For a while now, I have been using the Revell F-18C kit as a base for
building my collection of CF-118A Hornets in the very colorful Demo schemes
released by Leading Edge Models. This
time, I decided to try something a bit more challenging….take that same F-18C
kit……and convert it to a two-seat variant of the CF-18.
First things first..gotta cut the fuselage to accept the two-seater
canopy. For the canopy, I used an
extra canopy from the Testors 48th scale kit and used it as a guide
to make my cuts in the fuselage. With
the cuts complete, all that was requited was to use some strip plastic and
extend the canopy rails for the second cockpit.
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Next came the decision as to what
to use for the cockpit. Well, looking at the Testors kit cockpit, I realized I needed
something different. My answer came
in the form of a Black Box resin cockpit set for the F-18B.
The front tub actually fit into place with no problems at all, but time
had to be taken to line up and place the second tub for the backseat.
After much dry fitting of the tub, seat and canopy to ensure the correct
position, the tubs were secured in place with plenty of CA and braced with some
plastic strip. Cockpit was painted
the normal colors of gray and black with dry brushed instruments and dials.
Now, I though the hard part was
over…..wrong! I figured why not
rescribe the panel lines?? Then the thought occurred to me.
Well, if you’re going to all the trouble of converting the model to a
two-seater, why not cut the flaps and lower them?? Well, so I got to cutting and scribing and suddenly realized,
what did I get myself into??
Fast forward a couple of months….gathering dust was blown off the model
and work resumed. I finally hung
the flaps on the jet and finished the scribing and got the jet ready for paint.
After doing 9 CF-18’s, you would
think I would have at least one regular line bird??
Nope! Well, time to change
that. I looked through Leading Edge
Models Generic CF-18 decal sheet and decided on which two-seater to build.
After looking at a few photos I had taken, I decided to build CF-188B
188916 assigned to 441 “Siler Fox” TFS based at 4 Wing Cold Lake.
Paints used were from Gunze. The
topside gray from Gunze (H337) isn’t a good match to the real CF-188, so I
decided to tint it with just a touch of green and actually got a pretty good
match to the gray used on the top of our CF-18’s.
H308 (Light Ghost Gray) from Gunze was used for the underside of the
model. With the model painted, a
few coats of gloss clear were sprayed so that decals could be applied.
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As stated, decals used are from Leading Edge Models Generic CF-18 decal
sheet. This fantastic sheet gives
you enough decals to do 2 complete CF-18 models and markings for all current
squadrons are provided. They went
on with no problems and Micro-sol was used to soften the decals in some spots.
After the decals were applied,
another coat of gloss was applied, followed by a panel wash, a coat of flat, and
then chalks were used to do some weathering.
After a while, I thought I had gone to far with some of the weathering,
so I cranked up the airbrush and actually misted paint over the chalk to tone
down the effect, giving me the results I was looking for.
A final coat of flat was then applied.
After that, canopy, gear and weapons pod were painted up and weathered as
well.
All told, this project turned out
better than I had hoped for and now I have a conversion project that I am really
proud of. I hope you have enjoyed
my model!
CHECKER
CHECKER!!!!!!!!
Colin
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