I built this model as another entrant in ARC Hornet's Nest
GB. Unfortunately, I could not get it finished before the GB ended. The WIP
thread can be found here
I used Hasegawa 1/72 EA-18G kit with TwoBobs CONA decal sheet. To be
honest, I'm slightly disappointed at TwoBobs' decal this time around since they only printed one name for the backseat driver (is it still
called WSO on yjr Growler?), while they should've printed two. I would not have cared at all if it were the teeny weeny tiny stencil, but the crew
names are quite obvious. Also, the paint call out is incorrect in some areas. E.g.: the large bump on the spine is supposed to have a grey
panel, so are the bard stacks. TwoBobs' instruction sheet specified they were all dark blue. Same goes for the wing fences, where are supposed to
be light blue.
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Now, "standard" Hasegawa Super Hornets require quite a bit of filling already, but the Growler needs MORE! The gun port and the... flare/chaff dispensers? They need to be filled. If only Hasegawa designed their parts break down such that they were more modular, then we would not have to do this. I *think* if Revell wanted to release a Growler, they should be able to supply a different parts for these areas so that we don't have to fill.
One of the biggest mistakes I made during construction was putting together and gluing the wingtip jammer pods too early. I shouldn't have glued them on until AFTER painting. Net result of the multitudes of masking and respraying/repainting: Losing one of the triangular fins.
One thing that I also discovered about the Hasegawa Growler kit is that I don't think it's meant to be built with 4 jamming pods under the wings installed, since a couple of the stencils were short by 2.
I decided to apply very minimal weathering - underneath (near the jet exhaust) and gear struts, no weathering anywhere else - since this is a show bird, so it should be very clean anyway.
