1/72 Hasegawa T/A-18 X Wing Hornet kitbash #FINISHED#
Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2015 1:12 am
Hi everyone, as the title says, this is a Hasegawa Star Wars kit...
Hang on, Hasegawa doesn't do Star Wars...no they dont!
This will be a kitbash of two Hasegawa 1/72 F/A-18A Hornets into an X-Wing type thing. The inspiration for this came from this build here in 1/144 scale: http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php?topic=41109.0
Mine will be more or less the same, but in a bigger scale, although I normally don't do this scale anymore, I'll try!
Obligatory sprue shots:
Apart from these two kits, I will be dipping into my spare parts bin (I have lots of kits slated for bashing, plus I build most of my aircraft wheels up, so heaps of spares there), including an old Kitech F/A-18 kit whose cockpit is better than Hasegawa...
Anyway - here's the quick mockup of what I'm trying to get:
First bit of surgery, I'm attacking the blue angels kit - in hindsight, should have used the "normal" grey kit, the grey is easier to see what you're doing:
Have to strip the fuselage hump back to put the inverted stubby fuselage ontop of the base kit:
And this is where its at with the S-foils in attack position (because it will be displayed in flight, as all aircraft should be!)
Before I can button up the fuselages, I need to build the cockpit. Here are the stock parts:
The tub on the left is Hasegawa, which gives you decals for instruments, the one of the right is the $4.99 Kitech version with raised panels/dials. I used this instead, and after surgery it fit:
Here is an instrument panel from the Academy Stuka, where Im using the wings for a Porco Rosso kitbash in the future, tried to get this to fit, but stayed with stock panel with decal:
But I built a targeting computer out of a landing strut and a piece of the Stuka panel:
Spruiced up the kit cockpit surrounds with some wire and surplus landing struts:
Seat and tub fitted, sans pilot and primed:
The pilot got a quick and nasty paintjob:
And the cockpit and tub got a quick paint job too:
Now for some wheels...err intake fans
Since the intakes on the top fuselage would be prominent and the Hasegawa kits just give you a blank cutoff panel to insert inside, I decided on something. I grabbed the wheel hubs from my 1/48 Corsair build and with the sprue still on, they fit poifectly:
Look ok to me!
Need another pair, so intake the kitbash stash where some other 1/48 Corsairs live without wings (I love me the gullwing) and found some wheels. Cut them down to hubs - I think this is from an Academy or Hasegawa one, cant remember:
HEre they are painted Vallejo Metal Pale Burnt, with a dob of Tamiya Smoke on top and installed:
And that's all for now. Coat of future on everything, will install the instrument panel decal and then finish the cockpit and button up the lower fuselage.
Need to reattach the cutoff LERX to the upper fuselage and add a cone plug and of course, 4 little wings. And she's almost done! Famous last words.
Hang on, Hasegawa doesn't do Star Wars...no they dont!
This will be a kitbash of two Hasegawa 1/72 F/A-18A Hornets into an X-Wing type thing. The inspiration for this came from this build here in 1/144 scale: http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php?topic=41109.0
Mine will be more or less the same, but in a bigger scale, although I normally don't do this scale anymore, I'll try!
Obligatory sprue shots:
Apart from these two kits, I will be dipping into my spare parts bin (I have lots of kits slated for bashing, plus I build most of my aircraft wheels up, so heaps of spares there), including an old Kitech F/A-18 kit whose cockpit is better than Hasegawa...
Anyway - here's the quick mockup of what I'm trying to get:
First bit of surgery, I'm attacking the blue angels kit - in hindsight, should have used the "normal" grey kit, the grey is easier to see what you're doing:
Have to strip the fuselage hump back to put the inverted stubby fuselage ontop of the base kit:
And this is where its at with the S-foils in attack position (because it will be displayed in flight, as all aircraft should be!)
Before I can button up the fuselages, I need to build the cockpit. Here are the stock parts:
The tub on the left is Hasegawa, which gives you decals for instruments, the one of the right is the $4.99 Kitech version with raised panels/dials. I used this instead, and after surgery it fit:
Here is an instrument panel from the Academy Stuka, where Im using the wings for a Porco Rosso kitbash in the future, tried to get this to fit, but stayed with stock panel with decal:
But I built a targeting computer out of a landing strut and a piece of the Stuka panel:
Spruiced up the kit cockpit surrounds with some wire and surplus landing struts:
Seat and tub fitted, sans pilot and primed:
The pilot got a quick and nasty paintjob:
And the cockpit and tub got a quick paint job too:
Now for some wheels...err intake fans
Since the intakes on the top fuselage would be prominent and the Hasegawa kits just give you a blank cutoff panel to insert inside, I decided on something. I grabbed the wheel hubs from my 1/48 Corsair build and with the sprue still on, they fit poifectly:
Look ok to me!
Need another pair, so intake the kitbash stash where some other 1/48 Corsairs live without wings (I love me the gullwing) and found some wheels. Cut them down to hubs - I think this is from an Academy or Hasegawa one, cant remember:
HEre they are painted Vallejo Metal Pale Burnt, with a dob of Tamiya Smoke on top and installed:
And that's all for now. Coat of future on everything, will install the instrument panel decal and then finish the cockpit and button up the lower fuselage.
Need to reattach the cutoff LERX to the upper fuselage and add a cone plug and of course, 4 little wings. And she's almost done! Famous last words.
