F-18F and Mercury-Redstone Update

Last night I sat down to start the decaling process on the Revell F-18F.  It is going to take a few days.

Decal sheet is extensive and include all of the basic markings, as well as airframe stenciling, and weapons striping. The weapons striping is a nice bonus that modern kits are starting to come with and makes marking weapons much easier. It is going to take me a few days to work through these, but it is not as bad as it seems.  Placing small decals is easy, just tedious.  Some of the decals on this sheet are for a different squadron.

Bare and ready to go.

Multiple decals, some fairly large, are provided for the black area around the canopy.  This is great, but also problematic as it can be a struggle making decals conform around compound curves and other large irregularities.  It is often a VERY good idea to cut up large decals into smaller pieces.  For example, the anti-glare black in front of and around the windscreen and the so called "pizza box" came in one large piece.  I cut it up into three.  The black going down the canopy rail is a separate piece, as are the loop overs that will go on top of the canopy, and the pieces that go around the rear hinge mechanism.

Blog Restructuring and Updates

I have decided to simplify my build blog.  Before, I had it set up with a different blog page for each project.  Frankly, with so many projects going on (like about 10), that I had difficulty making adequate progress on any one.  I am going to pare down to only about 3 or 4 projects, and combine photos and narrative onto this one page.

So lets get started with some updates....

First up is the long running Airfix 1/144 Boeing 737.

Next is an update on a NewWare 1/144 scale Mercury-Redstone.  This is Alan Shepard's Friendship 7.  This rocket is quite small in this scale, at about five inches tall.  A Saturn V is an absolute monster in comparison.

I stupidly cut off some outside trim fins on the stabilizers thinking they were flash.  Now I have to rebuild the fins and add the trim tabs back on later.

   

Jolly Rogers SuperHornet.  1/72 kit from Revell of Germany.  This was originally going to be a catapult launch diorama, but the canopy did not fit very well enough to close properly.  I will now finish it with open canopy.

Lastly, 1/144 Seawolf submarine.  The Seawolf is a big boat, and is a couple of feet long even in this scale.  This kit retails for about $30, but I got it for five bucks from one of our club members who had picked it up at an estate sale. The hull pieces (three sections split three ways) were "tack glued"together.  I had to reglue all of the joints to make them more secure.  The three section hull is a little tricky, as the plastic is VERY thin and flexible.  With most post WWII subs, the build is fairly easy, and the action is in the painting.

This is the USS Texas, Seawolf's sister ship.  Notice how the flat black finish of the lower hull makes it look dark gray.  The kit instructions call for a red hull bottom half, but I could not find a single picture of a Seawolf or Virginia class sub with a red bottom.