SCM Aggressor Group Build Fall 2019
Comments
1 1 October 2019, 01:30
Patrick HagelsteinWelcome Stephan! You might have to remove the seat cover before sitting down. I'm planning on covering the seat and HUD as seen in picture 2 and 3 to emphasize the Nevada heat on the Fallon ramp. 😉
1 October 2019, 15:41
Bernhard SchrockFine fine fine! I'm very happy to see this project Patrick! I think it was 20 years or so when I built the #01 and used the same decal sheet of HDL...
modellversium.de/gal..hornet-hasegawa.html
1 October 2019, 15:55
DanielAaah, now that you say that Bernhard, your hornet on MV was a huge inspiration to me some years ago 👍 this is the outcome:
modellversium.de/gal..=13058&origin=mb
1 October 2019, 16:28
Patrick Hagelstein😄 What a coincidence! Both Bernard's and Daniel's builds are saved as a bookmark for reference for this build. I'm honored and humbled by your presence and can only hope I can live up to your expectations for this build. 🙂 @Hans, you know I'll always reserve a seat for a regular attendee. 😉
1 October 2019, 16:56
Patrick HagelsteinThanks guys! More to follow later this weekend after my camping trip in Texas. 👍
5 October 2019, 05:45
Jos JansenPatrick, count me in as well...looking forward to see more photos of your progress! 👍 Have fun in 'The lone star State' ...we're going?
5 October 2019, 07:00
Patrick HagelsteinWelcome Jos! Yesterday I returned from Eisenhower State Park at the shores of Lake Texoma just on the state line between Oklahoma and Texas. It was fun and I met a lot of fellow country men and women. 🙂 Back in the office again and hopefully I can find some time for this bird in this weeks evenings. On we go! 🙂
7 October 2019, 12:34
Patrick HagelsteinThanks Slavo! Glad you could join in and hopefully I might be able to pick your brain in the process. For now the only thing that looks promising, is that I have an order out for new airbrush needle seals and a completely new valve for my 0.2 airbrush and that I had set aside some new needle sets for all my airbrushes. Tonight I might be investing in thoroughly cleaning and servicing my airbrushes in front of the TV before any more work on the Bug can be done.
9 October 2019, 13:10
Slavo HazuchaI took it from the last comment in the pic that you´ll be taking the current splattered pattern as a base for marbling and then go over once again with fine lines... Which I´d be happy to watch, could give quite a result - I personally think marbling with tones of the final colors instead of just gray-scale is a thing😉 Regarding the "incident", it´s really strange, I sprayed several bottles of MRP colors dry and this never really happened not even with the somewhat sub-par primer... I go with rather low pressures and super-thin layers and they just work spot on - before a run, I blast 3 drops of cleaner through the Airbrush (iwata Neo, nothing too fancy...) and all goes fine 99% of the time...
9 October 2019, 14:30
Patrick HagelsteinOh no, not at all! The painted Bug is 'only' a slapped together Revell/Italeri 1980's vintage paint mule. I just wanted to know what mixing ratios I needed in order to get the exact same colors as the decals. Because the markings follow the contours of the paint scheme in the contrasting color, I need to be very specific. In case of a 'normal' Ghost Grey jet, any color would be fine as the markings are a different color anyway. So, that's my reason behind this paint test. On the real Academy Hornet, which I only just started on, I will go for black primer as well and then slowly build up all the colors with marbling the greys, sands and browns over a colorful palet to get that faded discolored look from being bleached by the Nevada sun.
In picture 9 you can see the MRP paints I used to mix the sand (basically Desert Tan with only a hint of Red Brown). The Ghost Grey was also MRP by the way... The Brown color is actually Tamiya acrylic NATO Brown mixed with their lacquer thinner and yes, I might have had the consistency wrong... 🙁 But I was also planning on stripping and overhauling my three airbrushes for a while as I felt the seals needed replacement and on my Harder & Steenbeck Evolution (0.2 setup) the valve was stuck, releasing only a very low air stream, which didn't atomize the paint as it should. Yesterday I 'needed' to paint and switched my 0.2 needle setup to my 0.4 other Evolution. That one needed new seals as well and I found out that the 0.2 needle could move freely in the 0.4 seal resulting in paint running through the whole airbrush body.
So, thank you for thinking along with me! See, I knew your brain picking would come in handy! 😄 But I know my airbrushes are the issue and not MRP's quality or even my pressure. I was pushing my airbrush overhaul past my 'next' projects but tonight might be a good night to get them fully stripped and ready for their new and fresh replacement parts. I think I just snug up on my couch and give them all my TLC they deserve. 😉
9 October 2019, 14:55
Patrick HagelsteinPS. With MRP I hardly ever go over 10 psi (at least that's what my pressure gauge says) and they work like a charm every time. When I use Mr. Color I sometimes go up to 15 psi but only if I need broad coverage. 🙂
9 October 2019, 14:57
Patrick HagelsteinThanks for that tip Hans! 👍 I'll try that this evening. With only a couple of $$ for a set of three, it never hurts to have some seals on spare. 🙂
9 October 2019, 16:02
Patrick HagelsteinThanks Stephan but as already mentioned to Slavo, this is only my paint mule to test some colors. 🙂
9 October 2019, 18:05
Patrick HagelsteinGuys, I need an opinion.... I want(ed) to build my Hornet powered down sitting on the Nellis concrete with covers over the exhausts, intakes, HUD and seat. Powered down also means that the flaps, ailerons and slats are lowered due to hydraulic bleed off. That means that for lowered flaps, ailerons and slats there are two options: 1) Getting the Wolfpack 72005 Flaps Down Set and 2) Cutting up the Academy wings 'ye old fashioned way'. But........ the Wolfpack set is long out of production and nowhere to be found, leaving me to option 2; cutting op the wings... In some pictures I can see only the flaps and ailerons down and the slats still in the up position. Now I'm trying to find the courage to start cutting....
Wimp as I am, I found another option all together: Don't have the Hornet powered down but actually crewed and ready to roll out or just returning from a training. This means that the covers are a no-go and that I have to fit in a pilot. Good news on that is that in the early '90s both old and new style helmets were in use.
My question to my audience is how I should perform from here: Should I cut off the flaps and ailerons and reattach them in the down position and stick to the parked setting or should I build my jet crewed up with running systems (meaning that the wings stay neutral)? I'll leave my decision up to you and go ahead with the rest of the fuselage for now.
16 October 2019, 02:45
Harry EderSame Jet - same problem! 😉
I also had to solve that. I will sit a pilot from PJ in, close the canopy and display the Hornet on a taxiway!
16 October 2019, 06:17
PierreI went flaps down on my build of this kit and can assure you it was a much easier process than getting the nose seams sorted right - basic straight cuts, simple reshaping and basic scratching with plasticard and metal rods. Will definitely try folded wings on the next one, which looks much trickier to me.
I prefer the flaps down look on hornets, but then again, PJ pilots and rolling jets look great, so both ideas sound good.
16 October 2019, 09:02
Holger KranichI like the taxi idea very much. Maybe with a flag-waving Pilot or so? Or with a cigar and a can of beer? Right after his first flight without instructor?
16 October 2019, 11:23
Patrick HagelsteinThanks for your feedback guys and thanks for the links Hans! Putting either a flag, a cigar or a beer in a 1/72 pilot's hands seems somehow more daunting than actually cutting up those wings....
Hans, I know what you mean with that full length aerodynamic cover and I already figured I would have to scratch build that one. Especially since making the cut means that I would have to cut right through that section. The flaps and ailerons have an ever so slightly gap between them when moved down, so yes, I have to cut them up along the panel line. Should be doable.... I guess....
Pierre, I looked up your build and saw that you pulled it off using a scratched aerodynamic cover as well. It looks doable.... but could you elaborate a bit more on how you did it, please?
So........ I'm diving in head first and will cut the wings up!
16 October 2019, 14:52
Patrick HagelsteinThanks Sergej and Harry! The grey is MRP and the black is brushed Vallejo thinned with water. I mixed some light grey for the buttons and used a damp cotton bud to clean up any black out of the panels. The glass parts on the screens and dials are done with Alclad II Aqua Gloss.
16 October 2019, 15:42
PierreWell, IIRC I cut .2mm plasticard to shape for those covers prior to cutting, using the kits engraving as a template, then cut with a scriber. Filed up the flaps leading edge to shape (should have removed more material to get a bigger "slot" effect with the cover), separated flaps and ailerons, cut the actuators leaving the hinge on the wing part, drilled both wing and flaps for metal rods around the actuators (randomly, as I had no picture, but things are pretty much hidden once glued/painted ).
I think I then glued the covers after taping them in place at a seemingly correct angle using TET, possibly reinforced the inside with CA, then worked out the flaps alignment with those metal rods, patafix and CA.
This was the trickiest bit, I'd do it differently now that I have more reference pictures by actually reproducing the actuator slots, which should make it easier to use plastic all around.
I also cut the leading edges entirely, it might be better to just scribe the underside as needed then bend at correct angle.
16 October 2019, 17:00
Patrick HagelsteinThanks Stephan and wow Pierre! 👍 Thanks for the explanation! 🙂 Now I have to give it that try! Knowing that the Wolfpack set is out of stock and having a couple of those Academy Hornets planned, I'd better get a way worked out to achieve this typical Hornet feature.
16 October 2019, 17:47
Patrick Hagelsteinreddogsmodels.wordpr..lden-dragon-landing/
Finding some more reference and future ideas at once. 😉
16 October 2019, 17:48
Patrick HagelsteinYes Bart, I'm a really slow builder... Just take a look at all the projects I started (but still haven't finished) compared to my actual finished projects. 😄 In fact, I'm so slow that if I don't force myself to build more and more often, my kits start creeping back into their boxes out of sheer disappointment... 😉
But this one has a commitment towards the Group Build participants, this one I will put through it's paces! 👍 😉
17 October 2019, 13:29
Bart GoesaertI think we are two builders alike... I hardly finish a project...
17 October 2019, 13:42
Maciej BellosMake them builders three. I start a kit with good intentions to see it collect dust.
17 October 2019, 13:49
Patrick HagelsteinMy 'problem' is that while waiting for some paint or glue to dry, I start this 'quicky' side project while waiting, only to see that quicky turn into my main project and forget about the previous one. Then my desk gets cluttered and I clean it all up, just to put projects away in the stash of doom... 😄
17 October 2019, 13:53
Bart Goesaertyep, sounds familiar... somebody interested in a GSA-meeting? (Glue Sniffers Anonymous)
17 October 2019, 14:24
Patrick HagelsteinSo recognizable Donald. At the moment I'm also starting a little project for one of my clubs's nautical build. But that IS a quicky, as it is a modern submarine. Two hull halves and some stuff sticking out and then I can hit it with primer and paint! 👍
17 October 2019, 18:08
Donald Dickson IIUntil you realize you need to buy 2 PE sets to make it look just right. And then you find reference pics showing weathering you didnt consider...
17 October 2019, 18:49
Patrick HagelsteinSifting through both Hans Robben's and my own reference pictures, I can not see any scab plates next to the slime lights on the vertical tails, which leads me to the assumption that these Hornets didn't go through the structural enhancement program adding the scab plates and the supports at the inside bottom op the verticals. F/A-18As from the late '90s can still be seen without those stiffeners, so it could make sense. Can somebody please prove me right or wrong on my assumption that I don't need to add the stiffeners at the bottom and more importantly, shave off the stiffeners on both side of the verticals as well? Thank you very much! 🙂
4 November 2019, 00:32
Patrick HagelsteinNever mind, picture 29 shows the stiffener plates, so I can safely assume the whole structural enhancement program was applied to this airframe. Saves me some shaving and sanding! 😄
5 November 2019, 03:15
Patrick HagelsteinFingers crossed it works the way I want... I figured sanding the smooth radome surface would be easier than around all the details around the radome's circumference.
6 November 2019, 00:05
Patrick HagelsteinThanks guys! Hopefully I find some time this week to put it to the test. 🙂
6 November 2019, 15:47
Spanjaardlooking good. kit surgery... needed sometimes to get the right result... but it can get a bit scary😉
6 November 2019, 15:53
Patrick HagelsteinIt's scary until you scribe or saw that part off. Then there's no way back and the only thing that can happen, is that you actually improve the build. 😄
6 November 2019, 20:01
Harry EderI think you did all right! The gaps are on the same places like on mine! 😄
A pity with the colours...
7 November 2019, 06:12
Patrick HagelsteinNever mind the colors, I'm on a color quest, riding my paint mule. 😉
7 November 2019, 06:56
Patrick HagelsteinGotcha! I just ordered MRP-387 and the Mission Models equivalent as I found that to be a little bit more reddish. It's the matching up with the decals that makes this so hard to find the right hue as I want te contrasting markings to be the exact match to the paint scheme. In any other scheme I wouldn't care for it that much.
7 November 2019, 14:48
Spanjaardyou can make some masks for those decals, and not worry about the exact hue anymore..... just an idea.
7 November 2019, 16:36
Patrick HagelsteinCould be an idea. Are there any laser cut Hornet masks that you know of by any chance?
7 November 2019, 16:49
Patrick HagelsteinApart from the warning text next to the cockpit, the most prominent would be national markings, NAVY titles and intake triangles.
7 November 2019, 16:50
Patrick HagelsteinF-14 Tomcat National Insignia (Eduard XS542, 1:72)
Spanjaard, I'll wait for my ordered paint to arrive and see if it works. Otherwise, this might be an option. Thanks for the tip! 👍
7 November 2019, 17:03
Jos JansenNice progress on that aggressor Patrick...lots of Hornets on SCM...😉👍
8 November 2019, 06:07
Patrick HagelsteinHey! Slavo is back!!! 😄 Welcome again! Besides my little (not yellow) submarine, this one is prominent on my modeling table for the upcoming two weeks. Should be some progress from now on. 🙂
2 December 2019, 14:06
Patrick HagelsteinNope.... No progress for now and no progress for the year 2019... Today I start my trip home to girlfriend and family. The Hornet will be patiently awaiting my return in 2020. Merry Christmas and a happy modeling year to come!!! 🙂
14 December 2019, 14:05
Slavo HazuchaSounds great - enjoy your holidays & unleash your imagination to let some great 2020 ideas grow on! Nice Christmas & "guten Rutsch"!
14 December 2019, 16:07
Patrick HagelsteinVielen Dank Slavo und Stephan! Ich habe gerade während den ersten Flugabschnitt mal meine Gedanken den freien Lauf gelassen und habe schon gute Ideen bekommen. 🙂 Frohe Weihnachten und guten Rutsch!
14 December 2019, 20:03
Clifford KeeslerMerry Christmas Patrick, hope you have a happy and safe vacation.
15 December 2019, 20:10
Patrick HagelsteinThanks guys! A merry Christmas to you too èn een goed uiteinde!
16 December 2019, 21:29
Patrick HagelsteinNot for long when I'm not building much and when I build on other projects instead. 😉
11 February 2020, 00:21
Patrick HagelsteinThanks Clifford! 😄 Sadly I won't be touching any model (kit) until I get back from a business trip this Friday. I still need to exert some patience...
11 February 2020, 01:12
Project info
Group Build
SCM Aggressor Group Build Fall 2019
1. October
1. October