LS F/A-18A Hornet
by Brian Plescia
renegades24@hotmail.com
This is a pretty old kit, but still one of the best 1.144 Hornet kits
around. Though LS went out of business years ago, Hobby craft re-molded
the kit, but the copy wasn’t that great. I believe ARII has re-issued
the LS mold - they have the same box as the LS kit did, but I haven’t
seen inside it. I can’t recommend the DML or LS over the other because
both of them have their high and low points.
One big benefit over the DML kit is the correct shape of the forward
fuselage and nosecone. Canopy front windscreen is also well shaped and
sized, but the main canopy frame is molded into the upper fuselage. This
makes for a very difficult display with the canopy open. You would have
to cut away the canopy frame from the fuselage, and scratchbuild a new
the frame around the canopy. Or, you could cut the main canopy from a
DML, and just attach it open. The open area for the cockpit allows for
a scratchbuild cockpit to be fit, but the thickness of the canopy
prevents a forward coaming, or a seat or pilot to sit up high enough
with the canopy closed.
The overall shape is very good, however the spine is too high and
"sharp". I’ve sanded it down and it looks better. The full span ailerons
are accurate to the real Hornet. The wings do have the unique "twist" to
them, but they also have the leading edge sawtooth of the prototype, and
the partial span flaps. I use an X-acto knife and cut away the leading
edge extension and then sand the new edge. I use Zap in the recessed
panel line of the flap, and then scribe a new full span outboard flap.
The flap acuators on the under side of the wing are oversized.
The intakes are fragile, and one is usually covered with flash, while
the other has something of an opening. I would recommend cutting away
and using the splitter plate, and then shaping a new intake (forward ½
centimeter) by heating a styrene strip and curling it around a pen.
There are no body pylons for Sparrow or AIM-120s, but a little trough to
put them in. I recommend cutting a pylon out of styrene, gluing it on,
and then smoothing in the edges to the body. I drew a template on paper,
and then reversed it for the other side. A new tailhook has to be made,
and the exhaust cones are generic. The vertical tails have the upper
rudder braces, but none of the bumps up near the top. Be careful in
establishing the right angle for them to sit, and make sure you use a
strong glue. I would fill in the seams with Zap to add extra strength.
There is no detail in the landing gear bays, and the landing gear and
wheels are very basic. I would use the DML tires at the very least.
There are no weapons pylons; the kit comes with 2 sparrow and 2
sidewinders. There is also no fuel tank. I believe the kit is slightly
oversized, and a bit too long, though I haven’t measured it. Holding it
up to the LS Tomcat, they are almost the same size. When compared to the
DML for size, the LS is longer, and has slightly different planform.
Hope this helps someone out there. I’ll get to the DML review soon . . .
(About as soon as I get to finishing my resin detail set for it - it is
coming, I promise!) As always please email any and all comments and
questions, criticisms, etc.
check six
Brian Plesica
renegades24@hotmail.com
(
geocities.com/capecanaveral/lab) (
geocities.com/capecanaveral)