Hasegawa 1/72 F-18E Super Hornet 'VFA-22 Fighting Redcocks'
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KIT # |
00815 |
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PRICE: |
2200 yen |
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DECALS: |
2 options |
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REVIEWER: |
Scott Van Aken |
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NOTES: |
2006 Limited Edition |
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HISTORY |
The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is the U.S. Navy's newest strike fighter which will replace the F-14 Tomcat and supplement the current F/A-18C/D fleet. The program came about because of the accelerated retirement of the Tomcat, which was already filling the the massive void left by the retirement of the A-6E Intruder in the early 1990's. This would leave the U.S. Navy without an strike aircraft that could perform long-range attacks. The only other plane left was the F-18 Hornet, which doesn't quite fit the bill. The F/A-18C/D, while an excellent weapons platform, lacks the range to perform deep-strike and interdiction missions. Boeing improved upon the original F-18 design, emphasizing greater range, payload and endurance. In short, they made it bigger and better. The Super Hornet is listed as having 40% better range than the C/D, and is cheaper to maintain than the F-14. The design also has "growth space" incorporated into it which will allow for future electronic systems to be added on as they come on-line. All of this means the Super Hornet will be at the cutting edge for years to come.
Thanks to Richard Bingham for the background info. Couldn't have said it better myself!
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THE KIT |
It is with much delight to modern jet enthusiasts
that Hasegawa has released the single seat version of the Super Hornet so
quickly after the F-18F kit. While the Italeri kit was nice, it was also
a prototype and so did not have all the things changed for the production
version. It is a bit unusual for Hasegawa not to have done a prototype
kit when the F-18E/F was first brought out as they have a history of
doing just that and then modifying the molds to match things up with the
production version later on. This was not the case with the Super Hornet.
Hasegawa actually waited until it had been in squadron service for some
time before releasing these kits. The results are that they have the
latest and greatest. Undoubtedly, it will be followed my multiple boxings
of the base kit with little more than decal changes. No problem as they
will be eagerly purchased by Super Bug fans the world 'round.
To give you some idea on this kit, it is 98% common
with the F-18F that has been previewed before so I'll not trouble you with the showing the sprue
layout though I have included the sprue diagram from the instructions. The different bits are the inclusion of the 'E' sprue that has
the cover for the back seat section and a canopy attachment point, and
the K sprue which has the single seat canopy. That is a total of three
different parts out of a total of 117. Since the 'base' kit is the two seater, there are a few holes that need filled and a couple of parts you
won't use (like the second instrument panel), but all the rest is exactly
the same. The kit supplies AMRAAMs and AIM-9X Sidewinders, but you'll have to
dig into a weapons set to fill the center wing pylon. All the pylons are
faced outward, though it seems that they are
not precisely at the correct
angle. Have a read of my F-18F build review for more info in that area.
Instructions are the excellent ones we've come to expect from Hasegawa so there is no need to comment further on those. Markings are provided for two aircraft. One is the CAG bird as shown on the box art. The other is the CO's aircraft in the standard greys. A really nice touch is the inclusion of missile stripes, something that is always difficult to come by for most modelers.
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CONCLUSIONS |
These kits have been selling quite well and much of it is due to the nice decal sheet that Hasegawa now provides. I'm sure you will find this one to your liking as well.
March 2018
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