Myke said:
FRUIT!! Where ya been dude? Thanks for tagging along, this will be quite a large project!
@Carsenault: So I'm sure you'll have plenty of good tips then? Is your build here on SMA? Got a link? Did you use any resin or AM parts? Which did you use if you did? Ever see any Marine decals for this kit? What is your favorite color? Why is the sky blue?
Thanks for following.
Hello again, glad to see your progressincg nicely. It is an impressive kit when built. I have a gallery article with my CF-18 over at ARC
http://www.arcair.com/Gal10/9901-10000/gal9985-CF-18-Arsenault/00.shtm
No in progress pics in the article, but here is a link to my i/p tread at Zone-5
http://zone-five.net/showthread.php?t=5102
A few points I remember about the build to watch out for... The joint between the upper rear fuselage and the fwd fuselage was a bit tricky to get lined up right, I used a fair bit of putty to fill the gap there. Watch the fit of the panel that goes on the spine behind the canopy. Dont use the lowest angle (45 deg) flap hinges, Academy got the angle wrong, use the 30 deg if your planning to have it sitting on its wheels, or use the kit hinges to make new hinge parts at the correct angle (approx 34 deg). If you can, get a set of aftermarket landing gear sets from either G-Factor or Scale Air Dynamics, the kit legs are too weak to hold the weight of the completed build and will begin to sag within weeks. Lastly, my kit decals were not very good, I used aftermarket decals for the airframe but used the kit decals for the weapons, and they would not adhere properly, almost like there was no adhesive on them.
Besides the decals and landing gear, I used the Black Box (now Avionix) F/A-18A cockpit and tail set, Cutting Edge SJU-9/10 seat (used on export Hornets only), Eduard exterior photo etch detail set and some Orion Models scab plates for the tail. I also modified the kit exhaust to make it more realistic by thinning the petals and adding some detail between them. also scratch built a few other bits that would be used on a modern CF-18.
Check out the decals by
http://orionscalemodels.com for some Marine Air and or
http://fightertowndecals.com for some great Naval Air markings.
as for that sky blue... Something to do with light refraction thru the atmosphear.
Hope this helps you some, if you need any clarification, fell free to send me a pm.