From the Workbench

Mobile Workbench

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 05:06:59 +0000

For a little while now I have been playing with the idea of a mobile workbench setup. Not so much a work surface, but an easy way to transport some tools to work on a project or two when I am away from home. I have looked at various tool boxes at Lowes and Home Depot, with some possibilities. Today I stopped by ‘The Container Shop’ and found this little box:

The upper section has one large compartment and another compartment divided into three sections. When removed the upper section is removed, it reveals a larger compartment.

Now I just need a road trip to try it out.

Project: ‘Blue Eggles’

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 03:19:42 +0000

Well, I sitting at my workbench trying to get inspired, when I happened to spot this kit in my stash. Tihis is one of Hasegawa’s Eggplanes. In the past, I have built two other F/A-18 Eggplanes, One in the markings of VFA-192 and the other VFA-113. This is the same kit, but just molded in blue plastic.

So, here are the project states:

Project Name	‘Blue Eggles′
Scale	Egg
Manufacturer	Hasegawa
Kit ID	TH-15
Type	F/A-18 Hornet
Unit	NFDS – ‘Blue Angels’
Start Date	08/25/10
Aftermarket used

As you can see from the picture below, I have joined the two halves of the fuselage together and the the pilot figure.

Making some changes

admin — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:00:37 +0000

Well, I haven’t really had that much time to do any serious modeling in awhile. I have been doing little things, including organizing the workbench.

One thing I have been doing is tweaking this blog. The one major change is the Gallery section, now known as ‘The Display Case‘. The gallery is now more integrated into the blog itself, instead of it looking different from the main blog.

Been away from the workbench for awhile

admin — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:12:18 +0000

Well, it’s been almost two months since my last post and sadly not much has changed. Do to the amount of hours I have been working, I have not had much of a drive to get back and get any work done.
My plan is to try and get back in the groove at least for 30mins to an hour a day, ‘life’ permiting. I will also try and update this blog on a more regular basis.

Kit Review – Hasegawa 1:72 F/A-18D Hornet ‘Marine Corps Combo’

admin — Sun, 02 May 2010 16:09:13 +0000

I figured that I would try something new with my blog and start doing reviews of kits, decal sheets and other modeling related items. All review items are items that I have purchased and will eventually use.

For my first review I figured I would do a kit that I know very well, the Hasegawa F/A-18D in 1:72. In this the Marine Corps Combo, which includes two kits and markings for three different aircraft.

The kits themselves are the standard Hasegawa 1:72^nd F/A-18D kits that can trace their legacy back some 20 years. The plastic it’s self is mold in the standard grey plastic and both kits separately bagged.

The highlight of the kit is the decal sheet. There are enough markings for two complete aircraft. The following aircraft are included:

F/A-18D (164699), VMFA(AW)-224 ‘Bengals’, BWK/01, circa 2009 – with black tails and color markings
F/A-18D (165684), VMFA(AW)-225 ‘Vikings’, CE/01, circa 2009 – ‘Death Dealer’ markings
F/A-18D (165528), VMFA(AW)-242 ‘Bats’, DT/00, circa 2009 – with black tail and stylized markings

The decals look a little thick, but should settle down with a little chemical assistance.

Included store are the standard that have come with the Hasegawa’s Hornets and include the following:

AIM-9L Sidewinder
AIM-7F Sparrow
AN/AAS-83 FLIR Pod
AN/ASQ-173 LST/SCAM Pod

There is one thing that did make me laugh as I looked over the instruction sheet. On the Marking & Painting guide, they missed labeled the #2 and #3 aircraft.

I will more then likely use these kits to build the VMFA(AW)-224 and VMFA(AW)-242 aircraft, as I already have the VMFA(AW)-225 markings with the Academy F/A-18D kit.

What to do when decals go yellow

admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:30:22 +0000

Ironically, even with having a whole week off of work, I have not really spent that much time at the workbench, so last night I was going to take a little time and work on some of my older projects. So, I figured I would pull my FSD #1 project and take a look at where things stood. I opened the box and I could feel the frustration start up at what I saw. The decals I had already put on had yellowed. I have taken a couple of pictures to show the reason for my dismay.

You can’t really see anything wrong until you look at the close up on the second picture.

If you look at the area around the word NAVY and the Hornet logo, you can see the yellow discoloration. This generally occurs as decals get old and are exposed to air.

This generally occurs as decals get old and are exposed to air. The fix is to put the yellowing decals in a Ziploc bag and tape them to a window, where they will be exposed to the Sun. The UV light ‘bleaches’ the decal. On rare occasions, the yellowing returns. That is what happened here. Luckily, I scanned the decals before I used them. Now the challenge is removing the old decals without causing to much damage.

Now I have gone and got myself thinking of a new project

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 23:33:40 +0000

Well after my last post I got myself thinking, maybe I should get another build or two going. And I have to admit, these markings are very tempting –

The F/A-18 production line expands…

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 08:37:11 +0000

I just realized, with the latest addition to the workbench, I am two variants short of having one each variant of the F/A-18 in some stage of production. They are as follows:

F-18 FSD, in FSD #1 markings
F/A-18A, in VFA-106 ‘Gladiators’ markings
F/A-18C, in VFA-131 ‘Wildcats’ markings
F/A-18D, in VMFAT-101 ‘Sharpshooters’ marking (see the second half of this post)
F/A-18F, in custom markings for my Project Pippytails build.

So I guess the question is, am I crazy enough to start two more builds to fill in the missing variants? Maybe and I have to admit that it is tempting, but I not sure I am that crazy. But, you never know I do have a whole week off and there is no telling what trouble I can get into.

Now, on to my latest addition to the production line,

this build is the Fujimi F/A-18D. Originally, this kit was going to be the original Pippytails build before I upgraded it to a F/A-18F Super Hornet. This allowed me to get this build closer to the completion of this project. Below is my standard project data info:

Project Name	‘Shooter 160′
Scale	1:72
Manufacturer	Fujimi
Kit ID	72015 / F-6
Type	F/A-18D Hornet
Unit	VFA-101 Sharpshooters
Date
Aftermarket used	Decals: Repli-Scale 72-1038

VMAFT-101 ‘Sharpshooters’ is the USMC F/A-18 Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS), currently based at USMCAS Miramar and is attached to Marine Air Group 11 (MAG-11).

Since I am off for a week of vacation, I should be able to get some good workbench time in. But, I will not be permanently attached to the workbench, as I will be using this time to also spend some quality time with my wonderful wife.

“Wildcats Ho!”

admin — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 06:20:20 +0000

Ok, I seem to be in some sort of modeling groove as of late. ‘Pippytails’ is ready for decals, which I actually need to print. ‘ROMAN 332′ is moving right along and starting to get some of its decals applied. Then I could not seem to help myself, I have started another Hornet. This time up it will be a F/A-18C with the markings from VFA-131 Wildcats, circa 2004-2005. As you can see from the picture below, one of the most striking items are the dark blue tails.

Previously, this aircraft wore the same basic markings, but with a red tail.

Project Name	‘Cat 400′ – Blue Tail
Scale	1:72
Manufacturer	Hasegawa
Kit ID	00868
Type	F/A-18C Hornet
Unit	VFA-131 Wilcats
Date	2004-2005
Aftermarket used	None

One of the toughest parts of this hobby is…

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 00:24:22 +0000

…actually having to use a decal sheet that I only have a single copy of or a kit that I have only one copy of. I know this sounds weird since I have purchased a large number of both. It’s just the thought of a project getting screwed up and not having a way to start it over. But then again, that is part of the hobby. So like any good modeler, I use part of that one copy of a decal sheet for a project or actually building that one copy of a kit.