Subject: MR. ARC: MY 1/48 F-18A "BLUE ANGLE" "STORY ONLY" RODNEY WILLIAMS
From: Rodney Williams <[email-masked]>
To: STEVE BAMFORD <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 04 Aug 2003 08:31:57 -0700

"F-18A BLUE ANGLE"

                           BY: RODNEY WILLIAMS

I just finished my F-16A Thunderbird, so I had to get my Blue Angle put
together.  About ten years ago, I took this photo of the Blue Angles
when they came to the Moffett Air Show in Sunnyvale, California, U.S.A.

This was my only reference, besides the kit instructions.  I had two
Monogram 1/48 scale F-18A Hornet kits.  One kit has some cockpit photo
etched parts!

The kit was built almost "out of the box."  However I did add some pitot
tubes, using stainless steel tubing.  I cleaned up the cockpit parts,
glued them together, and painted them following the kit instructions. I
just attached the pre painted photo etched cockpit seat belts.

I mixed my own blue and yellow lacquer for the model.  Once the blue
lacquer was applied, then sanded down to 2000, I let it dry for a few
weeks.  I painted the yellow on top of the model, the number two, the
tail and wing tips, including the pointed arrow on the bottom. The wheel
wells were painted with white lacquer.  I used SnJ aluminum for the tail
cones. I doubled up the Superscale decals so the blue would not show
through.

I did something different on this model.  After the blue and yellow
lacquer was sanded down to 2000, and cleaned up with clear water, I used
Future Floor Wax, instead of the clear lacquer.

I mixed about four ounces of "Future" with about 8 ounces of denatured
alcohol.  I stuck a round tube into one of the exhaust ports for my
handle.  One early cool morning, I started spraying on the future.  With
lots of alcohol, the future dried very fast.  After using over half of
my Future/Alcohol mix, I had a extremely hi gloss finish on the model.
In person, you can see this extra hi gloss finish, but it does not look
this great in my photos.  This experiment turned out great, and sure
beats sanding between every few coats of lacquer, and the final
polishing process.

In one front view photo you will see the nose painted with a bit of
Testors Chrome Silver.  I shook up the silver paint in the bottle, took
off the cap and put it on my model table.  I held the model in a
vertical position and just lowered the tip of the nose into the cap of
the paint jar.  To me, it looks great, and it beats masking off this
section of the model, then spraying on the paint.

During the October, 2000 IPMS Redding, California contest, I found out
that a Marine pilot always fly's No. 2, so I was awarded the "Best USMC
Aircraft Award."

Today, over three years later, the paint has not cracked, crazed, etc.
The model, like all my other ones are kept under plastic covers, and/or
in my show case, thus no dust and/or kitchen grease gets to them.

This photo shows my two "Thunderbirds," with my  "Blue Angel."

That's it for the Blue Angle.

Rodney