Academy 1/72 F/A-18A Hornet

[MilitaryAircraft101]

Hello people, more progress made on the Hornet, flaps cut off for positioning and filling of main seams started, pics soon.
Here's the aircraft i'll be modelling


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[Myke]

Awesome. Love that plane.

 

[nimrod77]

Ah yes, good old classic hornet! And in RAAF Colours too!Bring it on! Pics please!!

 

[MilitaryAircraft101]

Yeah, more work done on the flaps tonight. Weapon rails added on one wing, need to fill and add the little hinges though. BTW, the flaps were not poseable with the kit, so it is a little bit of scratchbuilding, modifying.... Pics when the flaps are finished.
P.S. The tails have been added, now the elevators...

 

[TRM]

What, no pics??? ??? Just kidding...Sweet choice! Looking forward to the pics when you get the up! ;D

 

[MilitaryAircraft101]

Yeah, just been busy... The camera is out of use till tomoz. But the ordnance has been assembled.
3 x 330 Gal. Drop Tanks
2 x GBU-12 LGBs
2 x AiM-7 Sparrow A2A Missiles
2 x AiM-9 Sidewinder A2A Missiles

The right wing is having its flaps posed ATM, which requires some filling, as the gaps are quite large, then the weapons rails will be added, and a few other goodies. Any ideas on sanding a seam on a canopy?

 

[Grendels]

Not sure about sanding that seam. The only thing I can think of is what I did on the 747. Take out the seam with sand paper and then start using higher and higher grits of sand paper to polish it off. Once done, dip it in something like Future. That made the canopy on the 747 perfectly clear after I fogged it with sand paper.

 

[MilitaryAircraft101]

Cool grendels, it's sitting in a tub of future right now!

 

[schweinhund227]

Pictures please! Can't help you if we can't see what's up with the canopy?


Take care till then....

 

[Carsenault]

Edit: Just reread your intro post and realized your building an Aussie F/A-18A, disregard the info I posted then. I will leave it up though for anyone wanting to build the Academy 1/72 F/A-18C.

Just a tip if your doing a modern Hornet, assymetrical loadouts have been pretty plentiful since the start of OEF and OIF, if your doing a Desert Storm or Kosovo era loadout, the symmetrical loadout is fine.
A modern loadout you could do using what's in the box would be... AIM-9s on the wingtips, 1 AIM-7 on the right fuselage station or leave that station empty (I would leave it empty since the AIM-7 is pretty much no longer in use), the FLIR pod on the left fuselage station. Only 2 external fuel tanks, one on the centreline pylon the other on the inner right wing pylon, 3 GBU-12s, one under each left wing pylon and one under the outer right wing pylon. Even the AIM-9s on the wingtips could be ommited as it was realized fairly early in OEF and OIF that there were not gonna be any opposition in the air.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Just to expand on what Charlie is saying about the asymmetrical loadouts, just have a look on Combat Camera of some of the loadouts the CF-18s are carrying over Libya, nothing symmetrical about them at all in most cases.

Pair of AMRAMMS on one side, but nothing on the other...

Pair of GBUs on the left wing, the right wing has a tank and the pair of AMRAMMS.

Those were early in the Libyan campaign...now you see loadouts more like this:

 

[MilitaryAircraft101]

Thanks for that, Now im gonna have to pick up some AMRAAMs and ASRAAMs, because these are 2 possible RAAF hornet loadouts I would like to use (whatever looks better)


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[TRM]

I'm likin' #2....that's tight!!!!(just the 2 cents : ) Keep it coming! ;D

 

[Grendels]

I am with TRM, I like number 2

 

[Quaralane]

I agree, that numer 2 load looks like the ultimate in air-to-air loadout

 

[MilitaryAircraft101]

OK, option 2 it is. Now I need to stock the stash with 6x AMRAAMs and 6x ASRAAMs and 4x Dual missile launchers all 1/72 scale, of course. I can find the Hasegawa A2A weapons pack which has 4x AMRAAMs. And there is some resin 72nd scale ASRAAMs, but if anyone has any of these weapons available, I have GBU-12s, Aim-9s, Aim-7s coming out my ears, so a trade may be open... Thanks guys. Appreciated.
Edit; I will need to buy 2x Hasegawa US A2A weapons pack IIIs and 6x resin ASRAAMs from Ozmods

 

[MilitaryAircraft101]

PICTURES FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!
YAY!! The wings need a little more work (filling, some more on the hinges, sanding) but I say they're looking nice!! Anyways, the pilot is painted by a reference photo of F/O Beau Pitcher's mug. On to the photos...

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[TRM]

Nice to see the pics are up! Looking good, keep it coming! ;D

 

[Grendels]

Pilot looks good!!!

 

[Haggistom]

Nice progress