Here is my 1/48
scale Hasegawa Hornet built as the CO's bird for VMFA-232 of the United
States Marine Corps. Most modern jet modelers are familiar with this kit so I
won't bore you with the many details involved in construction. The kit is very
good, and I built this particular example nearly OOB. I did substitute an extra resin
seat I had from Black Box, but retained the kit cockpit. Carefully painting and
drybrushing make it look just fine. Since Hasegawa does not provide intake
trunks I fabricated covers made from wine bottle foil and painted them red. The
only other non-kit items are the four Mk. 20 Rockeye cluster bombs, which came
from Hasegawa 's weapons sets, and an AIM-120 AMRAAM on the starboard intake
station from my spares box.
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images below to see larger images
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The model was painted with a
combination of Model Master and Polyscale acrylics, and the exhaust nozzles were
done with Model Master's metalizers. After applying a coat of Future the
Superscale declas went down next, with no issues. Another coat of Future was
applied to seal the decals against weathering. I applied my usual enamel wash to
the panels lines and did some subtle airbrush fading. A final coat of Polyscale
flat sealed everything.
Although they require a bit of
work, the Hasegawa kits build into a terrific representation of the Hornet.
Hope you enjoy the photos!
Joe
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images below to see larger images
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