After my Revell Snap-Tite A-10 reignited some interest in model building, I had the thought somewhere in the back of my mind that I’d want to do another one at some point. Well, the release of DCS F/A-18C and the Miramar Air Show were enough to push me over the edge and buy a Hasegawa 1/72 F/A-18C off of Amazon for $15 (had a gift cared burning a hole in my pocket…).

https://www.amazon.com/Hasegawa-HSGS0438-72-18C-Hornet/dp/B0017TFLX4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1539019556&sr=8-1&keywords=hasegawa+1%2F72+F-18C&dpID=41JQX8v6biL&preST=_SX342_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

I did not want to pay $50 (!!!) for expedited shipping, so I have roughly a month before it gets here. It comes with decals for VFMA-232 Red Devils, which is one of the units based out of Miramar, so that sounded like a good plan.

I’m trying to decide if I want to pay $15-$20 for 2 cans of spray paint (2 shades of gray, the bare minimum I think I’ll need for this model) or if I should buy a cheap airbrush and compressor that will let me use a bunch of the acrylic hobby paints we already have, or at least utilize small jars of real model paint.

Anyone have thoughts on either of these? Think they’ll last a while so that the investment actually pays off?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CBV5KS...ZJEZGR&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078J1FBV...JEZGR&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

If I would have bought an airbrush 10 years ago, it would have paid for itself easily between some of the RC models I used to build and other random home and kid projects that we’ve done. But I’m not doing RC anymore, and I’m not going to keep up a pace of 2-3 models per year (unless my 7 year old son picks it up…).

Id be interested in the Paint Brush sets. My 1st endeavor into Air brushing was a disaster Although I haven't gone into RC as of yet, I am leaning in that direction.

Ha!
One thing I have learned from my years fooling around RC airplanes is that cosmetic and scale details rarely matter.
The buggers are either too far up, or generally ending up in a puzzling mix of balsa sticks and a grotesque pile of plastic pieces anyway.

Cosmetics are great for static models; and a true heart-breaker for the flyers.
Eventually, every time

Cheers,
Slug

I have no experience of the compressor, it the airbrush looks a lot like the generic double action I started with when I picked up the hobby again. It worked, and was better than a bristle brush. I still have it in my tool box for when I want to spray something like Klear or an equivalent. It couldn’t just to give it a go, and move up to a better one if you find you are spending more time spraying.

Gareth

So I finally got around to starting the model. When it was all said and done, I opted for a $7 can of Testors Light Aircraft Gray. It just didn't make sense to spend a bunch on an airbrush at this point...

Last night I painted and assembled the pilot and cockpit. It was all done with cheap acrylic craft paint. I added some brown to my "olive green" to darken up the flight suit, and mixed some pink, yellow, red, and brown to get the color for the face.





I decided I want my model to look like it's flying, so I started gluing landing gears doors on in the shut position. I did this a few times when I was a kid, and it was always a little tricky since that's not how the model was designed to be assembled. I got the nose gear doors down. Two of the four panels went really well, but the last two (the two furthest toward the nose that meet in the middle to close) didn't fit real well, and it was hard to get them to stay in place while the glue set. I think it looks OK (especially for the bottom of the model that no one will probably ever see...). I'll post a pic later...

I also did a test spray of the Testors light aircraft gray that I got, and it comes out a with a little bit of a tan color to it, where I was probably expecting something with more blue. Not sure yet if I'm just going to stick with it or see if I can find something else local (and cheap).

Hmmm... now that I look at my pics, I wondering if I should paint some sort of visor on the pilot. It's not what the instructions call for, but he looks like he needs one. I need to paint the air hose down closer to his arm as well...

Since it's going to be a flying model, how is it going to be displayed?

If it's going to be down from the ceiling I wouldn't worry about it.

I'll put it on a stand of some kind. I'll either repurpose one from the toy-grade planes my son has, or make something.

... or I'll just set it on the desk and everytime I sit down I'll pick it up and start running around the house making jet and explosion noises.

Which begs the question, how is your real life flying going ?

It's still on hold...

We moved just over three years ago from Northern CA to Southern CA, and are actually within a mile or so of KCRQ. However, my job was crazy with a long commute, so there was simply no time for flying. Just last month I started a new job - about 10 minutes from our house. So work-life balance just saw a huge improvement. I could see finding some time soon to get back in the cockpit, but financially it's still a little too tight...

That being said, the other night, I had insomnia (AKA I drank to many IPAs) and found a flying club at KCRQ with cheaper hourly rates and monthly dues than my old flying club at KSQL. They only have one C172SP (my model of choice), but they have a couple of P's if I settle for the reduction in HP and the need for carb heat.

So, I think it's getting closer. My kids are definitely old enough now to enjoy some (rather pricey) family excursions. For that matter, maybe a C182 would be more appropriate...

So how many hours do you have ? Are you still current or would you have to get refresher ?

I have the same number of hours I had in October 2013 (about 140). So my currency is long gone. I'd need at least a few hours with an instructor.

Got some gluing done on Saturday. Also put a bunch of tiny decals on the instrument panel that are now completely hidden and will never be seen again. After these pics were taken, I also filled in a few big gaps and uneven areas with lightweight spackle (the nose gear doors are the most significant). I've never tried that on plastic models (used it in RC a couple of times) so I don't know how well it will work compared to the products that are actual intended for plastic models. It looks OK for now, but I'm not sure if it can be sanded to a smooth enough finish. Unfortunately, I won't know until I start spraying paint over it. Oh - and also I got a can of Testors Dark Aircraft Gray, so the can of Light Aircraft Gray I had will now be for the underside, and the new can will be the color used for the top. I think I may end up with more contrast between the two colors than you see in real life, but it's the best I can do given that I'm not airbrushing.

So here's the results of my filling efforts. After reading on the internet, I put a drop of model cement on the bigger spackle sections to help hold the spackle to the model and provide a better surface for the paint. The nose gear doors got kind of messed up, but I'm calling it good and moving on since 1) no one will ever see that part, and 2) I don't know if/how much better I can get it anyway. The second pic didn't come out very clear, but that is where the front of the left air intake didn't line up well with the rest the intake and engine. I think that filling effort turned out a little better.

I'll clean all the loose debris from the nose gear doors before painting...

Looking good Malibu! Your pilot looks angry, i wonder if you could whack up a visor out of that clear cover plastic you get with those cheapo folders? Just draw cut out the visor shape, paint it and glue it right on his face. I've been trying to think what you could use and it just has to be a thin plastic that cuts nicely, maybe even a 50 cent water bottle? You could possibly even get a coloured plastic so you don't even have to paint it!

Document protector. They are available clear and in colors.

Good ideas for a visor. I'll have to see if I can come up with something...

Main gear doors all glued shut. Engine intakes and cockpit masked off for spray paint. It's supposed to rain for a couple if days, so not sure when it will be.

The only part of the cockpit that's painted is the pilot, seat, and panel, so that's all that's masked off. The rest of the cockpit will be painted black with a brush after all the spraying is done.

Here it is with the light and dark gray Testors applied to the top and bottom. Being limited to spray cans really hurt here, as all I could find are these two Testor's colors that are way to brown/tan, where I'd expect a bluer shade of gray for a USN aircraft. Oh well. The only other option would have been to go to an airbrush so I can use the paint that comes in the little jars.

The lighting was garbage here...



This shot is just to compare to the "Michael's brand $0.99 Acrylic paint" I used on the A-10A. The light gray was a better color, I think. But you can also see a clear surface finish improve with the spray can that was used on the F-18 vs the brush I used on the A-10A.

Getting there. Cockpit and some other bits painted up. I have a nice mixture of "Metallic Steel" and Black getting layered onto the exhaust nozzles. Also need to figure out how to neatly get the radome painted.