The kit is the Hasegawa F/A-18A, with CAM decals and a Verlinden seat. The rest is OOB.
The photography is pretty poor, but I sure enjoyed building the model. It’s in the marking of a friend of mine, LCDR Wayne Molnar, when he flew #6 for the Blues. Hope you like it.
Thanks, John
Looking good nice job on the gloss.
Looks good John. Very nice Build.
Regards, Rick
Really nice, it’s too bad that all those dust particles got painted on with that sexy Navy blue. But a striking model none the less, and a very nice presentation base.
Steve
i agree a striking model. nice work.
joe
Thanks guys for your supportive comments.
Yes, I was disappointed and mad at myself for not cleaning the model thoroughly enough before sprayed the blue. I’ll betcha one thing tho, I’ll do a much better job in the future. Live and learn. The last thing I did was to airbrush a mixture of Future and denatured alcohol to protect the decals and give it a gloss finish. I learned that technique on the ARC.
I do like the mirror base with the wings and Navy/USMC emblems.
Again, thanks for your kind comments.
John
Nice work on the Angels’ Hornet.
Darwin, O.F. [alien]
John, it’s beautiful, and personally I didn’t notice the dust particles until somebody began counting them. Tell us about the build. Were the decals opaque over the Blue Angels Blue paint?
Everybody here has heard me yammer about the two-seater I’m planning to represent the Blue Angels No. 7 I got a ride in during th ‘88 season. I’m using the same CAM decals, the first ever to represent a two-seater from Blues’ Hornets. I was thrilled when I found them by accident in a LHS somewhere. Then I found a Black Box resin cockpit for a B model. But then, Then, it took another three years for someone to find me a Hasegawa F-18B to put them on.
Though I got my flight a year later than the decals represent, the BuNo is the same bird, which in fact stayed with the team for more than ten years. Now, I have to find a way to get the proper pilot name and crew chief on there. That will be a bear to do and I may have to skip it.
Needless to say, it was a memorable experience. I will never forget getting to perform my first Split-Ess in a real combat aircraft. We were over the Gulf of Mexico, and my maneuver wasn’t pretty, but I pulled out of it without help from the front seat, though I’m sure his hand was about a hair’s-width off the stick and throttle the whole time. And just to make sure I didn’t forget who was the real pilot in that airplane, he pulled 8.5 g’s on the overhead break when we returned to base, and I blacked clean out.
TOM
Tom,
Thanks for your kind words. I never tire of reading about your flights in the Blues birds as well as in the F-4s. Keep em coming! I’d give my left whatever for a ride in a tactical jet. Twenty-three years in the Nav and the closest I got was a cat-shot off the Saratoga in the COD.
I used the MM acrylic Blue Angel Blue and Yellow. The CAM decals were great. There was absolutely no bleed thru of blue, and they settled down beautifully with some MicroSol and MicroSet. I highly recommend them.
Thanks again, John
I didn’t count 'em I just saw 'em and I call 'em like I see 'em. Still a very nice blue angel, and good luck on your next one.
Steve
Steve, forgive me. Sometimes I dash these things off so fast I don’t stop to think that my choice of works is tactless. When we get a genuine rivet counter on here, somebody whose criticism is meant to show off their knowledge, when all it does is discourage a less experienced modeler, well, that’s when I’m deliberately blunt. I didn’t read yours that way. So, again, I’m sorry.
TOM
John,
Nice job !
I built the monogram version a while back with my son. I must say that the decals were the toughest of any model I’ve made. Looks like you did a great job on them and the kit as a whole.
Chris
Hey Tom I know you well enough by now, no problemo buddy, you squids are all alike!!! HA!!!
Steve
Very nice “Angel” John, the display really makes it look good, thanks for sharing! [:)]
Take care,
Frank