Revell

1/48 F/A-18F Super Hornet

Kit Number: 5520

Reviewed by  Joe Hegedus, IPMS# 33868

MSRP: $23.18 Revell's recent FA-18F Super Hornet is a follow-on to the single-seat "E" model released a couple of years ago. Any comments you've seen about that kit will apply here, too. The kit is mostly cleanly molded in rather soft gray and clear plastic, with engraved surface detailing. Total parts count is 168, with 5 of those being clear, including the nose landing gear shock strut door. The only real options in the kit are an open or closed canopy, open or closed boarding ladder, and some variability in the external stores configuration. Weapon choices consist of 2 each of AIM-9X, AIM-120 and AGM-88 HARM missiles, and 2 MK-83/BSU-85 AIR bombs. A single external tank is also included, but I would have liked to have had a second tank as it is fairly common to see the two-seat squadrons flying with 2 tanks instead of the single centerline that is common on the single-seaters. For this build I took a second tank from the "E" model kit I have in my stash, and replaced the MK-83 bombs with a pair of GBU-12 LGBs from the Hasegawa weapon set D. Rounding out the external stores is a representation of the ASQ-228 ATFLIR, but the part is more of a cross between that and the earlier ASQ-46 TFLIR as there are features of both included and noticeable details of the ATFLIR lacking. Between these, it is closest to the ATFLIR but lacks the notch at the lower rear, the vents on the aft end and the NAVFLIR window on the fuselage adapter. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, but there are errors in some of the painting notes. Notably, the rear cockpit glare shield and grab handle should be black, the interior of the intake ducts should be gloss white, and the HARM missiles should be light gray. The kit as molded allows limited choices for markings if one wishes to be completely accurate, as the cockpit configuration is for a pre-Lot 26 aircraft as there is no representation of the Advanced Crew Station rear instrument panel. The ACS panel is identified by a large center display panel and an additional box on top of the glare shield with a smaller grab handle on either side instead of one large handle in the center of the glare shield. If the aircraft one wished to model has a Bureau Number of 166449 or higher, one will need the ACS rear cockpit. The kit also does not depict the latest version of the environmental control system heat exchanger exhausts on the upper fuselage between the fins. That said, for the markings included in the kit the parts are correct. Overall, I had no difficulty building this kit. Use care when fitting the multi-piece nose together; the fit isn't the best here but careful fitting and use of files can greatly reduce the need for filler. There is a bit of a sunken area just ahead of each leading edge extension below the windscreen that will need attention, also. A couple other areas to watch out for are the aft fuselage when the stabilizer joiner is installed-pay close attention to how it goes in (the half-round on the stabs needs to go on top), otherwise the stabs will go on upside-down and the finished model will look odd. I made that mistake and it took several looks and about a half hour to figure out what was wrong. Also, be careful gluing the aft fuselage so that the stabilizer joiner doesn't get glued to the fuselage, otherwise the stabs won't pivot if you want them too. Overall fit was fair, I needed a bit of filler around the nose as mentioned above, and on most of the other major joints but the total amount is not excessive in my opinion. Harder plastic might help this but there isn't much I can do about that. It is helpful to paint the interiors of the intakes before assembly, including the gray area at the forward end. Masking is much easier then, and the interior seam isn't all that noticeable if care is used in assembly. I used a bit of 5-Minute epoxy between the intake duct and intake wall as reinforcement before adding the intakes to the fuselage as a precaution against cracking that seam during assembly. The wing pylons are molded as left- and right-handed parts, but in reality the pylons are the same from side to side. Those identified as the left wing pylons are correct; those for the right wing should have the CAD breech covers for the bomb rack moved from the right side of the pylon to the left side of the pylon. The instructions neglect to mention that the smaller outboard wing pylons should not hang perpendicular to the ground, but should lean outboard 3.5 degrees. A small gap is OK on the inboard side of these pylons where they meet the wing, the real jets don't have perfectly flush fitting pylons either. Markings are provided for 2 different airplanes from VFA-41 during their 2003 deployment on USS Nimitz. One is the squadron's CAG bird in high-visibility markings while the other is a standard line jet in low-visibility markings. The tail art for the low-viz jet is incorrect as it is merely a gray outline version of the hi-viz marking; the low-viz version should only have one ace card per tail. I used a combination of the kit decals and an aftermarket set for this build. The kit decals used were all the non-squadron-specific markings including national insignia and warning markings, and were of good quality and printing and responded well to the normal setting solutions by Superscale.

In conclusion, I think the Revell Super Hornet is an excellent value for the price. The overall level of detail is good and the effort expended to cope with some minor fit inadequacies is not excessive to me. I enjoyed the build (even with my self-induced problems) and can recommend this kit to modelers who've done a few kits. Thank you, Revell, for the review kit!

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