Piero Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Hello, I have just finished my MiG-23BN and I don't want to lose my desire to do modeling. So, here my new project, an USN F/A-18C. Academy kit and some aftermarkets items will help me in the works. Instead, DACO's book "Uncovering the Hornet" will feed my nightmares... But, first of all I have to solve the problem of which decal sheet I'll use... Two Bobs or CAM?... Because i'm going to do the low-viz example, the most obvious thing that catch my eyes is the difference of the shade of gray of the decals... Than the shape and details of the "fighting redcocks"... Last, the size of the "stars and bars" and some stencils too... After a good cup of coffee... I've decided that I'll use the Two Bobs's decal sheet. CIAO! Piero Kagemusha, Marcel111, Landrotten Highlander and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokey Pete Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Lovely choice of subject. It’s always a pleasure to follow your work Piero. Piero 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crobinsonh Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Very nice model - looking forward to see you working your magic. Piero 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 Hello, taking the Black Box cockpit set as a reference I decided to modify the plastic cockpit parts adding details using pieces of plasticards. Most of the details, right or wrong, will disappear behind the ejection seat. For the SJU-5/6A ejection seat I'm going to use the resin one from Aires. For the "hell hole" I'll use the resin parts from Black Box set. The front undercarriage bay came from the kit... for me the details are quite good enough. Now it's time for some paint. CIAO! Piero Landrotten Highlander, johncrow, Greg W and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 Hello, some action with the airbrush ha started as well... a good layer of flat black paint act as primer. Light gray follows... very thinned. some Light Gray on the front UC bay's parts too... just a little bit... ... followed by a layer of Flat White. A Clear Gloss cote will protect everything before a dark wash. CIAO! Piero dodgem37, Anthony in NZ, LSP_Kevin and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Jackson Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 I thought that the banks were cutting back on mortgage lending; the photo showing the kit and aftermarket bits is impressive in its own right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 Nice layering. Sincerely, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 Hello, a little update here. The cockpit's side walls are done. Interesting, the right one is almost black... For the IP I've used the colored PE parts from Eduard set. Side consoles with switchs and knobs are kit's part brush painted. Here the "hell hole" parts painted too. Finally, the front wheel-bay parts ready to be glued. CIAO! Piero Anthony in NZ, F`s are my favs, scvrobeson and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted July 21, 2020 Author Share Posted July 21, 2020 Hello, hot summer is growing and the modelling is slowing down... Here a little update, the cockpit and "hell hole" are glued inside the front fuselage section... not a difficult task. A "net" covers the "hell hole"... very little will be visible at the end. The external sides ha been putted and sanded to cover the sinking marks. To obtain a good alignment of all the parts that makes the front fuselage section, it is very important to fit this ring inside the front section. CIAO! Piero Landrotten Highlander, Dutch Man, Marcel111 and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted September 21, 2020 Author Share Posted September 21, 2020 Wow!!! It's been 2 months since my last update... sorry for that. The summer in Italy was really hot and it's almost impossible to do good modelling... anyway I was consoled with bbq & beer Le'ts going to see some update here. Starting from the right side of the nose section I lowered the rear RWR's antenna (red arrow). Then I removed a couple of panels and a panel line (green arrows). A PE "slime-light" was added too. On the left side of the nose I build a new plate for the from RWR's antenna. As for the tight side, I removed the panel line along the upper side. ... Starfighter, Anthony in NZ, LSP_Kevin and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted September 21, 2020 Author Share Posted September 21, 2020 As you can see on the pics above, some surgery with thin stripes of stirene was required to fit the radome. Moving to the back of the jet, some panel lines needs to be moved or reshaped compared to the pics and scale drawings on the DACO's book. Some strength panels are added. Here the final result of adding details to the rear section. Starfighter, Greg W, Landrotten Highlander and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted September 21, 2020 Author Share Posted September 21, 2020 Because I want to build my F/A-18C with the wing folded, the plastic parts of the kit are just awful and the way the wing's sections fitting leaves a huge gap that is absolutely unrealistic.. so, I decide to trash the kit parts and scratch build the new ones. Here the result. CIAO! Piero Landrotten Highlander, F`s are my favs, Greg W and 12 others 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 Very nice work Piero !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcel111 Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 Nice work overall and excellent result on the wing fold! Marcel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted October 12, 2020 Author Share Posted October 12, 2020 Hello, a new update on this model. The IP cover was panted and weathered. I replaced the HUD's glasses with thin clear plasticard sheet. Then I removed the molding line from the front canopy section. After a good polishing session the part was glued into the fuselage. A thin stripe was applied in front of the windshield to simulate the defog vent. Here some details added to the speed-bake vane. Now my Legacy Hornet is ready for the painting stage... CIAO! Piero Cicciuzzo, Stevepd, chrish and 16 others 18 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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