Jantk14
Well-Known Member
I feel your frustration with decals.
Group Build: F/A-18A-G Super Hornet/Growler
- Thread starter Dan the Modeler
- Start date
Some are tough as nails and others just disintegrate in front of your face. At least with PE you have a chance. Pantherman
Tell you what, since I like doing decals, come over to my house for a weekend and organize my work station and I'll do your decals!
Well I'm calling this build done. It's OK but definitely could have done better. Pantherman
Nice. Clean.
Looks to me like a pretty solid build!
Wig41
Well-Known Member
Very nicely done. We all feel we could have done better on every one of our builds, yet it's still just as nice to have a model completed. 
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2024
- Messages
- 1,569
Yeah, don't beat yourself up. I think it looks okay. You just got to the end of the build with all them decals and you were looking for ways to speed up this build so you can get back to building ships with all that PE! That's how I felt after building an F4. At least you're canopies look great. I still have problems with them.
Needs more decals! Nice build! That's some pretty good detail in the wheel wells!
I was the same but Tamiya's polishing compound and vallejo liquid mask have made it easier for a clean shiny finished canopy. Pantherman
Dan the Modeler
Well-Known Member
Hello GBers, back at the bench, finally, and working on the office. Specifically, the ejection seats, the options I have pondered, and the final decision and modifications needed to make it happen. So the story began with a search for upgraded SJU-17 ejection seats for the build. The kit seats aren't awful in any way, but with a lot of the upgrades I'm doing, didn't want to slack in the "box".
Initially, I opted for a cast resin set, which are very nice, they include photo-etch parts and decals, but there is something just off with the overall look and height difference in the headrest and framing. It almost seems to be slightly under scale. So it was back to searching and I have discovered with a lot of upgrade parts for this build, 3D printed parts are fitting the bill much better, and the detailing can get hyper realistic. So let's look at the comparisons.
From left to right- Kit parts, cast resin seat, 3D resin printed seat.
As you can see the level of detail increases. The kit part lacks the correct top, slope and canopy breakers, as well as the correct seat backs. The cast resin brings more details, which included PE belts, leg straps, plus decals. The headrest is not the correct shape and is a bit shorter, and with other minor issues that overall make it appear slightly under scaled. The 3D printed resin set really gets the ejection motors under the carriage right. However, there really isn't room in the Meng kit in the tub for them, and they won't be seen at all. The detail on the framing, seats (even the material texturing) is spot on and much closer to scale, with all the elements angles on point when compared to the actual seats. So, it was a no brainer for me to go with these, but there is a cost, and that cost is extra work and modifications to the base platform for the kit seats.
First step is carefully cutting out the raised base from the floorboards, so that the seats can sit at the proper depth and angle. Below I have removed the base and then cleaned it up and test fitted the seat, and it does the job.
Once I was satisfied, I moved on to apply the same treatment to the rear WSO area. I had to be careful to not apply too much pressure while cutting things out, as the tub would flex and possibly break in half. I then cleaned it up and test fitted again. Here are the results.
To check everything from there, I put the box in the upper airframe and console hoods to make sure it all lines up and looks the part. Here's the result.
The ejection seat kit actually has the proper front and rear seats. There are slight differences in the angles, height, and canopy breakers on the tops. They also mold the harness systems in different positions to add more realism.
Project continues and plan to get some painting, detailing, decaling, and instruments all in place. See you all soon with the next update!
Initially, I opted for a cast resin set, which are very nice, they include photo-etch parts and decals, but there is something just off with the overall look and height difference in the headrest and framing. It almost seems to be slightly under scale. So it was back to searching and I have discovered with a lot of upgrade parts for this build, 3D printed parts are fitting the bill much better, and the detailing can get hyper realistic. So let's look at the comparisons.
From left to right- Kit parts, cast resin seat, 3D resin printed seat.
As you can see the level of detail increases. The kit part lacks the correct top, slope and canopy breakers, as well as the correct seat backs. The cast resin brings more details, which included PE belts, leg straps, plus decals. The headrest is not the correct shape and is a bit shorter, and with other minor issues that overall make it appear slightly under scaled. The 3D printed resin set really gets the ejection motors under the carriage right. However, there really isn't room in the Meng kit in the tub for them, and they won't be seen at all. The detail on the framing, seats (even the material texturing) is spot on and much closer to scale, with all the elements angles on point when compared to the actual seats. So, it was a no brainer for me to go with these, but there is a cost, and that cost is extra work and modifications to the base platform for the kit seats.
First step is carefully cutting out the raised base from the floorboards, so that the seats can sit at the proper depth and angle. Below I have removed the base and then cleaned it up and test fitted the seat, and it does the job.
Once I was satisfied, I moved on to apply the same treatment to the rear WSO area. I had to be careful to not apply too much pressure while cutting things out, as the tub would flex and possibly break in half. I then cleaned it up and test fitted again. Here are the results.
To check everything from there, I put the box in the upper airframe and console hoods to make sure it all lines up and looks the part. Here's the result.
The ejection seat kit actually has the proper front and rear seats. There are slight differences in the angles, height, and canopy breakers on the tops. They also mold the harness systems in different positions to add more realism.
Project continues and plan to get some painting, detailing, decaling, and instruments all in place. See you all soon with the next update!
Last edited:
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2024
- Messages
- 1,569
Good call on the seats
Wig41
Well-Known Member
For sure, a good call and the amount of work to get them in properly doesn't seem excessive. Final check … make sure the canopy will seat properly with those seats in.
Dan the Modeler
Well-Known Member
Dan the Modeler
Well-Known Member
It's all good to go, but I'll be modeling it with raised canopy anyway.
Dan the Modeler
Well-Known Member
Starting the tub section of the office. The details of the 3D decals are very impressive, but very hard to photograph. Pictures just don't do them any justice. Anyway, quick photo as the front starts coming together.
Like Liberace's jacket!
Seriously though, 3D IPs so impressive. Military vehicle kits just don't compare!
Alphonse
Well-Known Member
Didn't see this post early enough. Hope it is not too late to make my contributions here.
Last edited:
Edbert
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 16, 2024
- Messages
- 3,117
NEVER too late!
I took a few shots of my submission today, it is a very old DSLR, so you take what you get.
You know you're on to something when bits of plastic have presence.
I especially like your panel line and decal work.
Dan the Modeler
Well-Known Member
I had some late night time to get back to the bench to continue work in the cockpit. I finished up all of forward tub (pilots office) with all of the 3D decals. I layed down white glue to completely secure them, so giving them a day or so to totally dry out. I pulled out the glass and 3D printed upgraded frame, and boy is she pretty! It has all the bells and whistles and fits nicely with the kit parts. Took a bit to get it all cleaned up, but well worth it over the kit frame. Here are a couple photos of it as it comes all caged up and protected.
It comes with the video recorder box that sits on the turtledeck inside the frame and a small section of piano wire that slides into the raising piston to give it extra strength for the raised position. It also has the added detail of 2 JHMCS on the portside of the frame, so depending on what variation/time period you are modeling, you can have both, one for the pilot, or remove both for earlier variant. If you want to up the level of detail to the cockpit and glass, I highly recommend this upgrade set from Flight Line Resin for your FA-18F or EA-18G. I'll let the somewhat ok pictures speak for themselves.
It comes with the video recorder box that sits on the turtledeck inside the frame and a small section of piano wire that slides into the raising piston to give it extra strength for the raised position. It also has the added detail of 2 JHMCS on the portside of the frame, so depending on what variation/time period you are modeling, you can have both, one for the pilot, or remove both for earlier variant. If you want to up the level of detail to the cockpit and glass, I highly recommend this upgrade set from Flight Line Resin for your FA-18F or EA-18G. I'll let the somewhat ok pictures speak for themselves.
Very nice weathering!
While not exactly a Growler, this model does fit into the F-18 category.
I have a vague recollection of buying this model while living in West Germany. I rediscovering this kit when we moved into our current house three years ago. The model, and most of its parts were discovered in four separate moving boxes. Not all the parts were found, so a certain amount of scratch building was eventually required. I started building the kit over 30 years ago, and then life took over. This past November I thought it wouldn't take much time to finish it as one of the CF-18s that my brother flew early in his career
The large parts of the model were previously assembled and primed. Not being able to control the impulse to "just leave the kit as it is," I thought I would give scribing new panel lines a try. Before I knew it, I had sanded off all the panel lines and then spent a few nights scribing in new panel lines. A very useful learning experience.
It was about this time that I also noticed the entire port side main landing hear assembly was missing. So, I scratch built a new one. It turned out not to be as difficult as I thought it would be.
(My scratch built version is on the left)
The landing gear issue then led to a bunch of scratch building detail into the nose gear and the starboard side main landing gear. Which then led to the scratch building upgrades of the all the landing gear wheel-wells and doors.
Eventually I found the cockpit tub and stock ejection seat. The cockpit tub had broken loose from the fuselage, so I took advantage of the opportunity and scratch built a new cockpit, the area behind the ejection seat, and, using the very basic seat that came with the kit, created a new ejection seat. I then sent some photos of the ejection seat to my brother and he informed me that the ejection seat that was in the F-18 I was building was different than the one I had constructed. The seat, for the plane that I was building, had initially came with a different retention harness that was replaced during a later ejection seat upgrade. So, I changed the retention harness to be accurate as of 1994.
(The corrected version of the seat)
(Completed cockpit area; with the correct seat belt system!)
The kit came with only a very basic missile load. So, while on a scratch building roll, I fixed up the missiles so that they didn't look like chunks of sprue with clunky fins. Lots of sanding, razor saw work and the adding of bands, rivets, etc)
(Completed Sidewinder. The home-made riveting on the rear fins could use a bit of work…)
Decals proved to be a challenge which took months to sort out. I eventually put out a call for help to my buddies in our local IPMS chapter. One of the guys reached out to a friend who used to fly the CF-18. It turns out the guy had flown with my brother in a couple of different squadrons. He very graciously donated his unused 1/32 scale Canadian CF-18 decals from his Academy F-18 kit (Which he did an amazing job of building!).
I decided to experiment and use a mix of pre and post shading on this kit.
The next hurdle to overcome was the anti-skid surface on the leading-edge extensions. This was new territory for me. Thankfully I saw a 1/48 scale CF-18 on-line that had served as an excellent example of how to achieve this effect. Ryan, from Nomad Models (https://nomad-models.com/2023/12/22/cf-18a-hornet-completed-build/) coached me through how he achieved this effect on his CF-18.
I had some excellent photos of the real plane I was modelling. The real plane was filthy. I chose to tone the weathering down after I weathered parts of the model to look like the real plane. Unfortunately, it made the model look like a toy. Fortunately, with a bit of mineral spirits, most of the weathering could be removed. A friend in our local IPMS chapter that used to work on the CF-18s told me that the weathering look I have achieved is what a filthy plane would look like after it had gone through a wash cycle, and then been flown a few hours.
Because this was initially a two-week build (in my mind), I had decided to go with a closed canopy. This build was a constant evolution that took on a life of its own. In hind sight, I should have left the canopy open. That's one thing I would change on this build if I was to do it again.
Eventually I shoved the good-idea-fairy into a box and declared the kit finished.
More photos to follow...
I have a vague recollection of buying this model while living in West Germany. I rediscovering this kit when we moved into our current house three years ago. The model, and most of its parts were discovered in four separate moving boxes. Not all the parts were found, so a certain amount of scratch building was eventually required. I started building the kit over 30 years ago, and then life took over. This past November I thought it wouldn't take much time to finish it as one of the CF-18s that my brother flew early in his career
The large parts of the model were previously assembled and primed. Not being able to control the impulse to "just leave the kit as it is," I thought I would give scribing new panel lines a try. Before I knew it, I had sanded off all the panel lines and then spent a few nights scribing in new panel lines. A very useful learning experience.
It was about this time that I also noticed the entire port side main landing hear assembly was missing. So, I scratch built a new one. It turned out not to be as difficult as I thought it would be.
(My scratch built version is on the left)
The landing gear issue then led to a bunch of scratch building detail into the nose gear and the starboard side main landing gear. Which then led to the scratch building upgrades of the all the landing gear wheel-wells and doors.
Eventually I found the cockpit tub and stock ejection seat. The cockpit tub had broken loose from the fuselage, so I took advantage of the opportunity and scratch built a new cockpit, the area behind the ejection seat, and, using the very basic seat that came with the kit, created a new ejection seat. I then sent some photos of the ejection seat to my brother and he informed me that the ejection seat that was in the F-18 I was building was different than the one I had constructed. The seat, for the plane that I was building, had initially came with a different retention harness that was replaced during a later ejection seat upgrade. So, I changed the retention harness to be accurate as of 1994.
(The corrected version of the seat)
(Completed cockpit area; with the correct seat belt system!)
The kit came with only a very basic missile load. So, while on a scratch building roll, I fixed up the missiles so that they didn't look like chunks of sprue with clunky fins. Lots of sanding, razor saw work and the adding of bands, rivets, etc)
(Completed Sidewinder. The home-made riveting on the rear fins could use a bit of work…)
Decals proved to be a challenge which took months to sort out. I eventually put out a call for help to my buddies in our local IPMS chapter. One of the guys reached out to a friend who used to fly the CF-18. It turns out the guy had flown with my brother in a couple of different squadrons. He very graciously donated his unused 1/32 scale Canadian CF-18 decals from his Academy F-18 kit (Which he did an amazing job of building!).
I decided to experiment and use a mix of pre and post shading on this kit.
The next hurdle to overcome was the anti-skid surface on the leading-edge extensions. This was new territory for me. Thankfully I saw a 1/48 scale CF-18 on-line that had served as an excellent example of how to achieve this effect. Ryan, from Nomad Models (https://nomad-models.com/2023/12/22/cf-18a-hornet-completed-build/) coached me through how he achieved this effect on his CF-18.
I had some excellent photos of the real plane I was modelling. The real plane was filthy. I chose to tone the weathering down after I weathered parts of the model to look like the real plane. Unfortunately, it made the model look like a toy. Fortunately, with a bit of mineral spirits, most of the weathering could be removed. A friend in our local IPMS chapter that used to work on the CF-18s told me that the weathering look I have achieved is what a filthy plane would look like after it had gone through a wash cycle, and then been flown a few hours.
Because this was initially a two-week build (in my mind), I had decided to go with a closed canopy. This build was a constant evolution that took on a life of its own. In hind sight, I should have left the canopy open. That's one thing I would change on this build if I was to do it again.
Eventually I shoved the good-idea-fairy into a box and declared the kit finished.
More photos to follow...
(Similar photo, but taken indoors. Interesting how the lighting changes the colour of the paint)
The below photos are of my brother, early in his flying career, in the real plane in 1994 (tail number 118728). I chose this plane because it had his name painted on the side of the cockpit, and he had good reference photos of the plane.
Many thanks to the people that went out of their way to help me recover an old and dated kit, and bring it back to life. A special thanks to my brother for his advice and photos, as well as the Marketing and Communications Administrator of the National Air Force Museum of Canada, who eagerly volunteered to open up the closed outdoor exhibit of their CF-18B, trudge out into the snow and hold up the tape measure while I took reference photos of parts of the CF-18 that weren't covered in snow.
A lot of experimenting went into this build. I learned some new skills that I'll be able to put into future builds. It was a long and rewarding build.
And that's a wrap!
Awesome!
So many interesting details, from the brother connection to the scratch replacements and augmentations!
Well done.
So many interesting details, from the brother connection to the scratch replacements and augmentations!
Well done.
Your scratch building is phenomenal.
Edbert
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 16, 2024
- Messages
- 3,117
Eventually, after having recreated an entire kit worth of details from scratch!
Amazing job!
Wig41
Well-Known Member
Truly remarkable! Well done.
Chris, I believe you have a valid point there!
Oops. I thought I was replying to Boatman.
