1:48 F/A-18 Hornet

A carrier machine for two roles at once

The Hornet came out of a prototype that had once lost a competition for a light fighter of the land-based air force. The Navy, however, saw in it exactly what it needed: a twin-engine aircraft able to attack a ground target in the morning and cover a formation as a fighter in the afternoon. The transition surfaces at the wing root give it composure at high angles of attack, which on the approach to a deck is priceless. Over the Persian Gulf in 1991 a pair of these machines shot an opponent down and carried on to their bombing target without breaking off the task.

A teardrop canopy without frames

The glass here is in one piece and lifts to the rear as a single unit. You will find no dividing frames on it, only the rim around the edge and a narrow arc at its base. The apparent simplicity is a trap, though: every imperfection in the boundary between the rim and the clear area is visible at once on a large smooth surface and nothing can cover it.

The limits of the set

The shapes supplied cover the rim from outside and inside. You will appreciate the inner pieces above all because with the canopy raised the underside of the frame is visible too and an uncolored spot there is glaring. Nothing has to be measured out, as the outlines fit the part of the chosen model.

A tip for a clean edge

On a large area it works well to press the edge of the covering down with a soft tip around the whole perimeter and only then to spray. Apply the paint from the middle of the frame toward the edge, never against the edge of the film, otherwise air pressure will drive a mist under it and the rim will look blurred.