Hasegawa 1/72 F-18F Super Hornet "VFA-154 Black Knights CAG"

The F-18F replaced, for the most part, the Tomcat in those VF squadrons that were not disestablised when the F-14 was taken out of fleet service. Hasegawa was one of the first to provide a full production F-18E/F kit, much to the delight of modelers of the super bug. Since then, Academy has produced a full line of Hornets, however those are later production versions and there are a few differences that enthusiasts are sure to notice. This includes the modified upper rear fuselage vents though you can get those with aftermarket if you wish.

To give you some idea on this kit, it has about 98% commonality with their F-18E kit. The main differences being the fuselage with the two seat format and the additional seat, stick and instrument panel required by that variant. There is also a longer canopy which has a seam that you will need to remove.

So you get a standard Hasegawa cockpit with an acceptable pair of seats and decals for the instruments. The cockpit sits atop a lower forward fuselage piece that includes the nose gear well. One does have to open holes in the fuselage and wings for various pylons so keep that in mind when building it. There is also a piece that fits in the back with polycaps so you can simply push the horizontal stabilizers in place after painting everything. The intakes look simple but are a bit of a challenge to get installed properly. It is the curse of F-18 kits.

Wings have upper and lower pieces on each side with the flaps and ailerons molded into the top wing. Landing gear are properly complex and it looks like you can model them closed. Burner cans fit on the back of the fuselage and there is little depth to the exhaust. Unlike some Hasegawa kits, this one comes with not only fuel tanks, but also some weapons, specifically a pair of late model Sidewinders and some AIM-120s. The racks for bombs are also provided but you'll have to sources those from a weapons set. Note that the wing racks are slightly angled outward. Canopy can be modeled open or closed. In all, a very standard Hasegawa kit.

Markings are for two slightly different variations on the same aircraft. The main difference between them is that one as shown on the box art, is from 2006 when aboard the USS John Stenis. The other has a slightly different code font, the unit's logo, and is from 2005 when on the Carl Vinson. You are also provided with missile bands as well. These are modern Hasegawa decals so will work as good as any aftermarket. The various walk areas as well as instrument panels are provided on the sheet as well.

While it is not a shake and bake kit, it is one that goes together fairly well if you are a careful builder. I have built another boxing which you can read at this link. For those who haven't already realized it, Hasegawa likes to do a lot of Limited Edition boxings of their kits. This is actually fairly wise marketing as often modelers don't want to deal with aftermarket decals when they build a kit, preferring to do their kits straight from the box. In addition, since most of their sales are home market, you'll find CAG-5 planes like this one to be done more often than some others.

December 2019

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