Academy's 1/32 FA-18C Hornet |  | Background Last month, we had the privilege to review a test-shot of the upcoming Academy 1/32 FA-18C Hornet. In British terms, I was gobsmacked! Well, MRC has sent us the production version of this kit and this means that you'll be seeing yours on the store shelves soon! If you'd like a complete run-down of this kit, please refer to my in-depth review that appeared in last month's issue. So what's changed from the test shot? Not much, as this kit was pretty nice as it was. The only visible changes from the test shot included: -
Elimination of some sink-marks in the fuselage -
Kit instructions have been completed What wasn't addressed from the test shot? I had hoped that the Academy engineers would have been able to eliminate the mold line in the canopy and windscreen. While this mold line is significantly smaller than the ones on Hasegawa canopies, it will still require removal and polishing. Be careful here as the canopy thickness is also thinner than its Hasegawa counterpart (closer to scale thickness) and it will be easier to break during this exercise. The instructions do acknowledge the parts for the spotlight found on exported Hornets, so the good news is that you can expect to see some variations on this kit in the future. Don't wait until then, several aftermarket manufacturers have announced products for this kit. Elsewhere in this issue, we look at the replacement cockpit set from Cutting Edge. That cockpit set represents the late-block FA-18C office. If this set wasn't nice enough, they've also announced an early model FA-18C cockpit as well (which will go nicely with the optional tail stiffeners that are also included in this kit!). Cutting Edge is also planning an FA-18A cockpit set, though it is not clear whether they will wait until Academy releases the FA-18A or if they'll release it earlier to support the impatient modelers who will back-date this kit accordingly. Conclusion This is clearly the nicest aircraft kit I have seen in any scale and from any manufacturer. In my humble opinion, this kit bumps the stunning Tamiya 1/32 A6M5 kit into a close second place. With an MSRP of roughly $140 USD, this kit is not inexpensive, but with the fantastic level of detail and completeness that this kit provides straight out of the box, the price is a bargain! With Tamiya 1/32 jet aircraft kits approaching the same price threshold, this kit will leave its Tamiya counterparts wanting in detail. Leave it to Academy to raise the bar on aircraft kits as they have done so well in the 1/35 armor world. My sincere thanks to MRC for this sample! References Here are some good references for your upcoming Hornet project: -
Walk Around F/A-18 Hornet, By Greg Davis & Chris Neill, Squadron/Signal Publications, 1999, ISBN 0-89747-401-5 -
F/A-18A/C & CF-18C Hornet, By Willy Peeters & John Brooks, Verlinden Publications, 1992, Lock On Nr.15 -
F/A-18 Hornet in Action, By Lou Drendal, Squadron/Signal Publications, 1993, ISBN 0-89747-300-0 -
F/A-18 Hornet in Detail & Scale, by Bert Kinzey (Published under Detail & Scale Publications, Squadron/Signal Publications & Kalmbach Publications - check with your book seller and/or hobby shop on this one), 1994 -
Hornet's Nest - MAG-31, by Randy Jolly, Concord Publications, 1997, ISBN 962-361-732-1 -
World Airpower Journal, Volume 26, pp 50-111
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