Hasegawa F/A-18D Hornet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fitting this part on both side was really tricky. Defenitely a lesson that I should check dry fitting before gluing the main frame. 

I noticed the wings had different angle, I was a bit concerned how to fix it... 

Reddit is always a good source of solutions, a guy suggested me using tape in this way and leave it for a few days... it helped equalize the angle . 

Initially I planned to use all the tanks and missiles that the kit offered (YES YES, I know the ASQ-173 pod is taped backwards, and thanks to a redditor that pointed it out). 

 

 

I got my hands on a weapons set... the drama of loadout is back. 

 

 

 

 

Applying decals is always the most fun part: the model comes to life at this stage 

I should've worked more that seam line in the nose; I'm still not good at applying putty and sanding it. Should've also worked on the canopy fitting. These little aspects will be an evidence of my modeling progress. 

I can't wait to do some weathering and later glue the loadout and landing gear. 

Tried a couple of times using Tamiya panel liner to make it pop a bit more but either ended up cleaning it completely or it didn't flow correctly (maybe it's because the gloss coat was applied with brush?). I'm still trying to find out how to weather my models with brushes and oils. But I'm happy with the result.