Mel Posted March 23 Author Share Posted March 23 3 hours ago, chuck540z3 said: Hi Mel, you are doing a really nice job on one of my favorite jets. As for the anti-skid surfaces, I would sand them down a bit so that the rough bits are knocked down a bit for scale. This will also make the surface look worn, which is what you want. I would then dirty them up with pastels, like Tamiya "OIl Stain", which I use on almost everything I want to make dirty. Here's some reference pics I took of the anti-skid surfaces on an F-18A, albeit a Canadian CF-18 version, which should be similar to the American F-18C. Note that small details like screws and fasteners still show through the rough surface. Also note that the surface isn't as dirty towards the rear, where foot traffic is much less than the cockpit sides. Cheers, Chuck Hi Chuck!!! Thank you very much for your kind words, the problem with the sanding is that I have already glossy varnished the entire plane, basically to protect the entire plane and tomorrow I will start putting the decals, then I will continue with the flaps (I don't know whether to do them in full or with less degrees of inclination) then the landing gear and then the small details What I have noticed is the HUd, it is slightly inclined to the left, I think I will have to force the front canopy to open.... F`s are my favs, chaos07, Landrotten Highlander and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 Be careful of the rear flaps angle with this kit. The flaps rest downward, but not beyond the bottom of the fuselage. The lowest flap hinges have them rest much lower which is wrong. The solution is to alter the hinges before attaching them to the flaps. Here's a few examples: Cheers, Chuck F`s are my favs, Mel and chaos07 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALF18 Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 I agree with Chuck (as I usually always do - he has amazing skills)! Sand the edges down, and maybe reduce the pebbling a bit. The example he's shown is actually very dark for a Canadian bird, and the American C you are making definitely has a very dark anti-slip surface. In other words, I think the colour is spot on, but the thickness and texture is a tiny bit overdone in scale. ALF Mel and chuck540z3 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALF18 Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 Oh, and for the flaps... Hornet trailing edge flaps and ailerons will bleed down after hydraulic power comes off (i.e. when engines shut off), if they were not already down when shut down. Those are good reference pictures. The leading edge flaps will stay where they were when shut down. Generally, to prevent problems when starting and resetting the flaps, pilots will select flaps down (either half or full) just before shutting down the engines, and the leading edge flaps will go to 12 degrees down. The trailing edge and ailerons will droop 42 and 45 degrees respectively when set to full. So - if flaps set to UP/AUTO prior to shutdown: -leading edge will stay up, flush with wing -trailing edge and ailerons will droop over the course of an hour or so to the fully-down position. If flaps set to HALF or FULL prior to shutdown: -leading edge will be 12 degrees down -trailing edge and aileron will end up fully down within about 30 minutes of shutdown. In other words, it's rare to see a parked Hornet with the flaps up. Leading edge maybe, but trailing edge and ailerons will droop quite soon after shutdown. Sometimes, when loading missiles onto the fuselage stations, techs will push the flaps up with their backs to have better access, but they will slowly droop again afterward. ALF Mel, geedubelyer, chuck540z3 and 1 other 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 (edited) 1 hour ago, ALF18 said: Oh, and for the flaps... Hornet trailing edge flaps and ailerons will bleed down after hydraulic power comes off (i.e. when engines shut off), if they were not already down when shut down. Those are good reference pictures. The leading edge flaps will stay where they were when shut down. Generally, to prevent problems when starting and resetting the flaps, pilots will select flaps down (either half or full) just before shutting down the engines, and the leading edge flaps will go to 12 degrees down. The trailing edge and ailerons will droop 42 and 45 degrees respectively when set to full. So - if flaps set to UP/AUTO prior to shutdown: -leading edge will stay up, flush with wing -trailing edge and ailerons will droop over the course of an hour or so to the fully-down position. If flaps set to HALF or FULL prior to shutdown: -leading edge will be 12 degrees down -trailing edge and aileron will end up fully down within about 30 minutes of shutdown. In other words, it's rare to see a parked Hornet with the flaps up. Leading edge maybe, but trailing edge and ailerons will droop quite soon after shutdown. Sometimes, when loading missiles onto the fuselage stations, techs will push the flaps up with their backs to have better access, but they will slowly droop again afterward. ALF Much like "Pig" with his F-16 advice to me that I very much appreciate, there's nothing better than having a real F-18 (CF-18) pilot who knows what he's talking about if you are building a Hornet. Go with ALF18's recommendations and you will be fine. Cheers, Chuck Edited March 24 by chuck540z3 Mel and geedubelyer 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted March 24 Author Share Posted March 24 13 hours ago, chuck540z3 said: Be careful of the rear flaps angle with this kit. The flaps rest downward, but not beyond the bottom of the fuselage. The lowest flap hinges have them rest much lower which is wrong. The solution is to alter the hinges before attaching them to the flaps. Here's a few examples: Cheers, Chuck 13 hours ago, ALF18 said: I agree with Chuck (as I usually always do - he has amazing skills)! Sand the edges down, and maybe reduce the pebbling a bit. The example he's shown is actually very dark for a Canadian bird, and the American C you are making definitely has a very dark anti-slip surface. In other words, I think the colour is spot on, but the thickness and texture is a tiny bit overdone in scale. ALF 13 hours ago, ALF18 said: Oh, and for the flaps... Hornet trailing edge flaps and ailerons will bleed down after hydraulic power comes off (i.e. when engines shut off), if they were not already down when shut down. Those are good reference pictures. The leading edge flaps will stay where they were when shut down. Generally, to prevent problems when starting and resetting the flaps, pilots will select flaps down (either half or full) just before shutting down the engines, and the leading edge flaps will go to 12 degrees down. The trailing edge and ailerons will droop 42 and 45 degrees respectively when set to full. So - if flaps set to UP/AUTO prior to shutdown: -leading edge will stay up, flush with wing -trailing edge and ailerons will droop over the course of an hour or so to the fully-down position. If flaps set to HALF or FULL prior to shutdown: -leading edge will be 12 degrees down -trailing edge and aileron will end up fully down within about 30 minutes of shutdown. In other words, it's rare to see a parked Hornet with the flaps up. Leading edge maybe, but trailing edge and ailerons will droop quite soon after shutdown. Sometimes, when loading missiles onto the fuselage stations, techs will push the flaps up with their backs to have better access, but they will slowly droop again afterward. ALF 11 hours ago, chuck540z3 said: Much like "Pig" with his F-16 advice to me that I very much appreciate, there's nothing better than having a real F-18 (CF-18) pilot who knows what he's talking about if you are building a Hornet. Go with ALF18's recommendations and you will be fine. Cheers, Chuck Hello guys, yesterday when I realized about the non-slip from your comments, today I put it back and I'm going to sand it well to make it smooth to scale, regarding the flaps in this kit they are a little irregular (it's a kit thing), for example on my f18 superhornet from meng 1:48 I left them at full flaps because the cockpit was in cool and dark (I had to leave it because I accidentally broke the flaps due to a bad blow and I'm still waiting for the parts to arrive spare), but in this hornet the electronics are turned on. @chuck540z3Yes, I had a very fruitful and interesting conversation with @ALF18 :-) Guys, thank you very much for your advice, I leave you again today's photo of the anti-slip (I put it again) and some photos of my F18 superhornet that has been temporarily abandoned. Today: my abandoned F 18 super hornet Landrotten Highlander, themongoose, LSP_Kevin and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted March 24 Author Share Posted March 24 Well guys, as I said before, I have retouched the anti-slip pads, although it may not seem like it, now they are smooth and not grainy, and also with the oils it will improve, I also put some photos of the cabin and the preview of the ejector seats so you can see How will they look (I have to finish the ejector seats) Cycling Guy, LSP_Kevin, Landrotten Highlander and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALF18 Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 The anti-skid strips and cockpit are looking amazing. I take your point about screens being on, but the flaps are powered by hydraulics, not electrical power. To have hydraulic pressure, at least one engine must be running, or the APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) has to be running in maintenance mode. The APU in maintenance mode can provide either AC electric OR hydraulic power, but not both at one (selector chooses which one it can provide). If you want to leave the flaps up, you can claim the engines were just shut down... ALF Mel and geedubelyer 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted March 25 Author Share Posted March 25 23 hours ago, ALF18 said: The anti-skid strips and cockpit are looking amazing. I take your point about screens being on, but the flaps are powered by hydraulics, not electrical power. To have hydraulic pressure, at least one engine must be running, or the APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) has to be running in maintenance mode. The APU in maintenance mode can provide either AC electric OR hydraulic power, but not both at one (selector chooses which one it can provide). If you want to leave the flaps up, you can claim the engines were just shut down... ALF Thank you!!, as for the flaps, when the time comes I will see what position I put them in, I think I will put them at 30º I don't know, I will see what I do when the time comes, today I have made small progress with the arresting hook and the the wing and central pylons. themongoose, chaos07, TankBuster and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALF18 Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 What colour are those metal rings at the far back end of the fuselage? They should be a dull silver, very similar to the screens just ahead of them. The exhaust nozzles are a lot darker (gunmetal), but those rings are more silver. ALF themongoose, geedubelyer, LSP_Kevin and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted March 25 Author Share Posted March 25 24 minutes ago, ALF18 said: What colour are those metal rings at the far back end of the fuselage? They should be a dull silver, very similar to the screens just ahead of them. The exhaust nozzles are a lot darker (gunmetal), but those rings are more silver. ALF hi Alf!! I painted the rear rings of the exhaust in Alclad steel, and the mouthpieces are Mix Alclad dark aluminum, copper and gold, then I didn't like the result because that mixture is more suitable for the f16 or F14 and I made the mix with dark aluminum and jet exhaust and a little cooper and then dust with mr hobby black soot Landrotten Highlander, LSP_Kevin, themongoose and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokey Pete Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 Spectacular! Mel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 10 hours ago, Stokey Pete said: Spectacular! Thank you very much, today I made the wing pylons and the central pylon, tomorrow I will start the flaps, I think I will set the flaps to 30º or full flaps, I don't know yet geedubelyer, Landrotten Highlander, themongoose and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted March 28 Author Share Posted March 28 Today I finished assembling the landing gear, and I primed it with the Tamiya metal primer, the Tamiya metal primer is obviously for metals but it also works for plastic, it does not affect the plastic and is ideal for pieces that combine plastic and metal as in this one case the landing gear or similar, but always use plastic primer when there are obviously no metal parts TankBuster, Landrotten Highlander, Isar 30/07 and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted March 28 Author Share Posted March 28 Tomorrow I will touch up the front landing gear, I have screwed it up a little because of me, sometimes my level of stupidity reaches unimaginable levels LSP_Kevin, SwissFighters, Isar 30/07 and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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