Desert Storm F-18A VMFA-451 "Warlords" (1/32)

[sting]

Desert Shield / Desert Storm
On 23 August 1990, VMFA-451 deployed to Bahrain in support of Operation "Desert Shield". At 0300 on 17 January 1991, the "Warlords" became the first Marine unit to attack Iraqi forces, as Operation "Desert Shield" became "Desert Storm". The CO, Lieutenant Colonel A.S. "Scotty" Dudley, led a four-plane strike as part of a larger 50-aircraft strike force under MAG-11. The "Warlords" ended the operation with 770 combat sorties and 1,400 combat hours. They returned to MCAS Beaufort with all aircraft and personnel. (Info courtesy: hobbyvista)

I wanted to show a Hornet as it would have looked toward the end of VMFA-451's deployment in support of ground forces. It's loaded with two Mk20 CBUs, three Mk82 slicks, two AIM-9s and a FLIR pod. The dispensors under the intakes are both loaded with flares since the threat of radar guided anti-aircraft missiles and Iraqi fighters was nill, however shoulder fired, heat seeking missiles were still a threat. According to USMC pilot Jay Stout in his book "Hornets Over Kuwait" coalition aircraft flew at lower altitudes during ground support operations which allowed for better deployment of the Mk20 Rockeyes.

You'll notice I didn't attach the boarding ladder. Well, it's pretty fragile and it was still drying when I took these shots. I didn't want to risk damaging it. The cockpit, seat and vertical stabs are from the Avionix F/A-18A conversion set. The cockpit's fit was great, but the vertical stabs needed tweaking in the area of the leading edges and also where the rudders attach. Other than having the model crash to the floor right after decaling, it was an enjoyable build. I plan to do another Desert Storm hornet from VFA-151 in the future, but I will definitely build it differently from this one. Mainly, I will attach the rudders to the vertical stabs before attaching the stabs/rudders to the fuselage.

I didn't get the opportunity to shoot these pics in the early afternoon as I had intended. Instead it was late afternoon and the lighting wasn't like I wanted, but oh well. This is the most weathered aircraft I've done so far with most of it done with chalk.

[f-15ERJ145]

Damn Sting!!!

[jmreed76]

Nice job Kevin, The weathering looks fantastic buddy! "Its Gorgeous"

[Devo666]

Great looking Hornet, looks the business!

[Aggressor]

Excellent job Kevin. Looks amazing.

[Bravosierra001]

EEWWWWWW EWWWWW that sure is purdy!!! That came out looking great Kevin! Congrats!



Brandon

[Collin]

Click...Save.

Very Very nice reproduction of a Baby Hornet. Love the loadout!!

Cheers
Collin

[Tomcatmatt]

Awesome build!

[Rod Bettencourt]

WoW really nicely done!!! Great scale effect on your finish. Very scale looking.


Rod

[viper730]

I really like it GREAT job!

[Big Texan]

Excellent job Sting!!!

[sting]

Thanks fellers'! In case you didn't know already, you can offer some constructional, some would call negative, critique if you see something wrong. I'm not ascared and I promise I'll only cry when no one is watching!!

[FALCON414CTS]

Looks great!!

[usmcski]

Holy CRAP, Sting, that Hornet looks fantastic!!! As a former F/A-18 Ordnanceman, I especially love the arming wires on the Mk 82s!

If I can offer just two critiques:

-the horizontal stabs have a slight "sit" when no hydraulic pressure is present, almost parallel with the panels that cover the actuators (the slightly diagonal lines just above the horizontal stabs and below the rudders).
-the nose gear door needs a bit of red trim like your main landing gear doors do.

Aside from that, she absolutely, positively looks the part. Congrats on a phenomenal representation of a "Warlord" Hornet!

Semper,

Ski

[sting]

Originally Posted by usmcski

Holy CRAP, Sting, that Hornet looks fantastic!!! As a former F/A-18 Ordnanceman, I especially love the arming wires on the Mk 82s!

If I can offer just two critiques:

-the horizontal stabs have a slight "sit" when no hydraulic pressure is present, almost parallel with the panels that cover the actuators (the slightly diagonal lines just above the horizontal stabs and below the rudders).
-the nose gear door needs a bit of red trim like your main landing gear doors do.

Aside from that, she absolutely, positively looks the part. Congrats on a phenomenal representation of a "Warlord" Hornet!

Semper,

Ski

Thanks Ski! I know what you're saying about the horizontal stabs. Fortunately, their aren't glued, so they can be repositioned. I have a few photos of some of 451's Hornets, I suspect are post DS shots because they all look "clean", and I didn't see any red on that nose gear door. I would love to get my hands on some photos taken during their deployment. Do you have any suggestions where I might find some? I have some 1/48 decals for 451 I plan to do as well.

BTW, I didn't forget what you said about the gun safety bolt "beer can". When it was in the safe mode, how far did it stick out?

[sting]

Originally Posted by usmcski

Holy CRAP, Sting, that Hornet looks fantastic!!! As a former F/A-18 Ordnanceman, I especially love the arming wires on the Mk 82s!

If I can offer just two critiques:

-the horizontal stabs have a slight "sit" when no hydraulic pressure is present, almost parallel with the panels that cover the actuators (the slightly diagonal lines just above the horizontal stabs and below the rudders).
-the nose gear door needs a bit of red trim like your main landing gear doors do.

Aside from that, she absolutely, positively looks the part. Congrats on a phenomenal representation of a "Warlord" Hornet!

Semper,

Ski

Thanks Ski! I know what you're saying about the horizontal stabs. Fortunately, their aren't glued, so they can be repositioned. I have a few photos of some of 451's Hornets, I suspect are post DS shots because they all look "clean", and I didn't see any red on the nose gear door. I would love to get my hands on some photos taken during their deployment. Do you have any suggestions where I might find some? I have some 1/48 decals for 451 I plan to do as well.

BTW, I didn't forget what you said about the gun safety bolt "beer can". When it was in the safe mode, how far did it stick out? It looks like Academy has it flush.

[Whitey]

Nice work. Great job on the weathering.

-451 was the Marine F/A-18 squadron aboard Coral Sea while I was on cruise back in '89, same markings but with the CAG-13 "AK" tail code.

[durangokid]

That is something else! Great, great work! I can’t find anything but good things to say about it. And it’s a Marine bird to boot

Great work Kevin, I look forward to your next project...

[sting]

Sorry about the double post guys. I'm currently at a hotel in the Oxnard area doing some advanced flight training and the wireless is much to be desired.

Thanks for the comments. I think it looks better in person. I think, maybe, my shots are too close or something? I was thinking of starting a 1/48 AC-130U or a B-1B next. I'm still thinking "Big"!

[usmcski]

Hey Sting,

The "beer can" when extended only sticks out about 2-3 inches, and was probably painted orange or red so you would notice it. Typically it fades quickly, so light grey would suffice as well. One last note: if the gun is loaded, door 6 will have some info written on it in chalk. Typical example would look something like:

500 rds HEI
910117
Elec Discon
PJN/NSF

Translation:

500 rounds High Explosive Incendiary
Date loaded (military date, so Jan 17,1991)
Electrically Disconnected (once connected, we'd just wipe off the "dis" part)
Initials of the QA/SO who loaded it

The "NSF" part was something I used to add sometimes depending on who the pilot was, it means "Non Shooting F#%k". I was a bit of a cocky smartass when I was a Sgt!

Hope this helps!

Ski