Hasegawa’s F/A 18A Hornet – 77 Sqn. RAAF (1/48 scale)
The Hornet is wearing a special commemorative set of markings for 77 Sqn when based near Darwin in late 1942 where the C.O, Flt Lt R.C.Cresswell recorded the squadron's first victory. The nose marking is a set of four flags; RAAF, Australian, British & U.S. which was originally painted on his P-40E Kittyhawk. The kit was kindly given to me by a good IPMS mate but took a long while to reach the top of the "To Do" pile. I've tried to do it justice, but it did have its moments. Sometimes I think that kit designers never build their own products!
Nevertheless as completion neared (today!) I found myself liking it more & more. I've chosen to build the Hornet in clean condition as many of the RAAF reference pictures I consulted showed a minimum of underwing stores (and Hasegawa don't give you any, anyway!) so I nicked a couple of Sidewinders from a Kinetic F-16. So; she's finished. I hope you like it.
gorgeous
Thanks Bob. Much appreciated,
Very nicely finished and photographed, Tony...a nice clean build.
Thank you Craig.
Well done Tony. She looks amazing!
Thanks Morne. I must confess to considering either Swiss or Finnish markings, just to be a little different, but since ANZAC Day is coming up the RAAF won out.
Lovely build Tony.
Done a fine job sir.
Much appreciated Simon; thank you.
What was the cockpit like, and are the cans original? Clean looking jet.
Hi Rob, Apart from the seat belts (masking tape) & decals, she's out of the box. The cans are too: painted with Gunze burnt iron & stainless steel. For about 30 years I've used a metallic paste product called 'MINI-METALLICS RUB-ONS which I apply with a small flat brush. These colours come in a set of seven shades, including pewter, gold gunmetal & brass. They're easy to apply & combine to produce different effects. I'm still using my original set!. I find this is a good deal more controllable than Alclad for small areas. Sorry there are no shots of the cockpit: I can't seem to do it justice with my pictures, but it's all there!
Nice job Tony, The colours look just right and it definately looks the business.
Thanks David.
Went to a lot of trouble to get the colours to my satisfaction. Used Model Master Acrylics through the airbrush, but touch ups with a brush were easy to do & left no brush marks at all.
Nice looking Hornet! And I'll try some of those rub-on metallics - I build in 1/72 (and don't use an airbrush) so always looking to find a way to get realistic looking metal, especially on smaller areas.
Tony,
Beautifully done. You have captured the good looks of the Hornet and I really like the RAAF scheme. I have have this kit sitting around that I had started about five years ago. I think you have given me the inspiration to finish it.
Thanks Frank. Yes indeed, have a go. Fit is good & the only pestiferous aspect of the build was that the undercarriage doors have no visible means of attachment apart from a butt joint. I made tabs & that worked fine.
Greetings :
Nice clean build.
Many thanks.
Beautiful F-18! Thanks!
Nice Hornet Tony, very cool weathering.