Had
the Hasegawa F18D in my stash for a few years. When I saw Two Bobs
Thunderbolts and Vikings sheet, I decided to get it and get building. The
aircraft depicted on the decal sheet was an updated version of this two seater
so I had some scratch building to make it right. I also ordered the Eduard
set which contained cockpit and exterior details. I had to: (1) Update the
seats, and add foil seatbelts and buckles. (2) Add 'bird slicers' to nose
area. (3) Add GPS dome and change antenna on spine to the swept back
version. Two Bobs
Thunderbolts and Vikings sheet, I decided to get it and get building. The
aircraft depicted on the decal sheet was an updated version of this two seater
so I had some scratch building to make it right. I also ordered the Eduard
set which contained cockpit and exterior details. I had to: (1) Update the
seats, and add foil seatbelts and buckles. (2) Add 'bird slicers' to nose
area. (3) Add GPS dome and change antenna on spine to the swept back
version.
Click on
images below to see larger images
Other
modifications included increasing the chaff buckets from two to four and added
the antenna to nose gear door.
As per usual I thinned the trailing edges of all flying surfaces for better
scale appearance. I love the weathered appearance of these birds so the
real fun was painting the model. First I pre-shaded with Model Master Flat
Black, then sprayed a coat of Model Master Light Ghost Grey. After
establishing the demarcation lines with Dark Ghost Grey, I "spotted"
the rest of the upper surfaces with the same shade.
I
then mixed some Military Brown and Ghost Grey and sprayed this onto the areas
that were usually dirty on this aircraft. This was followed by heavily
thinned Ghost Greys to blend every thing together. The Model was then
glossed, decals were applied, and the model was given a medium grey acrylic
wash.
Click on
images below to see larger images
Because
this is was an OIF bird I armed it with two GBU's, one AGM-88 and the usual
Sidewinders all from various Hasegawa weapons sets. Decals from Two Bobs
added a touch of realism. A final coat of clear flat and that was
it. Hope you like the model.
Fernan
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