painting on the Sparrows and Sidewinders:

Now, decision time; do I paint the fuselage and bay doors separately then add the undercarriage, brush paint the u/c bays, then add the bay doors, or fit the doors before painting, or finish assembling the undercarriage and bay doors then try to mask them before painting the fuselage? Any suggestions folks?
Pete

WELL in my opinion paint the fusealarge an I think you ought to have left off the weapons hard points as its much easiyier to paint when all flat surfaces an then fit the undercart an paint bay doors an fit so they wont be knocked off
chris

 

[Guest]

Could you attach the doors temporarily in the closed position (blu tack, pva etc) so they get painted consistent with the fuselage, then remove after painting and fit the legs and open doors permanently?

 

[stillp]

Could you attach the doors temporarily in the closed position (blu tack, pva etc) so they get painted consistent with the fuselage, then remove after painting and fit the legs and open doors permanently?

Good idea Andy - that would also let me airbrush the bay interiors without needing to mask around them. I don't know how well they fit though, so it might get a bit tricky. I'm going to have the air brake open, since that doesn't fit well when closed.

I think you ought to have left off the weapons hard points as its much easiyier to paint when all flat surfaces

Fair point Chris and thanks for the comment, but they needed a bit of sanding to fit, and I didn't want to do that again with paint on.
Pete

 

[scottie3158]

Pete,
Silk purse from sows ear springs to mind.

 

[stillp]

Pete,
Silk purse from sows ear springs to mind.

A geriatric sow at that! As for the silk purse.. we shall see, but don't expect too much.
Nice of Airfix to provide two locating pins for the arrestor hook:

Shame they forgot to tell the gut who made the mould for the fuselage:

They did tell the artist responsible for the instructions though:

Easy enough to cut off that pin on the fuselage, but I do wonder at times if manufacturers make test builds before launching a model. Maybe it was mould damage, there should have been a thin pin in the mould cavity but perhaps it broke off and someone drilled a hole to fit a new pin, than forgot.
Anyway, I think the fit is good enough for me to go with Andy's suggestion to fit the u/c doors in the closed position temporarily, not so much to get them to match the fuselage as to close off the wheel bays so I can paint them first. The fit isn't as bad as I'd thought. I'll glue them in with Maskol - I've done that before and the Maskol worked well as a temporary adhesive. So, next task is to prime and paint white the wheel bays and the inside faces of the doors. Might as well do the u/c legs at the same time.
Thanks for looking in.
Pete

 

[Guest]

~I'll glue them in with Maskol~

I like it, thanks Pete.

I've been trying to decide what to use for the beaufighter when I do the same. Masking fluid sounds ideal.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Pete
Looks as if you have done very well to get this hopeless kit to the stage you have. It actually looks like a F-18A Hornet now. I would probably have flown it gracefully into the bin but it looks as if you will complete it.
Jim

 

[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/military/library/policy/navy/nrtc/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.