ITALERI 1:72 F/A-18E SUPER HORNET
'In The Box Review'

Reviewer: Geoff Goldfen  (rec.models.scale)

Also see related Inbox review by Burkhard Domke for Revell F/A-18E Super Hornet

Kit:  Italeri kit # 083 - F/A-18E Super Hornet

Parts: 2 Sprues of aircraft grey injected mold parts of which there are about 90 pieces, plus three clear bits for the canopy, windscreen and HUD on a separate small sprue.  Small bits of flash are evident on some of the pieces especially undercarriage and gear doors.  Clear canopy is thick and distorted but not too bad.

Instructions: Normal Italeri sheet that folds out with about a dozen steps and colour call outs from the Italeri and modelmaster range.  Reasonable positioning diagrams.

Versions:  Just the one Super Hornet prototype example in the McDonell Douglas low-viz as proposed for the initial production version.

Decals:  Look nice and thin and good register, only a few stencils but also some Super Hornet logos and USAF insignia.  Looks quite okay.

Accuracy:  This is where the kit falls down.  On most recent published data the kit seems slightly underscale compared to the real thing but some of the data is still speculation.  As with many F-18 kits in this scale the intake trunks are not long enough, only about a third in length to scale, although it is angled in such a way that it deceives the depth on first glance. Forget the cockpit as this has been terribly done.  The overall shape also lacks a couple of intricate details which I can't quite put my finger on.  The panel lines are also overscribed to scale.

Detail:  Cockpit consists of a one-piece seat, main instrument panel (with terrible raised detail) and control stick.  Panel lines are engraved but appear a little overdone.  Wheel well detail is excellent but is a little unrealistic.  A few weapons are provided, see options, and the main gear looks quite well done.

Options:  Underwings stores include: Drop tank for centreline, pair of AGM-84 Harpoons, pair of AGM-88 HARMs (a bit crude), AIM-9 Sidewinders, a single AMRAAM and an ECM pack.

Impressions:  Not a great kit by any stretch of the imagination, a bit of flash and some crude ejector pin marks are evident, especially on undercarriage.  Fuselage is basically separated into two major sections - the forward section which is split vertically and the remaining section which is split horizontally to take into account the intakes.  The first thing I dry fit tested were the intakes - these are a source of frustration on just about every F-18 kit I know in this scale - and the bad news is that Italeri have figured just as poorly, if not worse.  The whole intake construction and attachment are difficult to fit and will cause frustration.  General test-fit of some other components is also a little suspect and reveals that there might be a few problems encountered in assembly.  The attachment point between wing and fuselage reveals that the wingroot join is undersized and should be slightly thicker.  This is definitely not a kit for a beginner as there are going to be a number of gaps to fill and extra work to be undertaken to make this kit into a pristine model.

Other Comments:  Italeri have clearly not done their research on this aircraft to have everything accurately depicted in the kit.  The tooling is not up to scratch and it appears to me that the company has released this kit in a rushed attempt to reap in the financial rewards such a popular release is likely to bring.  I think it will be a complete disappointment.

Related Inbox reviews: Revell 1/72 F/A-18E Super Hornet 

Related Reviews: Italeri 1/72 F/A-18E Super Hornet 

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