Tiny Superbug

Time for something normal for a change, and here it is: A Dragon 1/144 F/A-18E Super Hornet. There's a little nostalgia while building this tiny model, as the first model I've ever built was a 1/144 F/A-18C Hornet. Not exactly the same model, but the memories definitely hit home. The first model I built (with some assistance from my sister) was completed in an afternoon back in 2000, using scissors, a penknife and household paper glue. It was an afternoon well spent, and that tiny kit convinced me enough to pursue this activity as a mainstay hobby. After 11 years of plastic cutting, my skills have changed quite a bit, as evident in this photo:



Left: Original 1/144 F/A-18C built in 2000; Right: New 1/144 F/A-18E built in 2011.

The funny pigments on the old model is actually poster colour. I didn't have any enamel paints back then, and I didn't know what were 'decals', 'weathering' and 'airbrushing'. Now I do, as my latest build shows.

Back to the build(and the future):

This is the first time I've ever built a Dragon model kit, and I'd say the kit soars pretty well on my rankings. Good points are aplenty: Very nice, albeit slightly over-accentuated recessed panel lines and rivets; Detailed landing gears and cockpit (for 1/144 scale); Superb decals; Usable canopy and more or less spot on in terms of shape and size, at least to the Mk. 1 Eyeball.


There are a few flaws, though. Dragon gives the option of folding wings, which IMO shouldn't be applied to 1/144 scale as it involves very tiny details, even in 1/32, let alone 1/144. They moulded the wings in inner and outer parts, and the attachment between the 2 parts are in the form of a lego-like male-female attachment. The attachment has a rather wide gap, and looks awful and inaccurate, folded or unfolded. I attached the wings and filled the gaps. There are some minor gaps between the fuselage halves, but then again, that might be my fault. There are also some minor inaccuracies in the decals for the CAG scheme. The formation lights below the tail were molded incorrectly (they were molded under the wings).

But to be honest, those flaws are minor and are easily outweighed by the good points of the kit. So well done, Dragon. Now I don't particularly dread building the 1/72 Tiger tank in my stash.


Here's a coin to scale:


The model was sprayed with a mix of enamels (for the exterior) and acrylics (for the MLG and NLG bays, air intakes). Weathering was more or less standard, with a pastel wash and some light pastel dusting (CAG birds aren't usually dirty). The markings depict the CAG bird of VFA-147 "Argonauts" in Dec 2007.


-stcoponegripen-