Next I started the preshading of the panels, which I did with flat black. After that was dry, I painted the bottom with Testor MM enamel-FS36375, The top was painted with FS36320, also Testors MM. The trim on the trailing edges was painted in a darkened FS36320, to match the reference pics I had. When that was dry, came a couple coats of the lovely smelling Future. While that dried, I worked on the landing gear and ordnance. 470 gal. tanks were put together, and AIM-9Ls were swiped form an Italeri F-18F kit. I looked up loadouts used in OIF, although this bird was not on that cruise. I tried to find one that was interesting and somewhat accurate. I wanted some GBU-12s, because they look interesting in their gray and green paint. I found that some E models flew with 2 x AIM-9s, 1 x AIM-120, 2 x GBU-12 and an ATFLIR pod. I used the kit FLIR pod, and shortened it a bit, filed a groove into it, and added cooling vents on the rear to  match my references. Easy peasy mod, and it looks like an ATFLIR to me! I used the kit AMRAAM, which is mounted on the opposite chin location from the ATFLIR pod. GBU-12s were mounted just outside the fuel tanks, at their standard cant of four degrees. The outer pylons on stations 2 and 10 were left empty, also per my references.

Thanks to our own Efrain Hernandez, I used some low-viz decals that he sent me, and I printed out on clear decal film. The CAG bird in the kit is nice, but when I saw the pics Efrain sent me, I just had to do the low-viz bird. Thanks Efrain! Some of the decals had the ink run on them, since I was kinda rushed in trying them out. But that's the beauty of having them in digital format....just print some more! Which I did on some, or some that broke. After the decals were done, I sprayed a light coat of flat to seal it all in. I then added a wash using The Detailer premixed acrylic wash. After my episode with oils, I decided to stick to this stuff, which is a dream to use. Easy to apply, is water based, and doesn't attack anything! You just paint it on, let dry and wipe away with a damp paper towel or cotton bud. Panel lines, landing gear, pylons and the ordnance was all given the Detailer treatment. I think it highlighted it well, and gave this Super Bug a more used appearance. I know they're new to the fleet, but soon they'll look like this! A final couple coats of flat rounded out the construction, and then I added all the bits-gear, gear doors, ordnance, and canopy. The FOD covers were made from aluminum foil, and sprayed with Tamiya gray primer. The color matched my pics perfectly, so I let it be. There ya have it folks, the US Navy's new pride and joy. I'm not usually a Bug fan, but this new version just looks the business, and I can't help but like it. It was a blast to build. As always, gotta fly!

Daniel