This 1991 sheet is designed for the F-18D Hornet. In this scale there really is only one kit to use and that is the Hasegawa offering. This is one of those kits that only gets reissued infrequently so it may be a bit of work to find one. Since this is a 16 year old sheet, it will not include all the latest upgrades so a standard Hasegawa kit should be just fine.

There are three units on this sheet and the ability to do 13 different aircraft, though only 12 of them are shown on the instruction sheet.

There is one aircraft from VMFA-121, the 'Green Knights'. One aircraft from VMFAT-101 'Sharpshooters'; the training squadron. Finally, ten options for the aircraft from VMFA-242 'Bats'.

Realistically, you can only do two complete planes with what comes on the sheet as there are insignia and data markings for two. Using decals from the kit, you could do a third as there are three sets of unit markings. There are enough 'modex' numbers to cover most options if you are careful as to which aircraft you are modeling. By that I mean that if you model '00' you eliminate the VMFAT-101 option and half the VMFA-242 planes. Likewise, if you choose the VMFA-121 plane's '11', you also eliminate doing the VMFAT-101 option and the other half of the VMFA-242 planes. In both those cases you'd not have enough numbers to do both fin tips as only two full sets of those numbers are offered and you need four sets.

For the VMFA-242 aircraft, the instructions have a tie-in with the nose numbers, serial numbers and the crew names. The out of place serial number is 163734, which is an F-18D so quite usable if you have any information on it.

So there you have it. An old sheet with some very useful markings on it for those that are into the D model Hornet. It turns up from time to time so it isn't impossible to locate.

Thought you might like to know what has been done.

September 2007