F/A-18F Super Hornet | 'Vandy 1' - In Progress

 

 

Detail out of the box isn't bad. Almost a shame to remove it all for the next step. 

All detail removed in preparation of Quinta 3D Decals 

AIM-174s from Flight Line Resin 

AIM-174s assembled 

Stock APU exhaust 

APU exhaust removed from the kit next to the new one from Wolf 3D Resin 

New APU exhaust from Wolf 3D Resin installed 

Nose gear bay and one of the gear doors painted up 

Cockpit components with a coat of FS36231 

Quinta 3D decals installed 

Cockpit assembled 

Ejection seats with coat of NATO Black 

Ejection seats after start of detail painting 

 

 

 

 

 

Finished seats test fit in the cockpit. 

 

 

 

 

Going to be using Reskit's exhaust set 

Main wheel bays painted up 

One of the SUU-80 pylons had a printing defect that required some filling. Not a major deal. 

Black paint on, starting to look like Vandy 1 

Sub-assemblies are starting to come together 

I used a Flying Leathernecks HUD which is designed for Legacy Hornets. It looked close enough to the Super Hornet HUD in my reference photos and was much better than the kit HUD or the Eduard photo etched one (which was too small.) 

 

I punched out a circle of iridescent cellophane to represent the reflector. I then covered this with some Tamiya clear green paint to give it a little depth. 

 

 

Since the Flight Line Resin missiles came with no decals, I printed out my own 

33 individual decals applied to each of four missiles took some time to cut out and apply 

AMRAAM stenciling progression. 

Main canopy done 

I made more custom decals for the crew names as well as stencils on the AIM-120s and drop tank 

Sidewinder stenciling. In addition to some stripes, I used some decals from a TwoBobs sheet 

Almost done 

Done