A friend gave me this beautiful
decal sheet from Leading Edge Models, so I couldn't resist building the jet.
I knew it would be a challenge given the large size of the decals, and the
complex curves they would have to bend around. Painting would also need to
be precise, because the decals require some underlying black patches atop the
spine and upper areas of the vertical tails. The decals were already
several years old, so I was also worried about splintering - which turned out
not to be too big a problem, except for one or two minor accidents that could be
repaired by nudging the splintered decals together and letting them set in
place. This was also my first attempt at using an after-market resin seat.
Very nice detail, but talk about delicate! I managed to knock off some
tiny bits while hacking and sawing to get rid of the block at the base of the
casting.
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I studied some reference
photos and found that the left-hand inboard leading-edge flap actuator
leaked quite a bit of grease, so I made sure to weather it a bit with
pencil. The rest was left quite pristine, given that this airplane
was a demo jet. These are the only pics I have, and minor technical
problems with the camera (don't ask!) led to me not having any with the
canopy or boarding ladder in place.
The large decals on the nose upper
portions wouldn't sit quite right, no matter how hard I tried. When I got
more persuasive, they started to fragment, so I left well enough alone. I
had similar problems with the big white decals sitting in place on the drooped
trailing edge flaps. My favourite moment with this model was the day that the
demo pilot himself (Dano Bélanger) came into my office here at the CF-18
Simulator training centre, and oohed and aahed over the finished kit. When
I pointed out the weathering on the wing, he told me how many times he had the
techs clean it during the show season, and how the actuator would just leak
again the next day. This colourful little model is great when admired from
a respectful distance, and looks great on my shelf next to the duller non-demo
examples of CF-18s.
Dan McWilliams
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