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ITALERI 1:72 F/A-18A/B/C HORNET

Reviewer: Myself  (smakr@bigpond.com)
Kit Review submitted:  22 January 2002

Aircraft:
The F/A-18A Hornet, as most people know, was derived from the unsuccessful Northrop YF-17 Cobra lightweight fighter venture in competition against the Lockheed (General Dynamics) F-16.  But very few people know one unflattering statistic for the first generation Hornet in that it served the shortest frontline service in the US Navy of any modern combat US  aircraft, such were its inefficiencies and developmental problems for carrier based operations.  Thankfully, its replacement is the F/A-18C second generation Hornet which now forms the frontline carrier-based task force for the US Navy and Marines, in fact it is now starting to edge its rivals, the A-7 Corsair and F-14 Tomcat off the carriers for good!

After McDonnell Douglas and Northrop were announced as winners of the US Navy Air Combat Fighter program the F/A-18 first flew in late 1978.  It was a completely new aircraft and shared only general outline similarities with the YF-17, being larger, more powerful and incorporating a much stronger structure and undercarriage for operations on carriers.  With more advanced avionics than its great rival the F-16, the companies touted the Hornet as a true multi-role type aircraft.  This was enough to persuade Canada and Australia into purchasing the Hornet to replace large fleets of older supersonic aircraft in their inventories over the F-16.  Orders were placed by both countries before the aircraft had even finished flight testing, although at the same time Northrop were showing off its land-based F-18L version which was similar in size to the F/A-18 but with a redesigned structure and higher performance.  F-18L export sales were unsuccessful because the Hornet customers found that the F/A-18 had lower risks and was already in full scale development for the US Navy.  

Two basic variants were thus produced, the F/A-18A single seat and TF-18A (later renamed to F/A-18B) two-seat version.  The F/A-18B was in the main unaltered, save a bit of fuel space, to the F/A-18A variant, so its equipment and combat capability was essentially identical to the single seat variant.  Canada was the first and largest first generation Hornet customer and designated the aircraft the CF-188 in service.  The Canadians also pioneered the use of "fake" cockpits painted on the underside of their Hornets, with the intention of disorientating an opponent in Air Combat Manoeuvres.  

From land based operations for the RCAF & RAAF the advantages of the multi-role type soon became apparent but in the US Navy the F/A-18 was showing some severe shortfalls.  It was failing to a large extent to meet its radius and weapons load specifications - both of the aircraft it was supposed to replace in the F-4 Phantom and A-7 Corsair could carry greater loads over longer distances.  The Hornet also possessed one of the lowest approach speeds of any modern combat fighter, but was unable to utilise this asset unless it had the minimum of any ordnance load.  In 1982 one US Navy squadron recommended the Hornet program be suspended until these shortfalls could be overcome, especially that shortfall associated with range.  Since the A-7's and F-4's had to be replaced, cancelling or suspending the Hornet would leave the US Navy short of modern combat aircraft so they decided to put the aircraft into production without solving these problems.

Only three export customers purchased the first generation Hornet in Canada, Australia and Spain which of course did not have the same problems as the US Navy as their Hornets primarily operated from land bases where some of these shortfalls were not really an issue.  These problems, however, did stop other countries from purchasing the Hornet with Switzerland, Kuwait and Japan all reneging on initial interest in the aircraft.  By this time the company was looking at ways to overcome these deficiencies in a second generation Hornet from which the F/A-18C/D version was born with improvements in all the areas stated above.  While the RAAF did not purchase F/A-18C's it did embark on a huge upgrade program from 1993 to effectively bring its fleet of F/A-18A/B Hornets to comparable F/A-18C/D status.  By 1995, the US Navy had already retired nearly all of its F/A-18A/B models from carrier-based service.  

The Kit:
Italeri Kit number 161; F/A-18 A/B/C Hornet 1:72 scale.  
Note: This kit was initially released as an F/A-18A/B kit, and later reissued with new boxart and decal sheet and marketed with C version included.  To my knowledge the kit parts remain the same as the initial A/B release. 

Inside the box are about 60 light grey injection molded parts on two sprues plus three clear parts, two of which will only be required depending on whether you build a single- or two-seat version.  The parts convey quite reasonable surface detail with recessed control lines but the panel lines are all finely raised.  A lot of antennae masts are provided and the fuel caps can be seen in the upper fuselage shoulder indicating a good level of detail all round.  The wheel wells provide a bit of structure detail with the main wells providing beam-work throughout.  The parts are crisp and free from flash but there are a few small ejector pin marks that can be seen on some pieces.

The breakdown of the kit is indicative of a lot of Hornet kits with the fuselage coming in four pieces.  The forward section, split vertically, covers from the intake section to where the nose cone is attached and obviously includes the cockpit and nose-wheel well.   Then the main fuselage portion is split horizontally with the lower piece effectively coming in the form of a tub with stubs for the main wings already molded and the tailplanes are also already on the aircraft.  An upper section is then glued to this with the intake strakes wrapping around the cockpit area.  The ventral strakes and tail fins are all added separately.

The bottom of the box (below) features some artwork for markings and colour schemes of two additional versions not discussed in the Instruction sheet.  These are the RAAF and Canadian examples as shown in the image below.  In addition to the Modelmaster/FS Number chips shown on the bottom of the box, a small text box also tells you what Model master paints are needed for the Spanish and US Navy versions - but curiously not for the Swiss version (as depicted on the box art).  The other anomaly with the box bottom is that it does not provide you with the decal placements of these two versions, so you will have to rely on the common decals shared with (most likely) the US Navy version as well as other reference material.

Bottom of the box showing the Canadian and RAAF versions.  
According to them it says lower surfaces are FS 36495 and upper surfaces FS 36375 
This is at least wrong for the RAAF version, not sure about the Canadian one

Instructions:
A fairly large instruction sheet (in dimensions) but still the same Italeri standard offering.  Interestingly, the sheet clearly states F-18A Hornet, suggesting the kit was released at least initially, before the C/D versions were produced because these are not discussed at all throughout the instruction sheet.  It will be up to the modeller to decide the differences between the versions, and I guess herein lies what is indicative of the outcome of the project, that only a first generation Hornet can be built out of the box, and even that is debatable.  

The front provides a brief history in several different languages with a shot of the completed model in Canadian markings and a diagram of the decal sheet pointing out the different sections for the different Air Forces to assist the modeller.  Inside the front cover is the warning spiel about modelling, again in several languages plus a sprue diagram.  Then comes the alphabetic labels used to identify the colour individual components (and later external scheme) are supposed to be painted - quoting generic names (in different languages), Modelmaster paint range numbers and where possible FS numbers as well.  After this comes the nine assembly steps in construction that are easy to follow and pretty precise in positioning.  It certainly pays to have a browse through the instructions first and plan ahead - a couple of decals are shown to be placed during the assembly process (but these are really for RAAF version).  On the back page are three-view sketches for the markings and decal placement of the Spanish, US Navy and Swiss versions the kit can represent.  The decal sheet contains a couple of examples from each air force, or it appears to, which is discussed later below.

But there is a word of caution - the instructions cover both the single seat and two seat versions and obviously direct you to assemble certain parts representative to the version it actually applies against.  You need to clear your mind of everything while doing this because in their wisdom Italeri have chosen to label version "A" to follow for the two-seat example, and "B" for the single-seat, throughout the instructions.  So, don't even think about trying to correspond it with "F/A-18B" or "F/A-18A" because they have been given opposite labels and will confuse you!!

Construction:
Before commencing construction you need to decide which version you are building, ie: single- or two-seat as there are many components in the kit which will only be used for either version.  You also need to think about which air force you are covering and check the decal sheet.  As I state below, the kit and decals provide for two RAAF single seat versions, so there is no use in building a two-seat version if you want RAAF colours and use the decals from the kit.  Likewise, if you want to build an F/A-18A, then pick one of the air forces as stated above that actually operated them.  If you want to build a F/A-18C then be prepared to make modifications to suit.  This is a kit you need to decide on all these sorts of things prior to commencing assembly!  

As already pointed out in the instruction notes above, you also have to get in your mindset that everything labelled Version "B" is actually the single-seat assembly notes - don't get it mixed up!  I decided I wanted to build the single seat version F/A-18A for the RAAF, so my construction notes will cover the building of this particular version and project.

The cockpit detail is quite reasonable and reflects Italeri's generally "standard offering" of nicely rendered ejection seat, instrument panel and side panels (with small random console detail provided) and a decent control column.  The cockpit tub supplied is for the two seat version and the kit provides an extra "shelf" to cover up the rear cockpit for the single seat version.  A couple of small boxes are molded onto the shelf, but not sure what these represent as they do not appear in any photos I have of the cockpit. However, they were given black paint with aluminium plate panels, where you also attach the canopy jack which I thought was an excellent addition, although I also thought aluminium was a better choice than the stated silver.  The canopy jack can be laid down for a closed cockpit or of course extended for an open cockpit.  The whole cockpit was painted FS36231 Gull Grey as directed and affixed inside the forward fuselage halves which went together very nicely.

The kit provides two canopy mounts (or mounting frames), obviously one each for the single- or double-seat version, which is affixed to the cockpit hole in forward fuselage and then the appropriate canopy is affixed to this.  The mount fits well but there is a visible join line around the cockpit and this needs to blend into the fuselage.  I left the canopy off until very late in the construction process.  One of the options in the kit is to display the canopy open, but you will need to cut the canopy mount just behind the dashboard shroud and along the hinge lines at the rear - both are easily identifiable on the part itself, and the instructions also tell you where to cut for both versions with inset diagrams. I also noticed at this point that the small antennae and aerials on the forward fuselage (both behind the cockpit and on the underside) were difficult not to damage, so when the communications antenna snapped off (which is just under the nose) I left it off and affixed it later with super glue - but obviously you have to be wary of these small parts that are easy to break.  

Construction then proceeded quite quickly with the major components taking only a few minutes to place, tack dry and then move onto the next.  But I did hit a small obstacle with the fuselage assembly, made up of the forward fuselage sub-assembly and then the main body components which were split horizontally - see instruction step below:

Main fuselage assembly - part 17 upper fuselage, part 20 lower body, and forward fuselage assembly
Note: the decals pointed out here are for the two RAAF versions (A21-8 or A21-9)

You can see from the above "step 3" that the tailplanes are already molded onto the main lower body section.  I wasn't sure why the panels (parts 18 & 19) needed to be added under the LEX (Wing Leading Edge Extension) but I figured they needed to be added first.  The decals in step 3 and 4 relate to the RAAF version only (t'would be nice if the instructions actually tell us this in spite of the decal numbers!).  The image at the very bottom of this page will help you place the decal under the LEX for step 3, and step 4 simply has the pilot names by the cockpit - unfortunately if you paint the aircraft correctly then the decals are the same colour! See RAAF Decals notes section below. 

Then the assembly of the whole fuselage business was a bit of a problem in itself in terms of which was the best way to go about it.  I did some dry runs on different combinations such as forward fuselage onto upper fuselage then both affixed to the lower fuselage; the lower and upper fuselage pieces affixed together then the forward fuselage pushed into the front cavity etc.  I decided that I would go with the latter, but of course the dry test runs did not include the fact that the LEX panels were attached first.  In hindsight, I would probably suggest that you do your own test runs and you may find that attaching Part 17 to the forward fuselage sub assembly first, is the way to go, then attach this to the Part 20 lower fuselage body.

... But I didn't!  The LEX panels (18 & 19) were put into place, then the upper and lower fuselage halves were affixed together.  I then tried to force the forward fuselage section into place and this was quite awkward and in the end one of the LEX panels popped out, which itself allowed the forward fuselage to slip into place.  It was also quite difficult getting the glue into the right areas doing it this way.  The LEX panel was reglued and everything worked out fine.  But there was a very very small step between the forward and upper main fuselage join that needed serious sanding down.  

The nose cone was added and this needs very careful placement but is easy to attach, the dorsal fins sit nicely (although it might be best to leave them off until after the wings are attached, per notes below) and the intakes, which are generally notorious for problematic fitting in Hornet kits, are added.  The intakes actually fit quite well, but note the Instructions say Part 25 when it is in fact Part 26 for the starboard intake - and to add to the confusion, one of the dorsal fins is also named part 26 on the sprue, so there are two "part 26's"!

Exhaust nozzles come in two options, a larger more open part or the cone shaped version.  Initially I thought this was another difference between the two Hornet generations (ie: A/B & C/D) but remembered that the instruction sheet was printed before the second generation Hornet was produced and the kit would not have been updated.  Then it dawned on me that Italeri had provided two nozzle options to depict the variable movement nature of the nozzles - thus you can have the "opened-up" nozzles for a static display model, or the narrow "cone-shaped" nozzles for in flight display - well done Italeri!  

Parts 28-30 cover the fairings on the intake trunk to carry the FLIR (port) and LST (starboard) pods.  In my reference library of RAAF Hornets, since this is the version I am building, I have yet to find a picture that has these fairings and pods attached (you can also see the images below, the bottom one has Sparrow missiles affixed to where these pods would go) so I am assuming that these are only applicable to the US Navy and possibly Canadian versions, so I therefore left these off mine.

Assembly of the undercarriage was easy and these attach quite straight forward into the wheel well bays, but the often photographic portrayal of the huge weight strain on the struts are not quite captured correctly in my opinion.  All the wheel wells have some amount of detail - the nose bay the best featuring some plumbing, structure and a small tank.  You will need to cut all the bay doors to display them open and the instructions provide inset diagrams to achieve this.  For the wheels-up modeller, the bay doors fit almost perfectly in the closed position.

It was time to add the main wings, canopy (which I left off until last), arrestor hook and other bits and goodies.  The main wings are essentially one-piece, fitting over the small stub that is already joined to the fuselage - hinges for a folding wing are detailed, but there is no provision in the kit to fold the wing.  The fit was not very good, with gaps resulting at the joins and around this overlapping section, all needing plenty of filler underneath.  The rear step of the wing to fuselage does not mate in an exact fashion either, as the angles are very very slightly different.  More filler here and in hindsight the dorsal fins should not have been added until after the wings were attached because it made for difficult sanding with the small amount of angled space to work in. The canopy caused no problems and fitted perfectly.  

In the final assembly stages it was time to add the stores and external detail bits.  The underwing fence things (parts 43-45) went on smoothly but you need to pay attention to the part number and where it goes.  The wing tip missile railing was added along with the sidewinder unpainted.  Once fixed I then carefully painted the missile, railing and wingtip accordingly (and it looks like a painted missile was added afterward! Oh such skill). Decide on which underwing stores you are going to add and which pylons they relate to because the inner wing pylons have different attachment points (the locating pins are spaced apart differently) so it pays to be paying attention and I almost got caught out.  Sparrows have been carried by RAAF Hornets (as the bottom pic shows) so I had these on the fuselage sides and generally only a central fuselage mounted Fuel Tank or a pair of these tanks on the inner wing pylons.  Of all the pics I have of the exact RAAF Hornet examples this kit provides, both are either in clean formation (except of course for wingtip blue [practice] sidewinders) or carrying a ventral fuselage fuel tank.  These aircraft are supposed to be (if not already) upgraded to C standard and able to carry the AMRAAMs.  The kit supplies a pair each of large fuel tanks, Harpoon Missiles, AIM-120's, wingtip sidewinder missiles and six cluster bombs for stores.  I opted to show a supposedly wartime footing of my RAAF Hornets decked out with Harpoons on inner pylons, Sparrows on the fuselage, sidewinders on the wingtips and large tanks on the outer.  This matches an initial artist impression before we took delivery of Hornets I always liked.  Then finally the external antennaes, pitot forks, masts, aerials etc were added.  As stated above I had to repair a couple of masts, but also there are no locating holes or pins to add these so make sure you have your references handy to get positioning accurate.

While there is a lot to digest above in how the construction went, and it may appear otherwise, but I can say that it was overall a very pleasant assembly with good to excellent fit.  Since I have a reasonably high knowledge of RAAF Hornets, and I wanted to get this kit as perfect as possible, a lot has been covered above.

Painting:
This was where I had some problems with the kit, not so much as in actually painting the kit but following Italeri's directions!  On the bottom of the box Italeri lists FS36375 Light Ghost Grey as upper scheme and undersides are FS36495 Light Grey or interpreted into Humbrol 127 and approx 129 respectively.  I was in automatic pilot mode (no pun intended!) and started painting the undersides but it did not look right, the grey was, well too grey!  In fact the upperside scheme looked more correct for the underside!

Sure enough a bit of reference research and I came up with the result that FS36375 is the underside scheme and FS35237 is the upper surfaces paint on RAAF F/A-18 aircraft (and most likely the others too) which is the equivalent to Humbrol 145.  This was more like it, and matches the scheme I know is currently utilised on the RAAF BAe 127 Hawks which are the Lead-in trainer aircraft for the Hornet.  For those who want to represent something different, I also turned up some other information that showed some Hornets were painted in an overall FS36118 experimental Dark Grey scheme for a short period - in all other respects (eg: nose colour, markings etc) they were the same as the standard painted Hornets.  So, Humbrol 145 for the uppersides was used and Humbrol 127 on the undersurfaces with Matt Radome Tan again from the Humbrol range, used to replicate the lemon-like colour on the nose.  This left a fairly obvious demarcation line but after looking carefully at a lot of photos this looks accurate enough.  The upper antennae behind the cockpit were painted in a Gull Grey with Radome Tan leading edges, as interpreted from photos.

I actually built a 1/48 ESCI Hornet in RAAF markings many (and I mean many!) years ago and it was interesting to compare the two painting schemes.  On that model I clearly used Humbrol 127 on the undersides but a darker grey was used on the uppersurfances, I'll hazard a guess that it was probably Humbrol 128 - so even when accuracy was not forefront of my modelling expertise, it is good to know that it still looks realistic.  However, I remember clearly painting the nose tip "Lemon" because that was what it said in the instructions!  Radome Tan is clearly the more accurate colour!

Versions & Decals:
Five different Air Forces are provided for both in the kit and on the decal sheet, which has already been highlighted in the instruction paragraph above.  I did not go through each particular Air Force on the decal sheet, but the RAAF and US Navy versions have at least two examples each, so the decal sheet covers quite a lot of possible examples.  That could be up to ten different examples catered for!  All versions are effectively in their air force's current two-tone low-vis Grey scheme - incorporating in the main Dark Ghost Grey (FS36320) over Light Ghost Grey (FS36375) or similar thereto which is what the instructions say, contrasting the bottom of the box.  

At least some of the versions are: US Navy VFA 113 "Stingers" CV 64 USS Constellation; Spanish Air Force TF-18A ALA15 Saragoza; Swiss Air Force F-18A (Evaluation type); Canadian Air Force CF-18 of 439 Squadron; and RAAF F/A-18A 3rd Squadron (A21-8 and A21-9).  Aside from having the right decal sheet, you could depict any of the single- or two-seater versions in any of these air forces.  However, for the RAAF version, the decals are for single seat aircraft so some research and proper decal sheets might be needed as I pointed out early in this review above.

The decal sheet is very nice - thin and satin finish and conforms to the surface very well, disappearing into the surface after a coat of gloss to seal them in.  The sheet also contains a wealth of stencilling in both a Dark Grey - almost black colour as well as another copy in a grey identical to FS 35237.  A small selection is then repeated in light ghost grey purely for the Canadian and RAAF upper surfaces.  Colour register is excellent and I had no problems with any of the kit decals I actually used!

RAAF Decals (Inaccurate!):
Being the patriot I am, I wanted to do a RAAF F/A-18A Hornet, and believe me if you want to do it properly then do away with Italeri's decal sheet and get a proper aftermarket one.  There is nothing wrong with the application of the decals (as stated above) they conform well - the problem is their inaccuracy!

Firstly the RAAF Roundels contain a very narrow looking kangaroo and one pair of roundels is larger than the other, in spite of them all being identified by the same decal number on the sheet.  I could not work out where the larger roundels should go, they look the same size on the pics, so I simply added the larger ones to the fuselage.  Of course you also have to be wary about how you affix them as they only go a certain way, I had to swap the fuselage roundels around when I realised I mindlessly put one on with the kangaroo facing backwards!  Also have a look at the photo at the bottom of this pic for the way the roundels should be placed on the underwing surfaces - Italeri show this correctly, as they do when they say no upperwing roundels are applied. 

The RAAF version is only covered on the bottom of the box, per above - the instruction sheet does not cater for the RAAF version which means that you have to largely interpret decals from the photos and box bottom.  I did consult the US Navy version in the instruction sheet for some of the stencilling that appears the same for the RAAF Hornet.  You should apply the FS 35237 coloured stencilling to the undersurfaces of the aircraft; while the serial numbers, southern cross emblem etc are the dark grey/black colour on the upper surfaces; and the decals around the cockpit in the light ghost grey colour.  In the main Italeri correctly show this.....   

I've already pointed out the inaccurate painting instruction for the RAAF version above, and I applied the paint as stated. The decal sheet allows for either A21-8 or A21-9 to be depicted, both identical single-seat aircraft from 3rd Sqn.  Although for a short time -8 also wore a sharks mouth so you could include this.  Neither aircraft have LEX strakes (unless they have been added recently) so the kit at least is accurate in that regard - I have spoken more about this elsewhere in the review that the RAAF A's are being upgraded to C's with strakes being added.  So, you really do need to check reference material because many RAAF Hornets have had these strakes added, and it seems than other than A21-1 all the following serials ending in single digits (ie: A21-2 to A21-9) do not have strakes.  Also, for the record A21-7 wears the overall FS 36118 scheme mentioned in Painting section above.

Unfortunately Italeri have supplied the 09 (and 08) decals for the fin tip in the same colour as the upper scheme, so they disappear!  Best bet is to locate some spare decals in the black/dark grey colour and add these.  There is also only enough cockpit stencilling for the A version, so if you wanted to do a RAAF (or Canadian for that matter) B version, then you need an aftermarket decal set.  

But it doesn't stop there.....

The yellow navigation bands are outlined in black.  If you compare them to photos, the real bands are more lighter and lemon in colour and don't have such a pronounced border.  A decal for some vertical bands just in front of the intake is omitted from the kit (and this is for all kit versions).  Finally the southern cross emblem - you cannot even fit the decal on the fin, the whole thing is larger!!  The stars are way too big and must be replaced to be accurate.  If you do decide to use the kit's stars then I suggest you cut out the stars individually and apply them that way to the fin - don't forget to cut them out separately, so you can get rid of the excess film between the stars.

Photo Credit: Department of Defence, Australia
3rd Sqn RAAF F/A-18A flying over the Arnhem Land region of Northern Australia with southern cross emblem on fin
While not conclusive, this is very likely either A21-8 or A21-9 in the image!!
- note dummy sidewinder "test" missiles which are predominantly seen on RAAF Hornets and absence of upperwing roundels

Accuracy:
The kit itself is really only an F/A-18A/B at best, out of the box and even then suffers from plenty of shortfalls.  The C/D variants are externally almost the same but additional antennae are needed on the underside while the upper fuselage antennae are placed slightly differently.  Furthermore the kit omits the small pair of antenna fairings just behind the cockpit which can be easily spotted on photos.  Finally the major external difference being the small "billboard strakes" added to the top side of the LEX to improve lower speed handling are omitted from the kit - but these can easily be added with some plasti-card.  The boxart above with the Swiss F/A-18C does correctly show the strakes and fairings added.  RAAF F/A-18's commenced an upgrade stage in 1993 to bring their Hornets up to C/D standard and most of their A/B Hornets have now had the strakes added to them.  Best to check your reference sources.

Okay, so we settle on the kit depicting an A/B version so how does it stack up?  Well it is quite convincing in outline and general profile, you know exactly what you are looking at.  However I have reservations about the exact shape of the tailplanes and intakes, they are not quite right and the canopy looks a bit sleek.  But the most obvious flaw is the nose - and all I can say is that the best description is one applied that I heard elsewhere in that it looks like the nose has been put through a pencil sharpener!! :)  As far as measurements are concerned it is about half a centimetre underscale in length, and similar in span - assuming span (11.43 m) is measured without wingtip missiles attached, otherwise add another half a centimetre to that!

Photo Credit: Unknown
F/A-18C of Finnish AF - note the small strakes on the upper side of the LEX clearly visible and the small white fairing behind the cockpit, both of which are spoken about above regarding accuracy of building the C version.

Overall:
There certainly were only very few issues with regard to the fit of this model as it went together very well and one would certainly recommend on this basis.  BUT, if you want an accurate F/A-18A/B (or indeed C as we already know is not covered in this kit in spite of the boxtop!!) then I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere - perhaps taking the Hasegawa offering.  Yes, a good kit as a model but not one for the true Hornet buff that wants an accurate replica and quite frankly I was disappointed!  I can also say that if you are going to depict the RAAF 3 Sqn versions, then buy yourself an aftermarket decal set.  In spite of all this I was still pleased with the end result - it looks convincing in the display cabinet and to the casual observer looks the genuine article.  

Related Reviews:-  

• Italeri 1/72 F/A-18E Super Hornet 

Related Inbox reviews:-  

• Hasegawa 1/72 F/A-18C 'Wings '94 Atsugi Independence' 

• Italeri 1/72 F/A-18E Super Hornet 

• Revell 1/72 F/A-18E Super Hornet 

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Photo Credit: Unknown
The belly underside of an RAAF F/A-18A showing the clear Light Gull Grey colour
Also note the way the RAAF roundels face, the Kangaroo "hopping" toward the nose but its feet closest to fuselage
This is standard on almost all their aircraft both upper/lower wing surfaces, but many kit manufacturers miss it!
The Hornet does not have roundels on the upper wing surfaces A21-14 also has small LEX strakes like the C.