VFA-113 2014 from Hasegawa F-18C?

[Janissary]

I am interested in building a VFA-113 line jet with the following:

- 1/48 Hasegawa F-18C PT50

- FT 48070, the VFA-113 jet at the very bottom of the sheet. This is from the 2014 cruise on Carl Vinson

- Deployed refueling probe.

Can I build this jet using the above Hasegawa boxing? In particular, do I need the Wolfpack update set to correctly depict the upgrades? I don't think the jet I am planning has the bird slicers, so WP may not be necessary. Additionally, I would like to avoid the WP set if possible and get the Aires cockpit set instead. But the refueling probe makes the WP set attractive. So to summarize:

- What additional pieces do I get in the WP set to make the above jet, that does not come in the Hasegawa boxing? I may be able to scratch build small pieces if the difference is not too major.

- Are the F-18E/F refueling probes the same as F-18C probes? WP seems to have a standalone F-18E refueling probe, but not sure if I can use that on the C.

- Are there other resin or metal F-18C refueling probes that I can find without having to buy the WP update set?

Thanks!

[Dave Roof]

I am interested in building a VFA-113 line jet with the following:

- 1/48 Hasegawa F-18C PT50

- FT 48070, the VFA-113 jet at the very bottom of the sheet. This is from the 2014 cruise on Carl Vinson

- Deployed refueling probe.

Can I build this jet using the above Hasegawa boxing? In particular, do I need the Wolfpack update set to correctly depict the upgrades? I don't think the jet I am planning has the bird slicers, so WP may not be necessary. Additionally, I would like to avoid the WP set if possible and get the Aires cockpit set instead. But the refueling probe makes the WP set attractive. So to summarize:

- What additional pieces do I get in the WP set to make the above jet, that does not come in the Hasegawa boxing? I may be able to scratch build small pieces if the difference is not too major.

- Are the F-18E/F refueling probes the same as F-18C probes? WP seems to have a standalone F-18E refueling probe, but not sure if I can use that on the C.

- Are there other resin or metal F-18C refueling probes that I can find without having to buy the WP update set?

Thanks!

Kit PT50 includes Sprue M, which has the IFF antenna, swept back antenna, GPS dome, dual chaff/flare buckets and late style center line pylon. All but the dual chaff/flare are on the jet you want to build.

The refueling probes on the C/D and E/F are almost identical and using the WP set designed for the SH won't be a problem. You'll just have to make the necessary modifications to the resin part so it fits the legacy kit.

[Janissary]

Thank you very much Dave! This helps a lot.

[Spook498]

113/AC303 did have the bird slicers. As far as the IFR probe, a friend of mine used one from a Hasegawa Skyhawk kit that I had laying around. He boxed the opening in the fuselage with styrene, and a small piece for the probe cover, and went that way.

[Janissary]

113/AC303 did have the bird slicers. As far as the IFR probe, a friend of mine used one from a Hasegawa Skyhawk kit that I had laying around. He boxed the opening in the fuselage with styrene, and a small piece for the probe cover, and went that way.

Thank you Spook. The Skyhawk probe is an awesome idea!!! That would have never occurred to me.

Interestingly, while the FT set shows the 303 bird on the cover graphics, I don't see modex 303 on the decal sheet itself. See the link below:

http://www.collector-diecast.com/dash/universe/catalog_item/DC-0875195/

So I think I will be building the 300. Am I missing something? If it is indeed 300 that can be built with the set, do you know if 300 had the IFF sensors? The one photo I found is this one and unfortunately I can't tell if the bird slicers are there.

Kai Wolter holds the copyright to this photo. Unfortunately, I can't find the link to this picture.

Edited August 21, 2016 by Janissary

[DutyCat]

113/AC303 did have the bird slicers. As far as the IFR probe, a friend of mine used one from a Hasegawa Skyhawk kit that I had laying around. He boxed the opening in the fuselage with styrene, and a small piece for the probe cover, and went that way.

BTW, they are not "bird slicers, although it is convenient to call them that. The are actually vortice splitters, designed to reduce the vortice that is generated off of the LEX's. On, early F-18s, the LEX generated vortices would cause vibrational stress on the vertical fins, resulting in cracks at the base of the fins. An airframe mod added the splitters and three strengthening brackets to the base of the fins. Maybe you knew all of that anyway.

[Janissary]

BTW, they are not "bird slicers, although it is convenient to call them that.

We are talking about the strips in front of the windshield.

[habu2]

IFF antenna farm = Bird Slicers

Vortex Splitter = LEX Fence

Vortices = plural of Vortex. :)

Edited August 21, 2016 by habu2

[Stefan buysse]

Interestingly, while the FT set shows the 303 bird on the cover graphics, I don't see modex 303 on the decal sheet itself.

So I think I will be building the 300. Am I missing something?

Hi,

Beside the two main sheets, there is a small insert which has the "303" modex in FTD 48-070.

It measures 14x4 cm. Hopefully you'll find it in the bag.

Cheers, Stefan.

[Spook498]

So I think I will be building the 300. Am I missing something? If it is indeed 300 that can be built with the set, do you know if 300 had the IFF sensors? The one photo I found is this one and unfortunately I can't tell if the bird slicers are there.

300 had the bird slicers as well. That pic that you posted is an older one. I am not sure of the time frame, but it is 2009 or earlier.

[Spook498]

Maybe you knew all of that anyway.

Thank you though! :)

[Janissary]

Hi,

Beside the two main sheets, there is a small insert which has the "303" modex in FTD 48-070.

It measures 14x4 cm. Hopefully you'll find it in the bag.

Cheers, Stefan.

Great! I've looked at numerous FTD 48-070 pics and never saw that additional insert posted. Thanks a lot.

300 had the bird slicers as well. That pic that you posted is an older one. I am not sure of the time frame, but it is 2009 or earlier.

Great to know. How can you tell 2009 or earlier? I'd love to know what those giveaways are. Looks like 303 should be in the FTD set after all, so your first image will be my target. BTW, do you have other pics of it that you can share? Thanks very much for your input.

[F4DPhantomII]

Does anyone make the IFF(bird slicers) as an add on in 1/48 scale?

[gb_madcat_sl]

Does anyone make the IFF(bird slicers) as an add on in 1/48 scale?

Wolfpack Designs did 2 sets with the bird slicers.

F/A-18A+ Hornet Update Set

F/A-18C/D Late Type Update Set

MAW Decals did produce a couple of sets in the past but they seem to be OOP.

Mark

[Spook498]

Great to know. How can you tell 2009 or earlier?

This one was kind of easy, as I am familiar with the recent history of the squadron. However, on the tail, there are 2 letters, NK. N stands for squadrons that sail on Pacific Fleet Carriers, and the K refers to the Air Wing the squadron is attached to. Combined, they are CVW-14. A little internet searching shows that VFA 113 did their last CVW-14 cruise in 2009.

In regards to other photos of other planes, you may need to take into account a ship name or any other secondary info you can find.

As for more pics of 303, I may have one or two...

[AlienFrogModeller]

BTW, they are not "bird slicers, although it is convenient to call them that. The are actually vortice splitters, designed to reduce the vortice that is generated off of the LEX's. On, early F-18s, the LEX generated vortices would cause vibrational stress on the vertical fins, resulting in cracks at the base of the fins. An airframe mod added the splitters and three strengthening brackets to the base of the fins. Maybe you knew all of that anyway.

Actually - Just to clarify this in more detail... the LEX fences were designed to delay the violent turbulence that was created off the LEX. The violent airflow would promote damage that did cause issues to the Vert Stabs at the base leading edge, cracking, stress loads etc. The LEX Fence Modification was added to delay the violent airflow, could not be eliminated, so the airflow would occur "behind" or "after" the leading edge of the base of the Vert Stab, easing the stress load. As well there were 3 "stiffners" placed at the bottom of the Vert Stabs. As far as the C model, and forward, I believe they were structurally integrated into the production line, I could be wrong on that one, but this affects at least the Canadian CF188 models. I have also been told of the positioning of the LEX fence by some of the old school techs who were involved on the Mod to the Canadian birds, it's quite interesting but that's for another day.

[habu2]

More LEX Fence trivia:

The optimum location, based on wind tunnel and flight tests, was right at the fuselage join line of the forward fuselage built by McDD (now Boeing) and the mid/aft fuselage built by Northrop. If you look closely you will see the attachment points for the LEX fence are at the forward and mid points of the fence, it is not attached at the rear. That is because the aft attachment would have been on the Northrop-produced mid-fuselage. To simplify final assembly the attachment points are only on the McDD-produced fwd fuselage.

[Neeko]

I remember seeing a film that had a NASA Hornet at various angles of attack to show how the vortex from the LEX smacks right into the verticals. My understanding was that there was an unforseen stress cracking issue in the vertical stab structure of the early Alpha Hornets, and the NASA study identified the root cause and eventually the fix. That same video had the same bird with a prototype fence on the LEX that literally split the vortex in two, which caused them to avoid the Stabs and not cause them to flap and flex at high alpha.

[gistsc]

Here are some pics of the IFR probe I believe Spook was referring too. Just had to add a little bend to the A4 probe to match the 18. Sorry for the crappy pics, but the build is getting old and has been hit by the old dust monster.

Enjoy.

20160906_112924 by gistsc, on Flickr[/img]

20160906_112901 by gistsc, on Flickr

20160906_112845 by gistsc, on Flickr[/img]

Thank you Spook. The Skyhawk probe is an awesome idea!!! That would have never occurred to me.

Interestingly, while the FT set shows the 303 bird on the cover graphics, I don't see modex 303 on the decal sheet itself. See the link below:

http://www.collector-diecast.com/dash/universe/catalog_item/DC-0875195/

So I think I will be building the 300. Am I missing something? If it is indeed 300 that can be built with the set, do you know if 300 had the IFF sensors? The one photo I found is this one and unfortunately I can't tell if the bird slicers are there.

Kai Wolter holds the copyright to this photo. Unfortunately, I can't find the link to this picture.

[Janissary]

I appreciate all your help so far. I am slowly preparing for this build and ordered a few ordnance and other bits. I have been continually thinking about a pose, and recently I have been leaning towards a carrier landing. I had a few questions:

 

- I have never seen this but can/does the C ever fly without the fuel receptacle door but the boom still tucked in? Like those seen on Tomcats? I am fairly sure not, but just wanted to ask.

 

- For the C, does the aircraft go into full A/B with the exhaust nozzles wide open after an arrest? I know this is the procedure for a touch-and-go in case of a miss, but I am wondering the nozzle configuration. I have seen quite a bit of E/F landings where the nozzles are actually closed but I believe it is because the extra thrust the E/F already has allows take off without A/B. How is this for the C? Hasegawa C does not have the open exhausts so will need to go AM.

 

- Any thoughts on how to pose the arrest such that the nose LG is compressed (I could cut and rejoin I guess) and the main LG are somewhat extended (how would you do this)? I have seen a few builds but could not figure out how they dealt with the main LG.

 

Thank you.

[Neeko]

On 10/23/2017 at 3:23 PM, Janissary said:

I appreciate all your help so far. I am slowly preparing for this build and ordered a few ordnance and other bits. I have been continually thinking about a pose, and recently I have been leaning towards a carrier landing. I had a few questions:

 

- I have never seen this but can/does the C ever fly without the fuel receptacle door but the boom still tucked in? Like those seen on Tomcats? I am fairly sure not, but just wanted to ask.

 

- For the C, does the aircraft go into full A/B with the exhaust nozzles wide open after an arrest? I know this is the procedure for a touch-and-go in case of a miss, but I am wondering the nozzle configuration. I have seen quite a bit of E/F landings where the nozzles are actually closed but I believe it is because the extra thrust the E/F already has allows take off without A/B. How is this for the C? Hasegawa C does not have the open exhausts so will need to go AM.

 

- Any thoughts on how to pose the arrest such that the nose LG is compressed (I could cut and rejoin I guess) and the main LG are somewhat extended (how would you do this)? I have seen a few builds but could not figure out how they dealt with the main LG.

 

Thank you.

 

While somewhat rare, baby Hornets flying sans IFR doors is not altogether unheard of:

 

 

Some refs for Baby Hornets trapping... The NLG strut doesn't really compress much.

Pics were taken by some crazy person (me) on the roof of the TR, 08/09-ish... Engine settings during arrested landings depends on a lot of things, but they wouldn't generally bump the throttles to AB until after they were at the point where the hook would catch the wire. Otherwise, they would have too much power and overshoot/bolter. 

[Janissary]

Incredibly awesome pics, thank you! The missing IFR door is great, I will try to do something of that sort. The instance I am trying to depict will be your pic below. Cable fully taught, nearly the end of the arrest:

 

 My initial inspiration was this (taken from http://www.seaforces.org/usnair/VFA/Strike-Fighter-Squadron-113.htm): The LG legs seems to be mostly level, which makes it easier. Here, the nozzles are open:

 

But, in terms of dynamism, I find this super cool. Interestingly, the nozzles are closed in this case:

 

This guy or gal did a very fine job on the F:

 

Anyway, I am so stoked about this project. Any thoughts, opinions, resources would be much appreciated. 

[Janissary]

Been pondering the loadout. Bought a few JDAMs and other bits but still missing a few. I have found these two links useful:

 

http://zone-five.net/showthread.php?t=8452

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/205873-f-18c-hornet-weapons-loadout/

 

However, I cannot decide the config I want primarily because unsure if what I have in mind is viable.

 

I am thinking:

(1) Aim-9X

(2) Two GBU-38 on a dual rack

(3) GBU-31

(4) AN/ASQ-228

(5) Gas tank

(6) Empty -OR- Aim-120

(7) Gas tank

(8) Two GBU-12 on a dual rack -OR- one Maverick -OR- one Harm

(9) Aim-9L

 

Is this a legal load (fearing too heavy)? If not, could you offer sample configs using the pieces above focusing only on the stations marked red? I really want to keep the rest of the stations as I indicated. 

 

I am not too concerned about the mission or timeframe of the aircraft. Just wanted something visually interesting, but also plausible, especially given that I am planning to depict a carrier landing.

 

TIA!

[Janissary]

TTT, hoping to figure out the loadout. TIA.

[Spook498]

Message this guy and ask him nicely to review this thread. He is a retired ordie...

 

GW8345