1/48 Monogram FA-18E

1/720 Italeri CVN 76

by John Formon

--------------------

 

This particular "diorama" started out a a simple FA 18E build for my good friend Cmdr Nick Mongillo. Nick took over as Cmdr of VFA-22 "Fighting Redcocks" so I thought I would present him with a nice desk model. I started with the new Revell Monogram Echo jet....but one day at the hobby shop I spotted the Italeri USS Ronald Reagan. This was the boat VFA-22 would be stationed on during their January -July 06 cruise. I bought the kit with a "forced perspective" diorama in mind.

Click on images below to see larger images

The F/A-18 was built pretty much OOB. Minor changes were retracting the landing gear, adding a Hasegawa pilot figure and decaling with Two Bobs VFA-22 markings. I did fill the back third of the jet with resin (poured in thru the intakes) so that the jet mounting rod had a very strong attachment point.

The carrier was again built pretty much OOB. Minor changes were opening a hangar bay door and constructing a very simple hangar bay to show a little action. I built the carrier to show Hornets both launching and recovering.

The display base is simply a piece of poplar plywood with a section routed out to "recess the water" into. The water was actually allot of fun to make. Here is how I did it.....

-Start out with a piece of clear 1/4 thick acrylic sheet.

-Mount the boat (I used screws from the bottom of the display)

-Brush paint the "sea" with phthalocyanine blue acrylic paint. Use a 1" wide brush and add plenty of swirl marks. Don’t worry that you can still see thru the acrylic sheet, this is the affect you want.

-Using acrylic gel medium add swells and waves and let dry.

-Using acrylic gel medium add bow waves and prop wash and let dry.

-Dry brush the waves with acrylic cobalt blue and add "foam" to the wave tops using acrylic white.

-Brush the whole sea with another thin coat of gel medium to make it "wet".

-The last step is really the coolest. Take a piece of tin foil and wrinkle it up...then open it back up. Place this tin foil under your finished "sea". The tin foil will reflect light back off the bottom  and give your sea "depth". It is a very convincing effect.

All in all this was a fun build that took the better part of 4 months. But is was worth it. I cant wait to present it Nick when he gets back from his deployment.

Happy modeling

John

Click on images below to see larger images

Photos and text © by John Formon