Italeri

1/48 EF-18G 'Growler'

Kit Number 2641

Reviewed By Dave Morrissette, #33653

MSRP: $36.00 USD

The EF-18G Growler is the replacement for the EA-6B Prowler. A quick look says that it is due out in 2009 from a few web sites that I found. I also found that the name “Growler” might change also, but nothing concrete. Italieri is first to the race with a kit of the proposed Growler. The EF-18G is an F-18F with radar jamming pods and other modifications to allow it to perform the electronic warfare role. Italieri’s kit comes in soft gray plastic with nice recessed panel lines and options for two of the test planes with a very nice decal sheet printed by Cartograph.

Construction starts with the cockpit, which is sparse, with both side consoles and instrument panels being represented by decals. Seat detail is OK for injection-molded seats. I painted and installed the cockpit and fit was good. Assembly after that is pretty straightforward for the forward fuselage and the attachment to the top fuselage and fit is good.

The intakes were next and present the same problem - seam issues - as most modern jets with gloss white do. These were filled and sanded until a decent look was achieved. Parts 23a and 27a are tricky as they are the inner part of the intakes. Follow the instructions well and things should be OK. The intakes are attached to the bottom fuselage and are fitted to the top along with the leading edge extension bottoms. This was a tricky operation and suffered from a couple problems. The intake/bottom assembly fits against the forward fuselage- any slight misalignment and you get a step between the front and bottom parts- needless to say, I did, and spent time sanding and filling to get it right. Even more difficult were the leading edges. There is no support and although the fit was OK, each time I tried to fill a part, they flexed and re-cracked. Very frustrating and in hindsight, I would brace the parts and avoid this problem. The wings and tails fit well. The rear stabs are integral to the fuselage. I decided to close the canopy and built the kits closed. The front required sanding to get a good fit while the back canopy was pretty good.

At this point, the majority of large construction is done and I built all the fuel tanks and jamming pods. When these were ready, I painted the kit dark and light ghost gray. While drying, I built the landing gear. Be careful about parts 43a and 46a – these are the axles for the main gear. I reversed mine and didn’t catch it until I test fit the completed gear- it sat like a wounded duck and I spent a bit of time prying the parts off, reattaching and repainting the gear.

The decals were flat when applied and reacted well the MicroSet system. There was a little silvering but mostly due to me. I attached the remainder of the parts and “things under wings” and flat coated the kit.

A nice kit, but there were fit problems that have to be addressed by the modeler and the cockpit will need rebuilt/replaced for a competition model. I would like to thank Lewis Nace and David Veres and Testors/Italieri for the generous donation of the review kit.

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