80 Hours, One Super Hornet — And a Lot of Problems to Solve

Описание: Building a scale model is usually about getting the details right — but sometimes the kit itself becomes the biggest challenge.

In this video, I build Academy's 1:72 F/A-18F Super Hornet in the special VFA-102 Diamondbacks 50th Anniversary scheme.

This build involved quite a bit of extra work: correcting panel lines, dealing with difficult fitting pins, filling and sanding the fuselage, modifying the airframe to accept ResKit resin exhausts, and cutting the canopy open to show the cockpit.

For the cockpit, I used Quinta Studio's 3D decals and added a few scratch-built details, including a custom HUD made from thin styrene and nail art transfer foil.

The weathering was another interesting part of the build. I used the Layered Ink Patina technique with white acrylic ink to recreate the faded and patchy appearance commonly seen on naval aircraft. I also used oil paints and pastel powders to add operational wear.

The special Diamondbacks paint scheme came with another surprise: I discovered that part of the painting guide was incorrect, so I had to sand off and repaint the rear section of the aircraft.

After around 80 hours of work, the finished F/A-18F became part of a private collection in Texas.

Products and materials used include:
• Academy 1:72 F/A-18F Super Hornet
• Quinta Studio 3D cockpit set
• ResKit resin exhausts
• Master Angle of Attack probe
• Double Xcellent Model decals
• Eduard AIM-9X missiles
• Tamiya polishing compounds
• Alclad II Metal Colors
• Mr. Hobby paints + Leveling Thinner
• Liquitex Acrylic Ink & Vallejo Thinner
• Winsor & Newton oil paints + AK White Spirit

0:00 F/A-18F intro
0:34 The Academy kit and the aftermarket products
1:57 My new ebook about scale modelling
2:12 Cockpit detailing with 3D decals
6:51 Modify the fuselage
7:35 Scratch-build a HUD
9:12 Canopy repair via polishing
10:54 Assembling the fuselage + filling and sanding
16:01 Priming with Surfacer
16:43 Painting the Super Hornet
19:08 Weathering: Layered Ink Patina Technique
23:44 Applying DXM decals
24:28 Landing gear, weapons and accessories
28:36 Final weathering

📖 The complete build is also available as an ebook:   / f-18f-super-1-72-166564669  

⭐ If you're interested in commissioning a custom aircraft model, you can find more information at https://modelbuilder.art/offer/ 👈🏻

Thanks for watching!

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