Richards Kinetic 1/48 F-18D

[boatman]

Not really Chris ...this kit is a killer. But I have stuck on the flap actuators.

Cheers,
Richard

HI Richard whats it a really bad fit then the kit
chris

 

[rtfoe]

HI Richard whats it a really bad fit then the kit
chris

I expected better since the boxing said Gold kit with the latest of molding. I'm used to bad fitting kits. I'm just holding back as there are no armement or formation lights decals. All it has is the B/W decals for the tiger stripes and stencils.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Hi all,
Even the experienced of the experienced builders can faulter and I'm not perfect. With all the excitement I assumed the position of the rear undercarriage and nature of the shape of the F-18, one would think this will be a nose heavy kit. I didn't factor in the weight addition of the interior tubing at the rear of the engines would tip the balance so fearing a tail sitter I had to do something. I tried something I have never done but heard of...drill a hole and fill lead pellets to the nose!

First I checked that the compartment at the nose was separate and nothing could get into the cockpit. I drilled a hole about 0.5cm in diameter at the base of the nose, made a funnel out of paper and poured the pellets in to the brim then squeezed thin cyano(superglue) and let it cure. The nose was hot while the glue cured. I didn't know cyano reacted this way. Good thing it wasn't hot enough to melt plastic.



I checked the balance and then sealed the hole with a sliced thick piece of plastic rod and sanded smooth....phew!!! that saved the day.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[boatman]

very nice bit of work Richard so she wont now be a tail sitter as its easy to forget when starting on a kit you really like an get carried away building
chris

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Those pellets look tiny, able to fit into the smallest of spaces.

 

[Jakko]

The nose was hot while the glue cured. I didn't know cyano reacted this way.

It sets by reacting with water,¹ and most (not all) chemical reactions produce heat, so it doesn’t really surprise me — though I wouldn’t have guessed it would be enough to make the model feel warm to the touch.

I do wonder if the glue was actually necessary, if the nose is a sealed compartment and you glue in a plug then I wouldn’t think loose pellets would be a problem. But OTOH, it won’t hurt to glue them down either

¹ This is why it helps to breathe on superglue if you want it to set quicker: the moisture in your breath will provide it with more water to react with.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Richard
Nose weight sorted
Interesting what Jakko said about breathing on CA - useful tip.
Jim

 

[rtfoe]

very nice bit of work Richard so she wont now be a tail sitter as its easy to forget when starting on a kit you really like an get carried away building
chris

Thanks Chris, definitely got carried away there didn't I.

Those pellets look tiny, able to fit into the smallest of spaces.

Andy, I'm thinking they're not lead pellets but hardened bits of cooled solder from a blowtorch as they don't look uniformed.

It sets by reacting with water,¹ and most (not all) chemical reactions produce heat, so it doesn’t really surprise me — though I wouldn’t have guessed it would be enough to make the model feel warm to the touch.

I do wonder if the glue was actually necessary, if the nose is a sealed compartment and you glue in a plug then I wouldn’t think loose pellets would be a problem. But OTOH, it won’t hurt to glue them down either

¹ This is why it helps to breathe on superglue if you want it to set quicker: the moisture in your breath will provide it with more water to react with.

Thanks for the tip Jakko but I don't know how much humidity my breathe can contribute, fact is our weather here is so humid that superglue hardens very quickly.

Hi Richard
Nose weight sorted
Interesting what Jakko said about breathing on CA - useful tip.
Jim

Jim, for a moment I thought I was in trouble...yup good tip indeed.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Hi,

Other things that need sorting were the fit of the front canopy shield. I was warned about the bad fit and lots of scrapping and sanding of both the clear part and the front hood made it possible to fit flush.



The molding on the canopy left a seam line right in the middle from front to back of both the clear parts. I scraped, wet sanded polished the front one as can be seen above. Just another coat of polish to finish it of for Future dipping.
Below is the achilles heal of most clam shelled kits. Some filler delt with is but the sanding had taken away detail of the formation lights which need reworking.



I have glued most of the flaps and ordnance...will be taking shots of that later.
The vertical fins for A,B,C had reinforced tabs on the inner root but the instructions say to leave it off for this...with feeling of doubt I will reference to check.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Jakko]

Thanks for the tip Jakko but I don't know how much humidity my breathe can contribute, fact is our weather here is so humid that superglue hardens very quickly.

I had considered that, but decided against mentioning it In not-as-humid climates, though, that simple trick can certainly help if you’re having trouble getting superglue to stick things down quickly enough.

 

[Dave Ward]

Tail sitters - I've rescued some models by adding weights to drop tanks, guided bombs etc, any hollow ordnance - and if there isn't any room in the nose!
Dave

 

[rtfoe]

Tail sitters - I've rescued some models by adding weights to drop tanks, guided bombs etc, any hollow ordnance - and if there isn't any room in the nose!
Dave

Dave, yes those are other probable areas to add weights. I've done some in the engine nacelles of twin engine tri-cycle bombers.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Hi all,

This might see a comeback after forcing a bit of mojo by building an old tractor from an Airfix Stirling bomber kit. Took me an enormous two hours to put it together...would have been 5 minutes in my younger days.



This is where I left off...the new addition is the missing formation lights that was obliterated from the sanding. I used thin strips of plastic sheet cut into equal thickness, placed it carefully and glued it down first making the outer frame and then adding the two frames in between. After this I will re-scribe the missing panel lines and rivets.





Meanwhile the ordnance or stores were assembled...fit it so so. And started spray painting the first colour black.




That's it so far. But it's a start...I think there will be progress.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Hi guys, the instruction says black for the Laser guided and iron bombs but I distinctly remember them as olive drab. Anyway I have put them on hold and worked on the canopy.



I did the masking and spraying of the canopies in tandem with my Uhu build. So after the masking I painted the frames black including the edges.



Then a coat of primer was sparayed over the outer frame.



The primer revealed gaps on the front canopy and I filled it and smoothen it down and re-primed.



Pre-shading next...

Cheers,
Richard

 

[BigGreg]

it's going to be superb... very curious to see more..

 

[scottie3158]

Richard,
Looking good mate.

 

[rtfoe]

Thanks guys, the mojo is back for me to finish this and am slowly enjoying the process. I've heard from the batch of guys who are doing the AMK Tomcat are having lots of issues with the plastic so this kit doesn't sound too bad after all.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Hi,
Next additions to whats not given in the kit or shown in the assembly instruction sheet. Besides the antenna confusion on the spine that I found different from many reference pictures of it using the swept back version instead of the squared off fin, which lucky for me on the profile colored drawing it showed the swept fin. The other thing I noticed on that profile was an extra squared off fin protruding just aft of the ATARS bulge and then another bulge just aft of the belly swept antenna.



Circled on the profile were the issues I had to reference. I managed to avoid sticking the wrong antenna on the spine...going against the instruction sheet...



The second issue was to find exactly where this other fin antenna was attached to and it was on the undercarriage door. The sprue had an extra antenna which I attached to the door...

All images for reference only

It's easily missed as it tucks up when the door is opened seen above and below...

All images for reference only

But visible when the door is closed.

All images for reference only

The third issue is the bulge visibly attached to the other undercarriage door arm in the first reference image. I had to scratch this with sandwiched plastic strip carved and sanded as no part was provided or molded onto the door.



Might be a tad oversized in height...will file it down.
The other thing not on the instruction sheet is that the ATARS second camera window is tinted red. It is shown though on the side of the box colored profile of the F-18.

Sure is like playing cat and mouse....scarrrieeee. Good thing I caught this or I'll see no end of ribbing from the jet building jockies.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[colin m]

Looks nice Richard. That landing gear is nicely detailed, which I think demonstrates how complex the real thing is. A perfect subject for a spot of weathering.

 

[Wouter]

Hi Richard, great build you have going on here, nice filling and all. And you are building an Uhu? I'm drooling now, need to find the thread ^^

Cheers