Just a quick note to say that I am tentatively progressing with the intakes/trunking/engine installation. The link from Gary (thanks...) gave me some tips and ideas. I will post some pics of the progress in due course. Fingers crossed, so far, so good.
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Progress is slow at the moment but I am approaching it my way working from the one definate known exact location on each side, attaching the front inner side of the intakes to the sides of the fuselage.
As below with one side in place. There are no location pins so it needs careful lining up, more like a short run kit than a Trumpeter.
When fully dry I then cement it to the side of the main airframe. Problem is, it is not a great fit and one side seems somewhat warped. I therefore started gluing in sections working forward as each section dries.
Below is with both sides in place. I have left that overnight for the cement to fully harden. I will have some work to do on joins over a couple of sessions.
I did do a test fit and found that I should be able to fit the ducting into the right positions behind the intakes without using slivers of plastic sheet inside the intakes holding it in place, which was the solution the link required which would inevitably be visible when looking into the intakes.
In between I have been moving on with other sub-assemblies.
As regulars know I like to complete my builds 'buttoned up' with only the cockpit open. I just like seeing the clean lines of the aircraft while focussing on cockpit detail. This model is engineered to have all hatches open and it is taking a lot of work modifying parts to have them closed up. On the F/A18E there is a crew ladder that folds up into the underside of the front starboard wing, the model is designed to have it lowered. While technically I am sure that would be correct, with the aircraft on the ground without a pilot, I dont want that. So I have scraped out detail from the wing recess and then scraped and sanded the side of the ladder to fit the gap so it is displayed closed.
Tonight more work on the airframe and, perhaps see if those ducts do fit as I hope.Comment
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Trumpeter are an odd company. They are capable of producing some great kits like, in 1/32, the Dauntless, Avenger and Swordfish and yet even with new tools they can produce some real โdogsโ. It is to such a degree that it is like they have two teams, the A Team, who are among the best and a third rate โB Teamโ developing kits.
This kit was definitely produced by the B Team and it is the worse Trumpeter I have built. That said, so far I have navigated the issues, none of which are insurmountable.
The trunking fitted in well. My approach worked without having to add plastic sheet tabs to fix it in place avoiding some ugly edges inside the intake.
Engines then fitted perfectly into place.
The instructions show how to fit the ends of the wings in the extended position but, clearly the kit was engineered to have the tips raised. Indeed for raised wing tips there are some very good strong hinges. But not for extended tips, there is no way to get a secure join between the two wing parts without using strips of plastic sheet.
it is irrational but I do find myself getting annoyed at Trumpeterโs lack of diligence with this model.Comment
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Very odd indeed, but then, I get a similar (not quite an A- and a B-Team) impression from Trumpeters 1:35 scale AFV kits: theyโre generally quite good and well-moulded, but they almost always get various details wrong that makes you wonder how they did their research. Not to mention the assembly sequence seems to have been thought out by someone who has never, ever built a plastic kit.Comment
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I share your experience of Trumpeter kits, variable would be a polite way of putting it. Their Me 262(s) are really good, others, not so much.
Their painting and construction instructions are at least consistently bad.
Anyway, it looks like you are beating this one into shape!Comment
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Some more progress
Tub cemented into location:
There is a 'plate' to cement into position around the tub but the fit is quite poor and there will need to be a fair amount of filling.
Wings are now complete units. Parts need a little clean up.
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The undercarriage parts are ready for varnish after detail painting then they will get washes.
Time to deal with the canopy seam.... first the tools I am using with my new purchases, the Tamiya polishing compounds.
Start by scraping the seam off with a knife.
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Then through varying grades of sanding sponges and rubbing compound.
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Masked up and sprayed
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The stores pylons
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i am trying to decide on a stores lay out.
Naturally the centre pylon will carry a fuel tank and Sidewinders on the wing tips.
I am thinking of 2 GBU12โs on each wing attached to the the outer two pylons and an AGM-154 on each of the inner wing pylons. Or, perhaps just three GBU12s under each wing one per pylon.
But should I reserve one of the fuselage mountings for a targeting pod with this configuration? Anyone know as I have not found an answer to that.Comment
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All I could find is the possible load outs, on page 15-33 (not โ15 to 33โ but โ15-dash-33โ) of this PDF:
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It also mentions that a publication titled NWP 3-22.5-F/A-18E/F Vol. IV, A1-F18EA-TAC-020 contains the authorised combinations, but Iโve not been able to find a copy of that yet.Comment
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This is a complicated one Jakko. I have not found anything definitive on the web. Trumpeter are certainly no help. I am wondering if the instructions for the Revell E Or another E kit might have an answer. I will do some Googling on that tomorrow.Comment
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Itโs also not made any easier by the diagram above not mentioning weapons but pylons, launchers and racks, so youโll still need to figure out which weapons can go on each of those โฆ Luckily, typing the designation into Google tends to give answers to that quickly enough. It still doesnโt answer what combinations are actually allowed, though. Searching for [ICODE]"NWP 3-22.5-F/A-18E/F"[/ICODE] (that is: โGoogle, I want this term exactlyโ) yields precisely two results for me: one is the PDF linked to above, the other isnโt useful here.Comment
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Looking good Barry. You dealt with that seam in the canopy nicely.Comment
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I have moved on to fitting together the main airframe sub-assemblies. This really is not a good kit, the fit is terrible. I had a hint of a problem from how the many wing parts came together and various test fits. I have taken this slowly, test fitting, trying different approaches but found issues every way I turned.
Some pictures:
Due to difficulties I found in test fits getting the wings into position with the top and bottom fuselages joined, I decided to cement the wings to the top half of the fuselage first. It seemed the best way but, if I did it again, I would have used the bottom half to do this though in some ways it would have been more problematical.
I am not sure whether you can make it out but I could not get a good fit at all. Get one part in the right place, another would be out. Nothing properly fitted the space it was meant to fit so I cemented it into position as best I could having checked to see if the bottom would fit over it. It seemed as if it would... Until I came to do it of course. I could not get it evenly clamped and it somehow must have shifted out of position and that added to my difficulties. Eventually I managed to bodge it together.
The top
The bodging seemed to have done the trick and once filled, as in the photos, it does not look too bad though looking closely through my optivisor I can see a lot of issues.
Next the bottom part... Again nothing really fitted but I got it into place, lots of sanding and filling being needed. There were some big gaps that had to be dealt with. It was clear I might have issues with the nose so I left some 'wriggle room' a the front.
Then the nose. It is not the best of fits generally to the top fuselage but looking at the place where it joins the rear fuselage I really dont think I left enough 'wriggle room' to get a fit.
Test fits told me that would be bad but it is even worse than I expected. The two photos above also show up some of the wing fit issues I contended with.
Later today I will try to force it together and glue it in place. I have a horrible feeling about this, I dont think the 'slack' is enough but I will try.
If it does not work then, no sweat I will just bin it. I only bought this kit because I could not get the Kinetic or Academy legacy F/A-18 and I could not be bothered with the awful Revell release, so I wont really consider it a loss. If I see the Kinetic one day I may well get that.
Watched this space - will I bin it or will it proceed to completion?Comment
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Found some info.
The AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR (Advanced Targeting Forward Looking InfraRed), is the main electro-optical sensor and laser designator pod for the Super Hornet.
By U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Apprentice Timothy C. Roache Jr.Comment
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HI Barry NO NO NO NO PLEASE PLEASE DONT BIN IT as id love to see this plane through completion ? as I must admit ive not properly looked through my super hornet kit an wont till ive finished tiger but you binned the AV10 an that was a shame an im sure you had your reasons as you said that you've never had such a bad fittin kit well ok on that but im sure the hornet is not that bad is it ?
chris:cold-sweat::disappointed:Comment
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