DaveJL Posted June 24, 2012 Posted June 24, 2012 Hello all, Here is my first entry for the GB. 1/48 Hasegawa F/A-18D. Going for the fantastic looking Tiger striped Jet of VFMA (AW)-224 'Bengals' The kit: The sprues: Aftermarket: Wolfpack ATARS conversion set, MAW decals FOD covers, Twobobs decals and Dr Pepper Litening pod. All weapons will come from the spares. Reference material: This is what i'm going for: With this loadout: Roll on the 30th! Dave 1
DaveJL Posted June 25, 2012 Author Posted June 25, 2012 This will be nice to watch!Eric Thanks Eric. Looking forward to it. It's been on my 'to do' list for far too long! Dave
Marcdb71 Posted June 25, 2012 Posted June 25, 2012 Going to watch this got one of these in my stash somewhere.
DaveJL Posted June 26, 2012 Author Posted June 26, 2012 Thanks chaps. This is only my second 1/48 F/A-18 and my first 'legacy' Hornet would you believe Been itching to build it for months now! Dave
BrandX Posted June 26, 2012 Posted June 26, 2012 Nice one; always good to see a stripey Bangles bird. If only someone made decals for the regular (non-ATARS) Delta in the second photo...
Z Aviator Posted June 26, 2012 Posted June 26, 2012 Can't wait to see this one being built! You've definetely chosen one of the sexier schemes for this aircraft!
DaveJL Posted June 26, 2012 Author Posted June 26, 2012 Thanks folks. It definitely is a striking scheme! Dave
DaveJL Posted June 29, 2012 Author Posted June 29, 2012 Yeah! This scheme I LIKE! Thanks Don. Certainly is a looker! Dave
Bandwagon 106 Posted June 29, 2012 Posted June 29, 2012 Academy give you this option for the 1/32nd kit. No decals - you have to do the stripes yourself-and no ATARS nose, but it must look great, I am so tempted to do a 1/32 Delta...no, I'm doing a Skyhaw for this group build, first anyway!!! I like all Hornets, but that big canopy on the two seaters really sets them apart. I did do this aircraft a few years ago but used a Black Box nose. Was very nice and the stripes looked great. Unfortunately, the grey markings were invisible against the paint I used We really need to do something about your Hornet shortage Dave! Joel
Parabat Posted June 30, 2012 Posted June 30, 2012 Joel, I've already had a chat with Dave about his lack of Hornets! Looks like he's getting the message!
CliffB Posted June 30, 2012 Posted June 30, 2012 Looks like it will be a good one Dave Can I take it from the photos that this is an operational scheme, rather than a Tiger Meet special? (apologies for my total ignorance when it comes to jet fighters and stuff ) Cheers Cliff
Bandwagon 106 Posted June 30, 2012 Posted June 30, 2012 (edited) Cliff-the "Bengals" deployed to South West Asia( Al Asad, Iraq, in 2005.) Side number #00 is the Squadron Commander's aircraft and from the photo's, she actually flew operational missions in this scheme. They did fly a lot of missions over there during the deployment. Now, the boss bird flies with a black tail and tiger stripes on the rudder, with black and orange / red fuel tanks. I don't think that VMFA(AW)-224 are linked to the Tiger Meet of the Americas-that seems to be a USAF / Canadian Forces preserve. Just noticed-in the photos she has both noses-regular and ATARS...must stick to Skyhawk....! Looking forward to this Dave-the Hasegawa kit goes together really well, completely painless compared to the Tomcat! Joel Edited June 30, 2012 by Bandwagon 106
DaveJL Posted June 30, 2012 Author Posted June 30, 2012 Looks like it will be a good one Dave Can I take it from the photos that this is an operational scheme, rather than a Tiger Meet special? (apologies for my total ignorance when it comes to jet fighters and stuff ) Cheers Cliff It's VMFA-224's 'colour jet' so to speak. The scheme has been used in operations in Iraq several times and possibly Afghanistan but i'm not 100% sure on that. Dave
DaveJL Posted June 30, 2012 Author Posted June 30, 2012 Just noticed-in the photos she has both noses-regular and ATARS...must stick to Skyhawk....!Looking forward to this Dave-the Hasegawa kit goes together really well, completely painless compared to the Tomcat! Joel Noticed that myself. 224 must be a mixed squadron of ATARS/non ATARS. Really need to check up on the squadrons history! The kit looks good but the hasegawa 'cat is enjoyable pain I like to think i've it mastered, well, to the best of my abilities Joel, I've already had a chat with Dave about his lack of Hornets! Looks like he's getting the message! We did? I have an 'E' in the stash and plan to get a 'C', Canadian 'A' and another 'F' model to add to the collection. Dave
Bandwagon 106 Posted June 30, 2012 Posted June 30, 2012 Each squadron of Deltas has three ATARS aircraft, bit like the old TARPS units for Tomcats. As for the Bengals, they have had quite a history-SEA( including mining the harbour at Haiphong in 1972), Desert Storm, Bosnia, OIF and OEF. A little info on ATARS- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATARS And the Bengals of VMFA(AW)-224- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VMFA(AW)-224. Good to see your Hornet acquistion plans are going ahead Dave! Joel
DaveJL Posted July 1, 2012 Author Posted July 1, 2012 Each squadron of Deltas has three ATARS aircraft, bit like the old TARPS units for Tomcats. As for the Bengals, they have had quite a history-SEA( including mining the harbour at Haiphong in 1972), Desert Storm, Bosnia, OIF and OEF.A little info on ATARS- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATARS And the Bengals of VMFA(AW)-224- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VMFA(AW)-224. Good to see your Hornet acquistion plans are going ahead Dave! Joel Thanks for the info Joel. The Hornets will never replace the good old F-14 that's for sure!! I plan to add many more of those Dave
DaveJL Posted July 6, 2012 Author Posted July 6, 2012 Made a start this morning. I'm off work all next week so I hope to get the majority of it completed then! The cockpit was built and hastily painted. The rear IP is from the Wolfpack ATARS set. The detail in the cockpit is quite flat and I will definitely be investing in a resin cockpit for my next F/A-18. Then the fuselage went together. As I was dry fitting, i heard a crack. Oh dear I said to myself upon discovery of a crack right down the middle of the lower fuselage, hence the large amounts of tape in the second picture below. Some filler will sort it out Other than that, the fit is good. Next up, i prepped the one piece resin nose: The 'bird slicer' antennae needed to be removed as they are not on the Jet I am building. Wolfpack also give the refuelling probe in 2 parts, to be displayed open or closed. A nice touch but unfortunately for me, having it closed has highlighted that the cover is slightly mis-shapen, so i binned it and filled the section with some squadron green. All the 'hanging stuff' also made up. The fuel tank was a bit rough so I applied filler around the seam line. This just needs sanded off: Finally for today, i removed the casting blocks on the lovely resin seats: Next up is to get the nose attached to the fuselage and various other airframe additions. That's me off to RIAT this evening, maybe see some of you there! More to follow. Dave
DaveJL Posted July 9, 2012 Author Posted July 9, 2012 Cracked on today and got a good bit done! Attached the ATARS nose cone to start off. Fit was very good, with just a little bit of filler to close the join lines: There was also a plate (for want of a better word) to attach in the front gear well. Again, no problems: Chaff dispensers went on next: You can see some filler in the above image. I had a bit of a problem connecting the rear part of the LERX to the wing root. Took some fiddling, but the fit is good and smooth now. Next up was the flaps. I had a bit of a drama with the initial fit, but once i realised that i had the parts back to front they went on just fine: The fins were also attached, as were the support braces. Again, no fit issues: Then added the strakes and two 'lumps' behind the cockpit: The ATARS specific rear IP coaming was also added. As I say, quite a bit done today and it's looking well. Next up is to add the slats, FOD covers for the intakes (dry fitting has shown that a bit of filler will be needed here) and tidy up a few areas before priming. More to follow. Dave
DaveJL Posted July 9, 2012 Author Posted July 9, 2012 Great update Dave, looking rather good. Thanks mate. Looks a bit scruffy in some places with the mix of filler, but that should disappear under the primer. Hoping to have it ready for that either tomorrow or Wednesday. Dave
DaveJL Posted July 10, 2012 Author Posted July 10, 2012 More done this afternoon. Added the wing tip missile rails: Tidied up the mess around the LERX's and added the MAW covered intakes. Fit was ok, but some filler was need to close off a gap between the base of the cover and the intake itself: Also added the covered exhausts. These required some filler as they are slightly too small in diameter and the result is a small 'step' between the fuselage and the exhaust. Not perfect, but i can live with it: Added all the brackets to the resin pylons proved in the Wolfpack set. I'm leaving the casting blocks on until after painting: I also removed the canopy seam line with micromesh and assembled the 2 piece slats. All that is left to do is add the latter and give her a quick once over before a bath and priming. Hoping to have the first lick of paint on by Thursday. More to follow. Dave
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