Like the F-14, I chose to weather the FA-18F, using panel shading, brown and black panel line washes and post painting weathering techniques.
I made inquiries on my loadout, but I couldn't find anything that disagreed with this potential Fleet Defense scenario. Weapons include the: AIM-9X, GBU-12, Mk-82 dual, AGM-84, AGM-65, ASQ-228, 480Gal Tank. Maybe I'm off, but I think it makes the display more interesting.
I think in retrospect, even though I had always intended to have the wing fold present, I should have closed the "notch" on the wing flap. A bit of a distraction.
An interesting effect of my spray can sealant. I got more of a semi-gloss effect that I expected than the flat coat I'd intended. I pondered, respraying with a different flat coat, but ultimately held off.
The fit of the canopy is really very tight and impressive. I left it loose, and dipped it in Future to keep the clear effect.
I removed the "notch" present on the wing fold flap.
I tried to get the details of the engine petals through paint. I need a better scriber, but I think at this scale this works well enough.
I'm pleased with the weathering effect I managed on the radar dome. Those antennas sure do cook that material. Wish I knew how to simulate the handprints I see on photos too. Maybe next time.
So I did experiment in fashioning a wing fold mechanism, but wasn't satisfied with the result. Scratch buiding at this scale is a sure challenge.
I took photos before adding the weapons to show some of the detailing that might otherwise have been hidden.
I could have done better scribing the panel lines under the LEX after puttying the gaps.
I was pleased with the brown wash which showed the weathering that appears on the real aircraft on the engine area aft of the main gear.
My painting of the interior of the intakes unfortunately got washed out.
Kommentare
14 25 October 2022, 00:12
Villiers de Vos A very nice pair. hats off to you, especially in 1:144.
Scot R Thanks guys. I'm really enjoying this project. F-4J is next up.
27 October 2022, 10:51
Album info
The second addition to this project was the Dragon F/A-18F 'Memorial Flight' kit. Having built the Revell EF-18G kit previously, I was worried that the surface detail differences would be disappointing. However, as I researched photos of this particular aircraft I think that Dragon did a fairly good job. A couple areas I was disappointed with though include the decals which struggled a bit to lay down smoothly. I ended up cropping the tail graphics and relied on painting and masking for the overall effect. I tried to represent the versatility of this airframe by including a load out from the spares boxes that suggested a surface warfare alert craft. This included building out Shelf Oddity's AGM-65 Maverick which was a challenging photo etch set. Hope you like the photos.
