I wonder if the Northrop designers ever dreamed when they rolled out the YF-17 Cobra on April 4, 1974 that 52 years later, the ancestor of that prototype would eventually become the carrier based electronic warfare workhorse of the US Navy? The YF-17 Cobra lost the USAF Lightweight Fighter competition to the F-16 Falcon, but was reworked and enlarged to compete in the Naval Fighter Attack Experimental program in coordination with McDonnel Douglas. The resulting McDonnel Douglas F/A-18A/B/C/D Hornets replaced Navy and Marine Corps A-7s and F-4s, and complimented the larger, more expensive F-14 Tomcat. These original Hornets also served as land based fighter attack jets of many allied air forces desiring twin engine performance in lieu of the F-16. Eventually, the Hornet was scaled up again to the now Boeing (after the merger of the two aerospace giants) F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. By now it was similar in size and weight to the F-15 Eagle. The EA-18G Growler is based on the twin seat F/A-18F and is the successor to the Grumman EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare carrier based jet. The Growler began production in 2007 and entered USN squadron service in 2009. In 2017 the EA-18G also entered service with the Royal Australian Air Force.

The Super Hornet family is well represented in 1/72. Italeri, Revell, Hasegawa and Academy had all taken a swing at this version in the Gentlemen’s Scale. I read the Italeri version has airbrake accuracy issues, while the Revell kit has spine shape issues aft of the cockpit. It was all moot since a sale of the Hasegawa EA-18G was going for $20.00 USD. The Hasegawa kit has a reputation as accurately shaped and detailed, but with some tough fit issues.

The Hornet family has a complicated fuselage with a long skinny front body with twin intake pods on the sides and rear. This shape necessitates a multipart fuselage and intakes that often exhibits fit problems. The Hasegawa kit was no exception. I spent considerable time ensuring the fit and seams were acceptable for parts A1 and A7 and then parts A2 and A8. Once these intakes were firmly cemented and seams addressed, I test fitted them to part B10, the underside fuselage, which revealed some careful thinning of parts A7 and A8 were needed to make the fit as flush as possible to minimize the seams. No full length intakes are provided, so to create that illusion I painted the intake portions of part B10 black to give depth. No putty was used anywhere on the kit, but every seam needed some attention from Mr. Surfacer 500 and subsequent sanding. Frankly, every model company struggles with this fuselage shape and I know of no manufacture who has successfully made a seamless fit fuselage. Someday, perhaps Tamiya will do a Hornet family and we can see what sorcery their tool makers can devise. Obliterated panels lines and rivets were restored with scribing and a steel sewing needle. Study the instructions carefully and ensure all the holes are appropriately drilled out for the various antennas, lumps and bumps that differentiate the Growler from the standard F/A-18F Super Hornet. Hasegawa provides the stores that make the electronic warfare version, including 480 gallon fuel tanks, two each AIM-120 and AGM-88E missiles (weapons are not always provided in Hasegawa kits), ALQ-99 low and high band jamming pods as well as ALQ-218 radar warning receiver pods. This causes the second biggest problem with the kit, besides the fuselage seams. Once the pods and missiles and antennas are installed, how to pick up the model and handle it takes careful thought. I had to reinstall parts more than once due to my ham-fistedness. The wings attach to the fuselage without drama. The vertical stabilizers fit spectacularly and can be left off until the end of the build. Likewise, the horizontal stabilizers are a push fit with polycaps and can be left until the kit its built and painted. The only aftermarket parts were clear iridescent foil for the Head Up Display on the cockpit coaming and a 4mm round clear crystal gem to depict the nose landing gear light.

This is the first Hornet I have ever built, Super or otherwise, despite the fact I have a 1/32 Academy F/A-18C, a Monogram 1/48 prototype, a Hasegawa 1/48 F/A-18C and a 1/72 Hasegawa F/A-18B. The reason I finally pulled the trigger is because of the Two Bobs decals Centennial of Naval Aviation (CONA) sheet issued in 2011. For that occasion, VAQ-129 painted BuNo 166899 based at NAS Whidbey, Washington in the mid-war tricolors of a F4U Corsair from VF-85 in 1944 off the USS Shangri-la with its distinctive lightning bolt on the vertical stabilizer and starboard wing tip. The resulting CONA paint job is not 100% accurate and is more of an homage that a strict WWII historical representation. The bottom of the Growler remained in Light Ghost Gray, while the sides and top were painted in 2011 interpretations of Intermediate and Dark Sea Blue. I differed from the suggested shades of the Two Bobs sheet, and used the colors from WWII. The Light Ghost Gray is Gunze H308, the Intermediate Blue is PolyScale and the Dark Sea Blue is Model Master enamel. The Two Bobs sheet is 15 years old and printed by MicroScale. Some decals broke probably due to age, but I was able to piece them together satisfactorily. I doubt a CONA Growler with this scheme would mount live AIM-120 and AGM-88E missiles, so I painted them up with blue stripes indicating inert training rounds.

When it comes to 1/72 Growlers, you have many options. This Hasegawa kit was a challenge at times, but I got it done. I am not a fan of CAG birds and gaudy one offs most of the time, but this homage to a WWII Corsair won me over and it certainly is more interesting that the 50 Shades of Gray adorning most Growlers.

Airliners.net was a source of BuNo 166899 in CONA colors.  

Bob Leonard

26 March 2026

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