Modelling the F/A-18 Hornet

Osprey continues to turn out some great modeling resources in their growing line of "Modelling" series. In volume 16, the author shows off his love affair for the F/A-18 Hornet.

The title starts off with an introduction of the author's favorite modeling materialsand tools. He then starts off with a build-up of the Hasegawa 1/48 F/A-18C using only an Eduard parts set to detail the aircraft. This introduces the reader to some of the modeling techniques that will carry into more complex builds to follow.

In all, the author builds up one Hasegawa 1/48 F/A-18C Hornet, one Academy 1/32 F/A-18C Hornet, one Hasegawa 1/48 F/A-18D Hornet, one Italeri 1/48 F/A-18F Super Hornet, and then backdates the Academy kit into a 1/32 F/A-18A Top Gun Hornet. The title concludes with a discussion of display options to get the most impact out of your project.

Each project is a little more difficult and uses more aftermarket details than the previous. The Italeri F/A-18F project alone is designated as an advanced project due to the corrections and bodywork that the author undertook to render the model as nice as the other projects on the shelf.

This is a nice modeling resource for any aircraft modeler with all of the techniques laid out, and it will be especially beneficial to 'bug' modelers of any scale and skill level. Definitely recommended!