1/32 Academy F/A-18C

by Kaan Gök

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I received this model as a new year gift from my wife. :) And it was my natural duty to build it as good as possible. She was somewhat disappointed when she saw the weathering on the model, but she told me that I made it very well after I showed her the reference pictures.

I used the excellent Cutting Edge cockpit set and put some PE (Eduard's interior and exterior set to dress up the cockpit. I normally do not use pilots on my kits (I want to show the cockpit detail), but this kit has a pilot figure which climbs the ladder, and this was a perfect opportunity to try some figure painting for me.

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Every review on the internet says that the kit falls together, but that was not the case on mine. I made a mistake, I did not test fit the cockpit set enough, and the closed the forward fuselage too soon, so everything went out of alignment. (Which brings hours of sanding and rescribing which could be avoided if you are careful.) The unusual count of body parts makes the situation worse.

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I tried to replicate the spot painted and well weathered aircraft, ready in the middle of action. Therefore I used every weathering technique I know for this model. Preshading, postshading, pastel dust, oil washes,etc.

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I decided to load my Hornet with JDAM's, but kit JDAM's need a little modification. I sanded their fuses to an oval shape, and drilled a hole on it to represent a US NAVY JDAM.

I also planned to put an Amraam on the right fuselage station, but I could not fit it there when the flaps are dropped, so I left this station empty.

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Decals are from Twobobs. I cannot say anything except that they were excellent.

Kaan

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To read my ARC Tools n Tips article on how I do my USN weathering....click here.

Photos and text © by Kaan Gök