Subject: Re: F/A-18E Submission
From: "Submissions for ARC" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 1 May 2013 13:52:05 -0700

Hi,
I just wanted to let you know your article went on ARC today.  Thanks again for sending it in.

Steve Bamford
ARC Air - Aircraft Resource Center
http://www.arcair.com

Live like there is no tomorrow;
Love like you've never been hurt.
Work like you don't need the money.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: [email-masked] 
  To: Aircraft Resource Center 
  Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2013 2:20 AM
  Subject: F/A-18E Submission

  "1/48 Scale Hasegawa F/A-18E Super Hornet" 

  by "Burt Gustafson"
  --------------------

        Steve Bamford will insert full sized version of photo 01.jpg here  

  For your viewing pleasure, here are some photos of my 1/72 scale F/A-18E Super Hornet. The F/A-18E Super Hornet is a single seat, twin-engine carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The Super Hornet looks a lot like an F/A-18C, but it is largely a new aircraft. It is about 20 percent larger, has more powerful engines, and can carry more ordnance than the original Hornet. 

  The Super Hornet carries more internal fuel, increasing mission range and endurance over the "Legacy" Hornet. Unlike the "Legacy" Hornet, the Super Hornet is designed so it can be equipped with an aerial refueling system (ARS) or "buddy store" for the refueling of other aircraft, filling the tactical airborne tanker role the Navy lost with the retirement of the KA-6D and S-3B Viking tankers.

  The Super Hornet entered service with the United States Navy in 1999, replacing the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, which was retired in 2006, and serves alongside the original Hornet.

        Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 03.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 03.jpg Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 04.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 04.jpg Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 05.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 05.jpg Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 06.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 06.jpg 

  Construction
  This was an out of the box build—no after market accessories. Construction began with the cockpit that went together nicely. However the finished cockpit lacks detail. Instrument panel and console detail is provided with decals—there are no seat belts for the ejection seat. The two part canopy is crystal clear with just a faint mold line down the middle, and it fits nicely.

  Overall, construction is straight forward just following the instructions. Some gap filling and sanding was required when joining the top section of the fuselage with the bottom section. Also, some seam filling was required when joining the wings to the fuselage. The rest of the kit went together nicely—very little filler was used.

  Painting
  All paints used for this model were airbrushed with Model Masters and Floquil enamel paints. In painting my F/A-1E Super Hornet, I deviated a bit from the standard F/A-18E paint scheme; Light Ghost Gray with a Dark Ghost Gray camouflage pattern. Because the Light and Dark Ghost Gray paints are almost the same color, I airbrushed the wings and body of the model with Light Ghost Gray. Wheel wells and landing gears were painted with Floquil Reefer White. The exhaust cans were painted with Model Masters Burnt Metal. The AIM-120 and AIM-9X missiles were painted with a combination of Light Ghost Gray, Gunship Gray, and Reefer White. The trailing edges of the wings and vertical stabilizers were painted with MM Intermediate Blue. Note the black areas down the middle of the model and the black and red vertical stabilizers were not painted, those are decals.

          
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  Decals
  Decaling my Super Hornet was challenging for several reasons. First, there are a huge number of decals that go on the Super Hornet—over 100. If you build this kit, be prepared for long sessions of decaling. The second and most challenging was applying the decals to the vertical stabilizers and areas around the cockpit. The decals for these areas are large and tore because of the irregular surfaces of these areas. I patched the tears with paint—Signal Red and Gloss Black. The rest of the decals were fine. They performed reasonably well settling down in the panel lines. I used a bit of Solvaset on each decal to ensure it snuggled down to the model surface.

  Comments
  This was a nice kit to build. Overall construction is a fairly painless with well-fitting parts. The external detail is excellent and the instructions are clear and well drawn. Despite my troubles with the decals, the decals were of excellent quality. The overall quality of this kit is excellent, typical for a Hasegawa kit. I was pleased with the finished model—a colorful and attractive model.

  "Burt Gustafson"

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  Just delete any of the boxes below you don't need.....it's not important to include them.....they are there to give you an idea of the finished article.  It is best to limit your article to no more than 60 or so photos, so the finished webpage won't take too long to open.

        Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 11.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 11.jpg Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 12.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 12.jpg Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 13.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 13.jpg Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 14.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 14.jpg 

        Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 15.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 15.jpg Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 16.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 16.jpg Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 17.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 17.jpg Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 18.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 18.jpg 

      

  Photos and text © by "Burt Gustafson"