Hobby Boss F/A - 18A Hornet 1/48

Post by **AussieAaron** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 11:41 pm

Ok I've been waiting a long time to do this kit so I hope I do it justice. This is one of my favourite aircraft. Enjoy!

To start off, some box art and obligitory Sprue shot

No PE in this kit but I had some old 1/48 PE from F-14 build which I scratched together. Not exact, I know, but hey it's my model

Post by **AussieAaron** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 11:43 pm

Laid some primer down and got a some colour in the tub

Post by **AussieAaron** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 11:45 pm

The construction of the front WW is clever. Great detail because the parts are separate and the way they go together leaves an invisible join! A bit of dry brushing here and there and now on to the finer details.

Post by **MikeyKb** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 12:11 am

gorgeous work!
Did you hand-paint the black in the cockpit? What colour did you use?

Post by **AussieAaron** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 12:29 am

I used Vallejo Model Air black because it's already thinned for airbrushing so it makes brush painting the finer detail easier. I use a pin with Tamiya Acrylics for the buttons and dials. Once I've finished the tub I generally spray a coat of flat Clear and then put a drop of canopy clear glue on the radar screens for realism.

Post by **AussieAaron** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 11:57 am

Cockpit mostly done and fuselage coming together. The fit was great.

Post by **AussieAaron** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 11:59 am

Rear landing gear is really detailed and went together well enough. Quite a few ejector pin marks though which are going to be tricky to fix.

Post by **MikeyKb** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 4:12 pm

sweeeet!

Post by **AussieAaron** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 10:56 pm

Pretty happy how the cockpit turned out. Added a few decals to spruce it up a bit.

Post by **AussieAaron** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 11:02 pm

Upper fuselage was not the greatest fit, but I got there in the end. The nose was a bad fit to be honest, took a bit of filler to get it right and a fair bit of re-scribe.

Post by **AussieAaron** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 11:06 pm

Intakes need massaging and so did the nose

Post by **AussieAaron** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 11:08 pm

Lots of filler needed which resulted in a tricky sanding job and a bit of re-scribing.

Post by **AussieAaron** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 11:08 pm

......and more sanding

Post by **AussieAaron** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 11:10 pm

Flaps and flight controls are very delicate which was a challenge to get them aligned. Lot's of swearing seemed to fix the problem

Post by **AussieAaron** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 11:11 pm

....and more swearing

Post by **AussieAaron** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 11:11 pm

Tails time

Post by **SteveW** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 7:16 am

Nice work Aaron

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 8:38 am

Looking the sweet.

Hehe the swear jar must be getting full

Post by **shortCummins** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 8:56 am

showing great skill Aaron

rgds
John(shortCummins)

Post by **AussieAaron** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 11:59 am

Ok, so I broke the canopy and you cannot get a replacement!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does anyone know where I can get a replacement? I found a few vacuum formed ones on ebay but they look pretty crap.

I've contacted Hobby Boss direct but they are yet to reply?

Aaron.

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 2:52 pm

Oh no! How did that happen???

Surely HB can supply another?

Post by **shortCummins** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 6:42 pm

Hannants, here in the UK, are still selling this kit so I'm guessing that its still in production

rgds
John(shortCummins)

Post by **Avgas** » Sat Oct 10, 2015 11:03 pm

Bummer on the hood but FWIW the pit is outstanding.

Post by **AussieAaron** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 7:26 am

Despite the broken hood, the build pushes on

Post by **AussieAaron** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 7:26 am

Weapons check!

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 12:33 pm

Hehe nice....don't forget about the walkways around the cockpit......

Post by **qeialto** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 1:10 pm

AussieAaron wrote:Ok, so I broke the canopy and you cannot get a replacement!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does anyone know where I can get a replacement? I found a few vacuum formed ones on ebay but they look pretty crap.

I've contacted Hobby Boss direct but they are yet to reply?

Aaron.

Hi Mate,
Can this help?
https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/RBT48070

Cheers,
Antonio

Post by **AussieAaron** » Tue Oct 13, 2015 3:00 am

qeialto wrote:
AussieAaron wrote:Ok, so I broke the canopy and you cannot get a replacement!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does anyone know where I can get a replacement? I found a few vacuum formed ones on ebay but they look pretty crap.

I've contacted Hobby Boss direct but they are yet to reply?

Aaron.
Hi Mate,
Can this help?
https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/RBT48070

Cheers,
Antonio

Yes I did find these and I have ordered one. But my experience with Vacuum formed hoods is that they aren't as good as the ones from the Kit. I'll use it if I can't get a replacement, but I'd really prefer an original one. It might be slight OCD

, but I want the proper one

Thanks all the same!

Post by **AussieAaron** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 10:24 pm

Time for some pre-shading and the first color coats

Post by **AussieAaron** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 10:26 pm

After the base coat I was happy with the pre-shading. Only subtle but that's because I like post-shading to really add the detail.

Post by **AussieAaron** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 10:28 pm

Added some dark post-shading and also did some random inner-panel shading with a lighter grey. The gloss coat went on well and makes the post-shading look overdone. Once I throw the flat coat on, it will dull it back down.

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 12:12 am

That's looking really good. What did u use to gloss coat it?

Post by **AussieAaron** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 12:26 am

Homerlovesbeer wrote:That's looking really good. What did u use to gloss coat it?

Humbrol Gloss Clear Acrylic. I might need to give it a light sand and a re-coat because it dried more like a semi-gloss and I don't want to chance the decals not adhering well. My only concern is that the more coats I put on the surface, the less the wash has to cling to. Anyway, I'll do a few tests and see.

Post by **Valdo** » Sun Oct 18, 2015 7:26 pm

Really nice job on one of my all time favorite fighter jet!

I must say that Humbrol clear dries in more like satin finish than gloss and with somewhat grainy finish. And that resulted in a decal silvering here and there. Decals were Cartograf with Micro SOl and SET used. But then again, maybe it was me doing something wrong.

As for that vacform canopy. I must admit that I haven't used Rob Taurus canopy's, but I have read good reviews about them and the fact that its glass bubble is molded with frame (unlike HB) is a big PLUS, at least for me. So don't be discouraged by the fact that its a vacform, but simply try it out.

Post by **AussieAaron** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 12:57 am

Yes the Humbrol dried more satin then gloss, but the surface is ultra smooth since I sanded with 2000 micro-mesh beforehand. I'll do a test for decals, but I think they'll be fine. Anyway masked up the white sections

Post by **AussieAaron** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 12:58 am

....and after some Tamyia gloss white.

Post by **AussieAaron** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 12:59 am

Also added a wash to the landing gear and a slight enamel pin wash

Post by **AussieAaron** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 1:43 am

Slight weathering on wheel wells and air-brake

Post by **AussieAaron** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 1:44 am

Let the decaling begin! I got the hardest one done first.

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 1:58 am

Coming along nicely....

Post by **Nige201980** » Fri Oct 23, 2015 7:28 am

Cracking work mate

Post by **AussieAaron** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 2:40 am

Given this is Marines F-18 called "Dirty Dan", I wanted to heavily weather this one. Nice and dirty!

Post by **AussieAaron** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:13 am

After the wash. I used waaaaaay too much Vallejo wash so I had a real mission to remove it. After watching the 'how to' guide I realise I used it all wrong. For some reason I used it like the Ultimate washes which is totally wrong for the Vallejo washes. Anyway, lesson learned!

Luckily I was able to remove the worst of it with some diluted Turps.

I think after I spray the flat coat it will look good.

Post by **AussieAaron** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:15 am

More of the weathering

Post by **AussieAaron** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:15 am

Before and after on the weapons!

Post by **AussieAaron** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:17 am

The gear doors look bad in this photo, but after some weathering to match, they'll look fine.I also added the LG, Drop Tanks and weapons! Almost there!!

Post by **AussieAaron** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:22 am

I think I'll re-do the gear doors, because the EP marks are really prominent in the photo. I actually filled them this time too! Why can't these model manufacturers devise ways to avoid this? Some have managed it like GWH and Bandai, and yet quality model companies like HobbyBoss still have them in the worst places?

Post by **MikeyKb** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 3:10 pm

awesome build. great reference. do you know which video you watched for on the how-to for the vaellejo washes? I just ordered a couple

Thanks!!

Post by **AussieAaron** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 3:44 am

MikeyKb wrote:awesome build. great reference. do you know which video you watched for on the how-to for the vaellejo washes? I just ordered a couple

Thanks!!

This is the one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwxlB0aFjJo

Post by **AussieAaron** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 9:54 pm

After a 3 day wait for everything to dry, finally the matt coat went down. Really happy with finish because I was concerned how the "over-weathering" would look. I think the result is just what I was after