There have been a series of 'Chippy Ho' aircraft with VFA-195 since they joined CAG-5, homebased in Atsugi, Japan. This air wing started with the USS Midway in the early 1970s, moving on to the USS Constellation and finally to the USS Kitty Hawk, probably one of the few non-nuclear powered aircraft carriers still around. What will happen when it is decommissioned I'm not sure as the Japanese are a bit touchy about nuclear power.

Anyway, this is the third 'Chippy Ho' and is a late build F-18C which probably has the loner nose and definitely has the 'bird shredder' antennas on the nose. There is no recommended kit though I'm sure it was developed for the Hasegawa version. I've heard tell that the Monogram kit has fins that are a bit undersized and most will avoid the Italer/ ESCI kit.

The modeler will need to do some painting with all those green and black areas, but the biggies are given with the sheet. An excellent placement guide is also provided to make this one a real beauty. I should mention that the package and instructions list this as VFA-192, which is incorrect.

October 2006