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TF-18A Prototype Hornet


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I´ve put the Viggen on hold again, felt that I had to take a break from it :P

SO I moved on to this nostalgic build!

The TF-18A prototype!

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I build this kit when I was like 9-10 years old and there was another one with raised panellines that I built on several occasions but I never got it right back then.

I remember seeing a nice build of it displayed at a hobby store and That was what I wanted to achieve some day!

Looking over the parts of this ancient model I decided to spice it up a bit with PE

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And new bang seats stolen from my Hobby Boss F-18D box.

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Hey! Ho! let´s go! as The Ramones put it :D ( I think there lives a little punk rocker in everybody)

Parts stuck on toothpicks , primed with alclad and then painted black....the usual stuff.

Unfortunately I´m out of alclad primer now :/

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Then I shot FS36375 in the pit and the IP´s.

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I then spiced it up with Eduard PE, since the PE was really for the F-18D so I just winged it :D

The cockpit has no resemblence with reality ...but it looks alright.

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And in with the pit into a fuselage half...

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Then I closed the forward section of the fuselage.

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There, another therapy build on it´s way :D

Cheers!

Edited by Aigore
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dude - as always, your build's rock - and I really look forward to seeing what you do next, but, as a new-ish Dad - I have this burning question in the back of my mind, and I have to ask it - how do you find the time to do some much building?? :blink:

I am so jealous right now....

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dude - as always, your build's rock - and I really look forward to seeing what you do next, but, as a new-ish Dad - I have this burning question in the back of my mind, and I have to ask it - how do you find the time to do some much building?? :blink:

I am so jealous right now....

LOL

I guess we have the most well behaving baby ever...

Well first of all..I´m on so called "daddy leave" for 180 days so I don´t have to think about work, secondly our daughter has 2x 1.5 hour naps during the day and then she goes to sleep at 7, she sleeps all night until 7 or 8 in the morning... and there you have it I have plenty of build time even if I have to do the household chores.

When she was smaller she mostly slept, ate and pooed evry 4 hours but that only lasted for a couple of months before she got a proper day cycle.

Edited by Aigore
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LOL

I guess we have the most well behaving baby ever...

Well first of all..I´m on so called "daddy leave" for 180 days so I don´t have to think about work, secondly our daughter has 2x 1.5 hour naps during the day and then she goes to sleep at 7, she sleeps all night until 7 or 8 in the morning... and there you have it I have plenty of build time even if I have to do the household chores.

When she was smaller she mostly slept, ate and pooed evry 4 hours but that only lasted for a couple of months before she got a proper day cycle.

you are by far one of the luckiest blokes I have ever spoken to who has kids! Oh to be blessed like that. I wish mine would sleep just once...... :rolleyes:

looking forward to seeing more of this build bro

MH

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Good looking test bird. I hope you don't take a to long break from your Viggen.

Keep up the spirit, and happy modeling with this project.

Gr

Rogiér van den Berg

Thanx Rogier :D

I´m planing on having it done by the end of the summer at least:D

you are by far one of the luckiest blokes I have ever spoken to who has kids! Oh to be blessed like that. I wish mine would sleep just once...... :rolleyes:

looking forward to seeing more of this build bro

MH

Let´s hope the next one is as well behaved, tho I suspect it´ll be the oposite and get all the "bad" genes

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Wouldn't it be great to be 9 or 10 again... What type of solvent is used for Alclad paint, I wonder?

Cool subject matter and great looking start as usual :thumbsup2:

/Jesse

Thanx Jesse!

Strong solvent...luckily they are prethinned so you just pour it into the cup and shoot :D

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Well then the work continues...

Put together the main fuselage, I had too rescribe the panellines since they were very soft but now it´s glued, puttied and sanded :D

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As is the forward section...

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I then enjoyed myself with shooting white at the undercarriage and wheels...the preshade enhancing the details nicely.

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Then a bit of rubber on the wheels...

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..and some plumbing on the struts.

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Itty bitty more sanding and filling and then there´s more construction coming :D

CHeers!

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Nice work so far.

Just a note; the box art is incorrect; the #7 jet was 160782, and was a single-seater. The 2-seaters never wore the blue and white scheme shown on the box, but the first 2-seater, 160781, did wear the blue/gold/white scheme like that on the first single-seater.

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Nice work so far.

Just a note; the box art is incorrect; the #7 jet was 160782, and was a single-seater. The 2-seaters never wore the blue and white scheme shown on the box, but the first 2-seater, 160781, did wear the blue/gold/white scheme like that on the first single-seater.

That explains why I never found any ref pics of the blue TF-18! I only found pics of the one in red!

But in the instruction sheet there is a photo of the No7 prototype and it looks like the blue scheme...but when I look closer it actully looks like a retouched picture! weird!

img009.jpg

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I googled a bit and found this one:

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I guess this is your a/c?

Note that in the b/w photo you posted, the gold/blue line running from the intake to the exhaust is still visible, but it is lacking on the boxart. Maybe Italeri has changed the picture to better fit their faulty marking? But also note that in my pic the warning for the intake covers part of the line, while it is not on your pic. Pity they didn´t run with the above alternative. I think it´s better looking.

/E

Edited by erik_g
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The real T1 markings were in the orignal Testors boxing of the kit, IIRC. The orange scheme on T1 was later, and was arrived at by overpainting the blue and gold markings with either orange or white - I've seen a color image from below where you can see the earlier scheme showing through the orange.

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The real T1 markings were in the orignal Testors boxing of the kit, IIRC. The orange scheme on T1 was later, and was arrived at by overpainting the blue and gold markings with either orange or white - I've seen a color image from below where you can see the earlier scheme showing through the orange.

This box?

Testors%20581%20F-18big.JPG

Demn I´m not sure what to do now.... blue, blue and gold or red...... :tumble:

The red does look good but I don´t have the decals for it :/

http://www.airfighters.com/photo_58977.jpg

Edited by Aigore
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Not sure about that one, but the 1/72 version definitely did. I have a built one sitting on the shelf next to me.

I don't think anyone has done markings for that one when it was side number 150 but most of the markings carried over from the white/blue/gold scheme. You'd need to come up with the 150 for each side of the nose, and a couple of rectangular "bowtie" target markings I think.

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Not sure about that one, but the 1/72 version definitely did. I have a built one sitting on the shelf next to me.

I don't think anyone has done markings for that one when it was side number 150 but most of the markings carried over from the white/blue/gold scheme. You'd need to come up with the 150 for each side of the nose, and a couple of rectangular "bowtie" target markings I think.

Oh I need the hornet, the McDonell Douglas logo and T1...

The "bowties" I can mask and paint NP

I have a cunning plan tho.....

(sheesh, what I though would be an easy and straightforward OOB build is growing to unexpected proportions!)

Wish I had an over view of the scheme tho.... I don´t really know how the wings look from above and below.

Edited by Aigore
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Here we go :D

The fuselage is put together..some filling, sanding and rescribing was needed, of course :P

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The landing gears...

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Now there wasn´t much of any details for the AB, none at all as a matter of fact :P So I rumaged about in my spare box and found a couple of heller F-14 exhausts.... I trimmed them a bit...

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And glued them on, noting close to reality thign but at least there´s something there!

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Air intakes and sparrow cradles in place...

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Then I glued on the main wings and theres nice gaps here :P

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I´m going for a nekkid bird so i had to fill the holes for the pylon plugs, I simply used an evergreen plastic rod, stuck it into the hole, glued and cut it off.

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And sanded smooth.

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The canopy and windshield got dipped in pledge/future.

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Lastly I decided to scrap the missiles in the box and use some from my Gawa weapon set instead.

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Not much left to do now....

Cheers!

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Just great stuff Janne!!! I have to remember, black primer, then white paint.... Gives the areas so much depth, super work... Can't wait to see what you can do with the white airframe and all the fancy stripes :popcorn:

/Jesse

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