ACpilot

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series
HA3522
McDonnell Douglas CF-18B
Canadian Armed Forces, Aerospace Engineering and Test Establishment "AETE"
CFB Cold Lake, Alberta

January 2015 Release as announced on Hawkone's website.

Hobby Master Air Power Series jet powered 1/72 HA3522 McDonnell Douglas CF-18B Canadian Armed Forces "AETE"

Dan


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Aardvark

Looks interesting. Maybe a RAAF ARDU bird next?

ACpilot

Some photos of the actual aircraft.

Gorgeous scheme in my opinion.

Dan

Mover_Shaker81

A very smart scheme, I hope it does well!

I'd buy one!

Roydair

Hope you're involved in this one Dan. Fabulous choice, where do I sign up for it? :-)

ACpilot

Already involved as it was a suggestion of mine. The side profile for the release has already had some corrections incorporated.

Should look good next to my other Canadian CF-18s.

Dan

ACpilot

I have asked William for the centre line fuel tank to be included and he has agreed to do so.

Dan

Roydair

That's good; it's an important part of the overall look of this aircraft.

JetA1

Dan:

William should be buying you dinner next time you're in HK .

Keep up the excellent work! I've already ordered mine. Now if only I can find some shelf space for this beauty....

Zendocon

Excellent scheme! Loving this Hornet. I wonder if Falcon will do the matching T-33. ��

ACpilot

Hopefully Falcon won't be down for too long.

An AETE T-33 would complement this release nicely.

Dan

Roydair

Oooooh...Aaaaaaaah! Gorgeous!

producerguyca

Hmmm is it just me or do the renderings not quite match the pics posted. Looks like red area below the cockpit is more curvy that the rendering and ends at the back of the cockpit. But on the rendering it continues back.

ACpilot

Valid observations.

I usually wait for the four view artwork to appear before suggesting corrections.

Once the four view appears I will let Hobby Master know.

Thanks,

Dan

Zendocon

This jet still flies airshows, but it has (unfortunately) been repainted to represent a Korean war era USAF jet. It's owned by Gregory Colyer (Ace Maker Airshows). Don't get me wrong, the new paint scheme looks amazing. it's just a shame that he had to paint over this particular jet.

Zendocon

I hope HM will include sidewinders for the wingtips.

Roydair

You're talkin' the Hornet, not the T-33 right Zen?

Roy

ACpilot

I just heard from William yesterday that Sidewinders will be included.

Dan

mcxsureshotcall

Hi
Awesome It will be beneficial for army and interesting to ride it .



Thanks
Regard
http://mcxsureshotcall.com

Zendocon

Haha! Yes.

Zendocon

Fantastic!

ACpilot

As mentioned previously, I have asked William to include the Sidewinders on the wing tip stations (since confirmed).



Still waiting for the four view artwork to be completed.

In the meantime, I have let Hobby Master know (as pointed out by "producerguyca") that the side profile has an error.

The red cheatline is continuous in the side profile and this is not the case on the actual aircraft.

Dan





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ACpilot

Four View Artwork

The centre line external fuel tank and Sidewinders have been added.

The red cheat line has been corrected.

Overall looks very promising.

Dan
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producerguyca

Thanks Dan! She's looking sharp!

tripoli

The more I see of this aircraft the more I want this model. Looking very promising.

__________________
Jeff

tomcatter

the more i read this thread, the more i want this model

tripoli

Works, not words will be the proof of this good model. I have watched Hm as of late screw up a few models, so I am watching an waiting now. Seeing is believing as of late with HM.

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Jeff

ACpilot

HM will not screw up this model.

This is not the first Canadian HM model I have advised Wiliam on.

I will be doing my best to ensure any errors are caught at each stage of production. This has been the case on all the previous Canadian HM models I have been involved with.

Dan

tripoli

Between your interest and help Dan, along with all the work, I expect HM to get this right, nail it.
However...
If they muff it up after that, it's going to be killer to an already shaky reputation as of late.
I expect this will be a top notch piece. But I have learned the hard way not to pre order HM models any longer.

__________________
Jeff

Zendocon

Hobby Master's F-18 is one of the best models on the market. Along with their recent Voodoos and Sabres, they're producing some top-notch stuff. The F-35 is the exception to the rule in 1/72. Some of their 1/200 planes are a bit shakier, but kudos to them for trying to compete with top brands such as Gemini in that field. Ironically, Gemini happen to have the worst 1/72 Hornet model on the market. Everyone's got their strengths. But everyone misses the target once in a while. I have faith in Hobby Master.

tripoli

Keep on William, Dan to make sure this is done right. I will run to purchase it if HM can do it justice.

Richard just received and noted on another thread about the F-16AM Royal Netherlands Air Force J-063. HM changed the front graphics and left off the Mig 23 kill marking. It's those types of mistaken details that HM has been doing lately and it's a shame as it takes away from an otherwise great model.

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Jeff

ACpilot

Not sure if it is a mistake or a deliberate decision.

Obviously if the F-16 is to represent the aircraft the day it got the Mig kill - it wouldn't have had the kill marking added till later.

Dan

Stein

was it carrying all that ordinance on that day?

barsix63

I have one on order. Won't be filled until April 2015.

ACpilot

Hobby Master is working on the sample model at this time.

Patience will be rewarded on this one!

Dan

barsix63

Ordered through Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. With the CF-104D also.

Colin J.P. Campbell

Okay I have been holding back too long. Must make my views known. The first two CF-188s I have from Hobby Master and must say they have some issues. Disapointed with them I am to say the least. As an Avid Canadian Hornet enthusiast a few things drive me nuts. 1st off, and my biggest complaint, is the center line pylon! What the hell is that? I don't think I have ever seen a photo of whatever that pylon Hobby Master has put on this plane! Is that from a left over design from a US hornet? Is that a Super Hornet pylon? Please lets get this fixed before the 3rd CF-18 is given this awful pylon. Even Gemini Aces got it right on their Tiger Meet Hornet. 2ndly can we please fix the tail hook? Its way too short! The Hornet tail hook actually sticks out past the exhaust nozzles a bit! Geminis is awful too! The paint job on my CF-18 B is brutal the whole right side you can hardly tell the difference from the two greys yet the left side is fairly discernable. Someone was asleep at the switch when it came to painting..at least my model! Now being this model doesn't have combat grey colours I am hoping for a much better finish! Also, wish the the canopy when in the open position could be corrected to be open at the proper angle...way too high it is currently! I am glad they are doing the Fuel tank and the sidewinders. Now to add more I would love it if they added the 4 white wing pylons and one of them have the matching painted baggage pod. Would be a good time for Hobby Master to mold a Baggage pod that then can be used for accessories for other models as well. Have the baggage pod attached to one of the white pylons. As well how about an all white baggage pod on another pylon and same with a 2nd all white fuel tank for the center line. I have seen photos of pretty much all these combinations. Looking forward to this release but suffer from agony of seeing bad quality in the past from Hobby Master. Fingers crossed they fix these problems sooner than later!

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Cheers
Colin J.P. Campbell

Aardvark

A bit too flashy for my taste so I won't be getting it. Hopefully it turns out alright for those who are getting it.

ACpilot

Pre Production Photos are up on Hawkone's website.

Hobby Master Air Power Series jet powered 1/72 HA3522 McDonnell Douglas CF-18B Canadian Armed Forces "AETE"

Dan


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YOWguy

Any idea what if anything will be shipped with it to put on the pylons Dan?

Aardvark

Empty pylons indicate no ordnance (apart from the Sidewinders).

ACpilot

I actually had to argue for the empty pylons to be included.

This aircraft is an instrumented Test and Development aircraft and even the Sidewinders were carried only on occasion.

Virtually every photo I have seen on this aircraft the pylons are empty (except for the occasional baggage pod for travel to air shows). In fact the only time I have seen anything hanging on the pylons is a rare photo showing it with a couple of standard Gray external fuel tanks - which detracts from the attractiveness of the model in my opinion.

So if you were expecting Bombs - that would not be at all typical for this aircraft.

Dan

ACpilot

I've been working with William on this release and first saw the Pre Pros over a month ago.

I noticed the following required corrections to the model that William has stated will be realised on the Final Product.

Dan






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Colin J.P. Campbell

A few things!

1 Mainly..can we please get that dreadful incorrect center line pylon fixed! The Pylon is totally wrong as well, the tank should be parallel with the bottom of the fuselage. Not hanging nose down as well.

2 The wing pylons. Will we have to trim down the extra plastic hanging underneath the pylon to make it look accurate?

3 Tailhook is too short. The hook extends past the exhaust nozzle on the real plane!

4 The exhaust petals have always been wrong. Early CF-18s had straight petals then later on in life they switched to the current style with the notch at the end. Hobby Master has a indent on each petal. this is not what it is supposed to look like.

5 The Canadian Forces Roundel. The Blue circle looks to light. Needs to be a darker shade of Blue.

6 Can we get the Sidewinder tips painted Silver? This should be done on all releases that have Sidewinder Missiles with them. However. The sidewinder depicted in this Pre Sample shows a live missile. What about inert dummy sidewinders like the ones in the real photos above as well dummy rounds are depicted in the plan view art drawings? Does anyone have a photo of 907 carrying live Aim 9Ls' ?

These are issues that need to be dealt with. Not just for this model but subsequent Hornet models in order to accurately reproduce a fine diecast replica!

__________________
Cheers
Colin J.P. Campbell

Thunderbird 2

Good points for the CF-18. If William corrects these items, this will make for an almost perfect CF-18 and can be applied to future F-18 diecast models. Good observations ! Changes are worthwhile completing.

tomcatter

with all the input and hm making the effort to constantly make this a more accurate model, i must say that even a fence sitter like me is looking forward to this release...



...although i must say, it's taking longer than usual to be released. it's supposed to be a march release, we're already into april and these are still pre-pro shots. looks like a may/june release would be more likely.

YOWguy

Here is a link for more pix Dan - CF-18B (188907) AETE Walk Around Page 1

Main page has links to a huge number of pictures of various aircraft - http://www.primeportal.net/the_airstrip.htm

I'd like to see a set of these with it too - not the every day gray either

ACpilot

Yes, I am familiar with those links.

That is actually a travel pod. Used by the Pilots on overnight cross country flights and/or Airshows.

Hobby Master does not have a travel pod in their inventory and adding it really is a "non starter". With only 700 of these being made - to absorb the cost of fashioning a separate travel pod just for this release would add at least 5$ to the retail price.

Keep in mind that originally the Sidewinders, Belly tank, and pylons were not going to be included - so we are actually doing well in the "added drag"department.

Dan

Zendocon

Another stunning Canadian Hornet. My CF-18 collection is getting rather large...

ACpilot

You can never have too many CF-18s in your collection! This is actually the fourth CF-18 by Hobby Master (with a fifth due before the end of the year).

The Canadian AETE (Aerospace and Engineering Test Establishment) colours remind me of the "Raspberry Ripple" Scheme used at the RAF's A&AEE (Aircraft and Armament Evaluation Establishment) at Boscombe Down.

Both Establishments have very similar roles.

Dan