WIP US Navy | Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet Golden Warriors

Jos Jansen
Oh wow, just delivered by the postman...incredible crispy kit from Meng. I dropped everything...this gonna be my next build straight OOB, stay tuned mates!

Maciej Bellos
First to join the party!

Daniel
Staying very tuned 🤘🏻

Mark D
Nice kit what I've read, I was in doubt waiting for this one to do the super Hornet Blue Angels or doing the Legacy. Good luck with this one, It's not always easy to withstand the 'all you can buy aftermarket stuff'...😉

James C
IN 😉 👍👀

Jos Jansen
Welcome Maciej, Daniel and James!

@Mark, this kit is certainly one of the best engineered kit ever made...probably the MENG engineers did an internship at the Tamiya factory 😄 😉 The only AM stuff I will order is an Eduard PE set for the seat belts on the ejection seat.

Jos Jansen
Great progress on the Bug...next weekend continuing on this nice kit 👍!

Daniel
On 🔥!
Awesome, so no trouble with the intakes on this kit?

Andrew Horton
Great start! I look forward to seeing this build completed.

Jos Jansen
Thanks Daniel...and no absolutely no troubles with the intakes, this is really a shake & bake kit!

Thanks Flight Line Media...me too 😉

Konrad -
Jos permission to join in the party🙂!
Looking awesome 👍!

Erik Leijdens
A flying start Jos! 👍

Jos Jansen
Welcome aboard Konrad...and thanks Erik, hopefully finished before de ESM... 😉

Jos Jansen
Not completely OOB...couldn't resist to order some PE van Eduard...pit almost ready!

Jos Jansen
Glad to have you here Roland, welcome mate...and yes the canopy will be open. Today did some work on the pit and canopy...

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Nicely detailed cockpit and some real fine work bending the HUD PE 👍

Spanjaard
looking really interesting 🙂

Nathan Dempsey
Following 👀

James C
Nice progress Jos. The instrument panel and side consoles look awesome 👍

Daniel
Agreed, coming along very nicely. Looking at pic 12 this kit looks like its really nailing the shape of the real thing👌🏻

Sergej I
Sweet. Joining in. Kind regards to your neighbours 😉 (photo 12)

Jos Jansen
Thanks mates....!

The office is ready including a double HUD, made of Hasegawa Polarize Finish...

Jos Jansen
I had some problems with the front screen, because of the PE in the cockpit there were small seams between the screen and the fuselage. Problem solved with some Vallejo plastic putty. All flaps and slats are ready for the primer, placed before the photo but I glue them later when the final colors are applied.

Daniel
Looking all very nice especially the office. 👍
And I see the hornet kit with no gaps under the lex has yet to be invented.

...psst, tamiya

David H
Following this one, looking good

dustinzhang
awesome work! are you building a launch mode? I am building a resting mode with everyting opened/folded. Do you know if the main color scheme is Dark Gull Grey for top and Light Gull Grey for bottom? I couldn't find the paint no. from the painting instructions. Btw, I didn't have the seam problem you showed in fig. 19 🙂

Donald Dickson II
Alrighty then. I have it in the stash. Watching with interest.

Alexander
@dustinzhang As far as I know, its Dark Ghost Grey on top and Light Ghost Grey on bottom.
Definitely taking a seat, looks like it'll be another stunner as your previous kits Jos.

Spanjaard
excellent result Jos.

Jos Jansen
Thx guys...some delay in this build but Iam back at the bench.

@dustinzhang: Iam gonna use Gunze C307 at the bottom and Gunze C308 on top.

This weekend some paintwork on the weapon load, I love those GBU 12 smart bombs. Had some trouble to find the right colors, used Ammo Mig 206 for the bomb itself and Gunze H303 for the back and the front.

Jos Jansen
On Christmas Eve some paintwork on the Sidewinders and Sparrows 👍.

Merry X-mas everybody...!

James C
Nice work mate, and Happy Xmas to you too👍

Nathan Dempsey
Looking good. Merry Christmas!

tyu
Sparrows, really?

Jos Jansen
Thanks James, Nathan and Roland...!

@tyu...what's wrong with AIM-7M/P Sparrows...?

tyu
AIM-7P? You clearly have no idea what you are talking about.

Jos Jansen
@tyu...read this my friend and do some research...:

designation-systems.net/dusrm/m-7.html

tyu
Like I said...

tyu
Sparrows were NEVER carried by F/A-18E/F's and not salty, just your interpretation.

Daniel
what an expert...

[img1]

and I wonder which sparrows youre all talking about? Didnt spot a single one in this build

edit: ok, gotcha now, jos misnamed the missiles in a post... major crime 🙈

Maciej Bellos
Roland and Jos, the missiles are AIM-120C AMRAAM and not Sparrows.

But tyu here, while correct that they aren't Sparrows, used, let's say, half sentences. He could have kindly remarked that these were AMRAAMS.

Daniel
pst roland, those are all amraams 😉

Jos Jansen
Hey tyu, if I may have made a mistake you can also point this out to me in a normal way... you can also be the smart one and pretend I made the biggest mistake. AIM-7M/P does exist, but sorry dude...they're not Sparrows but AMRAAMS...my bad.

Jos Jansen
@Maciej...thanks my friend, that's good information!

Jos Jansen
IMHO a Sparrow... 😄 😉

tyu
AGM-88 if you want to be correct.

tyu
It is TYU Jos but nevermind, I can't help that the correct AIM-120 version is mentioned in the manual and that you are calling it an Sparrow. I guess you are dyslectic or need to be indulging in some project research.

Urban Gardini
tyu, you seem to have some axes to grind but please be civil about it.

Jos Jansen
He Hans, doe niet zo zuur kerel...je kunt me ook op een normale manier zeggen over de juiste benamingen...maar als je me gaat beledigen dan ga ik je aangeven bij de moderators van SCM!

Sergej I
tyu: comments and corrections are generally well accepted in this community. But try not to do it disrespectfully as it mostly tells a lot about a person giving such feedback.
Make friends instead. Let us know how much you know in a propper manner.

I consider Jos one of the best modelers of this forum, plenty of albums to show. I would also be happy to see some of your albums, you seem to be a master modeler too 🙂 👍

Jos Jansen
Thanks Sergej I...I appreciate that!

Kees Kleijwegt
Nice progress on the Super Hornet Jos! 👍🏻

Erik Leijdens
Great reaction Sergei, well said! And off course fantastic progress once again Jos 👊🏻

Spanjaard
Fully agree with Sergej.... Beautiful build, Jos.

tyu
For some reason I can't seem to do any good, I will leave you to make the mistakes you are making, my expertise clearly does not matter, you seem to know better. HAND, TYU

Alexander
Great progress Jos and I hope you had a fantastic christmas!

Maciej Bellos
You still don't seem to get it TYU. It's not about Jos' dyslexia (if any), eyesight (I think it is good) or willingness to read (he knows his stuff). It's about you and the way you answer. For example:

"Sparrows, really?"

implies irony and is borderline rude.

On the other hand, something like:

"These aren't Sparrows, they are AMRAAMs."

would be neutral and mission accomplished.

You remind me of a movie where the lead is a fireman chief with a Cyrano de Bergerac style nose and at a bar he gets insulted by a guy with a rather crude and basic insult about his nose. His reply to the guy was the he could think 20 insults.

As Doogs would say, TYU you clearly know your shit, but you have a shitty way to convey it.

Daniel's photo is very interesting. Must be early VF-31 days with Super Hornets so the Sparrow must be leftover from the Super Tomcat days.

Cheers to all!

Jos Jansen
Well said Maciej, I'm not going to put any more energy into this guy. He is apparently so confident in himself and a shame on this forum with his blunt statements.

But let's talk modeling again...my super Hornet will hopefully go in the black Gunze primer in the next few days. The MENG kit is highly recommended...nice details and everything fits (almost) perfectly...but that's because of me, sometimes I want to go too fast... 😄 !!

Jos Jansen
@Kees, Erik, Spanjaard en Alexander...I appreciate your enthusiastic positive reactions, let's modeling again... thx mates!

Andrew Taylor
Good work on this! Ignore people like tyu but looking through your photos, I see no sign of Sparrows but yes the Super Hornets did occasionally carry them left over over from the Tomcat era. Most were surplus and were either fired on drone targets or flares to dispose of them. I recently picked up the twin seater version of the Meng kit. It's a stunner. Good luck with the rest of the build.

Erik Leijdens
TYU(Hans) was once a member of a small WhatsApp modelling group chat were Jos and I also are active in. He left it stamping his feet because "we were all impressionist's" and not "realist's" as he is. So, now every once in a while he pops up and gives smart ass reactions on models from Jos and me. No problem he want's to point out mistakes but it is alway on a negative, angry way. Sad. Funny thing is nobody ever has seen a finished from him.

Jos Jansen
@Andrew...thx mate, and you're right just ignore the dude!

@Erik...well said mate, he's just a frustrated grumpy guy.

Finally finished after an afternoon of decaling 😄 !

James C
There's always someone Jos... and only puts their mentality on display for everyone to see. My Mum used to say that if you don't have anything pleasant or nice to say, you should keep your trap shut! 😉

Anyway, weapons looking fantastic mate 👍

Jos Jansen
Thanks James...I like your mother, that's a true saying.

Mark D
Nice progress, that weaponset out of the box looks also great, glad to hear/see that this Meng kit is a nice one to build, I have the EA-18G on my list, must be same stuff.

Jos Jansen
Thanks Mark, the weapons straight out of the box are certainly nice and well detailed, only I don't find the decals very sharp...and there are fewer decals for all the pylons. You can place four of the same pylons under the super hornet but there are only decals for two. That's a bit of a disappointment for this MENG kit...it comes close to the quality of Tamiya, but the MENG engineers are not quite there yet...

Jos Jansen
All the weaponry, external tanks, targeting pod, pylons and exhaust nozzles ready with paint and decals... another layer of Gloss on it and let it dry overnight...!

Jos Jansen
Fuselage ready for the Gunze Black Primer...

Jos Jansen
Back Hornet...😄 👍!

Maciej Bellos
Cool!

Urban Gardini
Black is black, black blue, I want my baby back...

Celliers
Looking good!

Tommy Agne
Hit it Jos. Let the "fun part" begin...😁👍!

Sergej I
Sharp! 👍
Will you dry/wet sand it after the priming? If so, which grit?

Jos Jansen
Thanks, Maciej...!

Hehe...sorry Urban, next week the fifty shades of grey I am afraid 😄!

Thanks, Celiers..!

Already started with the fun end of September with this project Tommy...LOL 😉...!

Thanks Sergei...I always use a fine scouring pad to smooth everything dry with a 3000 grit.

Urban Gardini
Ah, it just reminded me of the Los Bravos hit Black is black from the seventies.

Daniel
Smooooooth 😎
You're doing the low-viz golden warrior? Cool subject 👍
Looking forward to the paint work

Jos Jansen
Some smooth sanding today...

Haha...cool Urban 😉!

Sure it's smooooooth Daniel, like a baby bum... I've plans to make a low-viz version from this kit with the decals straight out of the box.

I want to wish every modeller here on Scalemates a happy and healthy new year...stay safe!

Clifford Keesler
Looking good.

Jos Jansen
Ready with the basic layer Gunze C308 on the bottom of the plane using my favorite Black Basing technique...but tomorrow also some post shading with a slighter light grey...

Eelco Gregoire
Looks great Jos.

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Very nice shades of grey. 👍

Alexander
Agreed, looks quite good already! I think your color is very close as far as it looks now. 👍

Jos Jansen
Thanks, Eelco, WhiteGlint, and Alexander...appreciate your enthusiastic comments. Finished this evening the basic top layer with Gunze Mr.Color C307. Tomorrow with daylight probably some post-shading...!

Clifford Keesler
Very nice paint work Jos, I love the shading.

Nathan Dempsey
Looking great Jos.

Michael Kohl
nice progress. Like this one.

Jos Jansen
Thanks, Roland, Clifford, Nathan, and Michael...it looks like fifty shades of grey Roland... 😄.

@Clifford: The trick is not to exaggeratedly highlight all panel lines, you don't see such 'black' lines with the actual jets either. I like to keep it subtle, also with the weathering.

Clifford Keesler
I agree.

Juskifo
very good choice for the eduard 491194 set
Nice progress👌 I am with interest like the mates

Ludwig Micallef
Coming along beautifully Jos 👍

Jos Jansen
Thanks mates! It's decal time...!

Sven Schönyan
It seems I have missed something. Great work as usual!

Richard Cheals
Really awesome build, Jos! 👏 Your paint sequence has given me some direction for the 1/48 kits in my stash................which I might get to in 5 years if I make reasonable progress with my 1/72 collection🤞. Love those navy birds, especially when the paint is a few days away from the repaint booth; I mean REALLY faded 👍👌

Jos Jansen
@Sven, thx mate...great compliment!

@Richard...also thx mate and also what a great compliment, I really appreciate your comment...I hope to see much sooner than five years your builds in 1/48 scale..😄!

The decaling is half way...this 'war party' bird is getting alive!

Clifford Keesler
It just keeps getting better and better, and I agree I think you are one of the most talented modelers on this great fourm.

Richard Cheals
Thanks Jos, to date I've only done an F/A-18A dio plus 3 P-40's in 1/48, all back in my 1990's model club days. Your attention to details is really an incentive for us all! 😉

Daniel
Decals match the low-vis gradient nicely, turning out really beautiful 👍
started mine this weekend and I really like it so far

Arif Saeed
Looking very cool Jos 👏👏

Jasper Breur
Very nice progress Jos!

ZHOU Kun
Very nice progress so far! I am following this !

Jos Jansen
@Clifford...what a great compliment to get this from you, I hope to stay humble 😉!

@Richard...I am delighted to hear that I am an inspiration to many of you…!

@Daniel... thx mate, can't wait to see yours!

@Arif, Jasper and ZHOU...thx mates 😄!

Due to my impending move to another city, I'm not making much progress on the Hornet. I have to pack the whole bench and all models in a few weeks anyway. In my new house I'm going to set up an entire room as a hobby room.

Today I prepared the exhaust nozzles with the metal colors of Gunze, great stuff because you can polish them nicely to a shiny surface, later I'm going to weather them and then apply a small subtle wash.

Mark D
Do the supermetals from mr Color hold against the Xtreme Metals from AK,? Do they have fine pigments as well? It looks very well on the photo. Thanks already.

Jos Jansen
Hey Mark, the Gunze metals do indeed have fine pigments, comparable to the metals of Alclad II that I have worked with a lot. The Gunze metals do indeed have fine pigments, comparable to the metals of Alclad II that I have worked with a lot. The big difference with Alclad is that the Gunze can easily be polished so that they look a bit weathered depending on how you polish.

Neil
WOW! Stunning - of course!! Fantastic work Jos 👍and a lovely informative build album 👍

Clifford Keesler
Very nice Jos.

Mark D
Thanks Jos, I'll have to try that sometime with those Gunze metals.

Jos Jansen
Thanks Neil...that's the good thing of these modelbuilder forums, sharing each other skills and enjoy others work!

Thanks Clifford!

Go for it Mark, I'll definitly love those!

Neil
Agreed. 👍

Richard Cheals
Nice exhaust nozzles, Jos 👏👏. I've been using AV Metal Color, sprayed on the NMF aircraft and brushed on all my 1/144 fighter exhausts. Pretty happy with the results and they're also rather durable so can be polished/distressed as you need. Very fine pigments, too.

Good luck with your move, always an adventure 🚚

Jos Jansen
Thanks, Richard...good to hear that you are happy with your choice of which metals you used! I like to experiment a bit with different paints, thanks for your input!

I found out while applying the decals that I had forgotten to spray some parts white in the wheel bays...just in time!

Clifford Keesler
Good catch. I will also have to try the Gunze metals, I have never tried them.

Daniel
👍 I always admire your organized work space jos, mine is a typical example of entropy during a project😅

Maciej Bellos
Daniel, you ahould see mine... My nine year old daughter wants to clean it up!

Shinny metals Jos!

Jos Jansen
You're welcome Clifford....Daniel and Maciej, thx mates!

As of today, I'm going to break down my workbench and pack for my move in three weeks. In my new house I have an entire room at my disposal to transform into an ultimate hobby room. Until then, my projects are on hold and so is my Super Hornet, but stay tuned, I'll be back...! 😄 👍

Spanjaard
Looking forward seing what comes out the new hobby room. Good luck with the move!

Jos Jansen
Thx Spanjaard...due to moving to another city I finally have my hobby room back, it's about time to start working on my Hornet again. Last update, still working on the decals... 😄

Murad ÖZER
now the most important question then, did the kits survive them movers?

James C
Welcome back mate 👍

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Welcome back, Jos. 😎

Spanjaard
Congratulations on surviving the move. Cheers for the new hobby room!

Jos Jansen
Thank mates, it feels absolutely great to be back in business again...and yes, all the kits survived the move 😄...!

Sergej I
WB Jos! 👍
hotlinking you to the absolute mekka of weathered superbug, hi-rez pics.
I only wish they had such cameras in the age of Phantoms 🙂
arcforums.com/forums..ot/page/40/#comments

Daniel
Post from April 13 there made my day😄
Looking forward to your progress with this beauty jos🍿

Alexander
Nice to hear Jos, hope to be back soon myself.
I like the new photo background. 👍

Casey Rupley
Not sure how I missed this before, but I'm in now. Fantastic job thus far!

Jos Jansen
Many thanks Sergej...great reference site...👍!! @Daniel...me too 😄...! @Alexander, I 've really missed the modelling...great Strike Eagle btw! @Casey, thanks mate and a warm welcome onboard...!

Alexander
As do I Jos - and thanks! 🙂

Clifford Keesler
Looking very nice Jos. I have been kicking around doing a bug after the SU-7, those are some nice reference pictures.

Jos Jansen
Finally there is progress again, after not touching plastic for almost a year...I found my mojo again!

Daniel
🥳

Juskifo
🥳

Slavo Hazucha
Cheers Jos! Same story @my end - just took actually more than a year & a new project... 😄

Your plastic looks great as always - looking forward to see it all come together and through the final treatment! Crisp & sharp all over so far! 👍🏻

Patrick Hagelstein
I guess we've all been to that place once in a while… But good to have you and Slavo back in the builder's realm again! 🤗

James C
Welcome back mate 👍

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

Sven Schönyan
Looks great as usual, Jos!

Clifford Keesler
Agree, looking awesome Jos.

Jos Jansen
Hey Slavo, my private life was not going well for a while and I had been deployed to Lithuania for half a year. I have a new bench in my new house and I'm finally starting to have time for the magic plastic again...!

I saw that you were working on a Hellcat, so you are also sniffing glue and paint again?! I will also follow your historic flight with great interest, you are also a fabulous model builder...no doubt about it 👍!

Jos Jansen
@Patrick: Thanks my friend, there is always a lot of support here on SM, the good vibe of everybody helps me...

Jos Jansen
Thanks James C, Guy, Sven and Clifford...feels good to be back! I'll have to take a good look at what everyone is doing, excuse me if I don't immediately know what your projects are!

Maciej Bellos
Good to have you back Jos! Looking forward to the build!

Jos Jansen
Thanks Maciej...stay tuned mate 👍!

Nathan Dempsey
Welcome back Jos! Wooooooo!

Skyhiker
Looks good

John Kristoffersen
Ooooohh! Supernice Super Hornet!

Spanjaard
hoping to see this in person in November 😉

Erik Leijdens
Jos, me and a couple of other will man a table at ESM Spanjaard so we'll meet you there 🙂

Spanjaard
👍

Jos Jansen
You can regonize our showtable with this banner...

[img1]

Spanjaard
easy yo recognize!

Kim Branders
Really nice, I am a fan 🙂

Maciej Bellos
Ahh, that would be a show I would like to visit. Have a blast people!

Eelco Gregoire
Yeah!

Clifford Keesler
Looking awesome Jos.

Jos Jansen
Thanks, guys, and Spanjaard, we'll meet you then 👍 😉!

Spanjaard
you can count on it 🙂

Jos Jansen
Finally the super bug is on its feet, soon the weathering and assembly of all parts!

Clifford Keesler
Coming along very nicely sir.

Rando
I'm remiss that I haven't followed this build until now, amazing paint work and details. Definitely taking notes!

Jos Jansen
Thanks Clifford and Rando...

Tonight I made a big progress...this kit has to be finished tomorrow because I am taking the Hornet to the ESM in Houten, the Netherlands. I'm standing there with a show table together with my model making friends, the Scale Model Mates.

Spanjaard
and unfortunately it seems I will be missing the show and the chance to meet you. 🙁

Patrick Hagelstein
If everything goes to plan, I will attend ESM and hopefully we have a chance to meet in person. 🤗

Jos Jansen
Send you a pm Spanjaard...@Patrick, hopefully you can mate, would be great te meet you in person!

Clifford Keesler
Looks awesome. I hope you enjoy the show. Be safe my friend.

Jos Jansen
Done! Right on time for the ESM tomorrow. The official photos will follow, the boarding ladder still needs to be placed, but that will happen after the ESM.

Patrick Hagelstein
I'm in for tomorrow! See you and the finished Super Bug in Houten! 🤗

Spanjaard
thanks for the message Jos! I really hope we can meet next year!

Kees Kleijwegt
Great work Jos, and just in time to put in on our table! 👍🏻😉

Clifford Keesler
Beautiful "Bug" Jos , well done sir.

Nathan Dempsey
That's a great finish Jos.

ZHOU Kun
Wonderfully done!

Jos Jansen
Thanks ZHOU Kun...I still have to make the official reveal pics 😁!

Guy Rump
Beautiful job! 👍