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Academy 1/32nd scale F/A-18D Hornet


Bradley25mm

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  Some years ago, I built this exact same kit for my collection. I’m building this one for a good friend who worked on them while he was in the Marines. This kit has a lot of things that I really like about it. The landing gear is well designed, and strong enough to support the weight. 
      Academy has supplied metal inserts to add additional strength to both the rear and front landing gears. This one will be staged on a tarmac, loaded with air to ground ordinance. The canopy will be open. I’m looking forward to trying some of the new things that I’ve learned since the last time I’ve built this kit. Kind of like a do over. 
       
Chris

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Thanks Mark!. The last 3 pictures were the kit I built about 4 years ago. Found out later that this squadron was not carrier, but land based. Can’t wait to start the new one.

Chris

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Oh very nice! I’m looking forward to watching this build!

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Chris, the second photo looks like the real thing and not a photo of a model.  Fantastic stuff!  🙂  The white background would have to be a bit different though. 🙂

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  • 3 weeks later...

Made some progress today. Getting things ready for primer and paint. Even after I built The air to ground ordinance, I had a boatload left over. If there’s one thing about academy kits, I give you lots of extras. It still amazes me the Landing gear on this kit. It is highly detailed, and has white metal reinforcements built inside it for additional strength.

Chris

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That's a lot of parts! 🙂 And, I have a question.  What is the material in blue that is holding up the parts (I assume for painting)?  Is it like the stuff florists use?  Just curious, because just recently I have started using alligator clips with the plastic base sold at Hobby Lobby for spray painting some parts with ease.  I would like to know. 

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            Back at the build table. All the small parts have been removed from the sprues. I’ve built all of the sub assemblies that I could. Personally, I prefer to attach each part to the end of a toothpick, with a very small amount of ca. This helps me when it comes to painting, and adding weathering. When I’m finished, I can easily pop off the parts with an X-Acto knife.

    This kit is being built straight from the box. The only modifications that I have made are the ankle restraints on the ejection seats , and have added the thermal protective coating to the bombs.I did use Bare metal foil for the landing gear struts. More to come.

Chris

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That oleo looks superb! What did you use for the chromed area?

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So shiny!!! 😳 Thanks for that Chris. It looks great!

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Was able to get a couple more things done this week. All the landing gear was painted with Tamiya Gloss White. A wash was then applied with a small brush. After it dried, I removed the excess with mineral spirits on a cotton swab. 

Chris

 

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           Thanks a lot Ed. Very tedious painting. Gil, here’s the exact process I used. Step one, painted everything was Tamiya white, X-2. Just a few drops of Mr. color leveling thinner. Waited one day for everything to dry well. Step two, applied  Tamiya panel line accent color black. Waited for this to dry completely. Step three, took a Q-tip, dipped it in a small bowl of mineral spirits, squeezed the excess mineral spirits out of the Q-tip by rolling it between my fingers. Starting to wipe the wash off in the direction that would make sense. In my case, where each door would attach to the aircraft I would start at the top,  and wipe down. Continue wiping the wash off until you get the effect that you want. It’s a good idea to have a couple of Q-tips on hand once the one you’re working with is saturated with the wash. In the event that you wash off too much, go back and reapply the wash, let it dry, then wipe off again It’s a good idea to keep a pair of sharp tweezers, to pick off any strands of cotton left behind by the Q-tip . Step four, Seal it with your preferred brand of flat clear. For me, I prefer Testors dull coat. I hope this helps.

Chris.

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