Scale aviation modeller international

sure to get consistent angles

between the fins and horizontal

stabiliser. Note that the port inner

fin is correctly moulded plain,

with no slave rudder, so resist

the temptation to scribe one in.

The halves of the rotodome

pylon and the rotor itself fit

together with minor cleanup.

The leading and trailing edges

of the legs of the former can

be refined with a sharp blade

if you’re so inclined. The pylon

needs a smear of filler at the

contact points with the fuselage.

PAINTING AND DECALS

The main airframe is now complete

and can be treated to some primer,

polished with 3000 grit micromesh,

and the overall FS16440 Light Gull

DeLuxe Perfect Plastic filler

allows cleanup with water, and

minimises the risk of damage

D

ragon have in the past

issued two boxed

sets (titled Blast

Off), of their then current

models of the F/A 18A (item

4003) and F/A 18G (Item 4598),

each of which contained

injection moulded sections

of carrier deck complete

with poseable blast deflectors,

MD-3 tow tractors, fire appliances,

and six deck crew. Whilst the -A

in 4003 is nothing to write home

about, having serious shape issues

around the nose, the Growler

is much better, and the deck

offers the opportunity to create

a nice mini-diorama. Neither

of these boxings is currently

listed but they do turn up from

time to time second-hand.

The deck has a reasonable

representation of a catapult and tie-

downs, although the plate seams are

a bit heavy-handed. To go with the

plastic from the Dragon box, I had

a Brengun set (BRS144025) of two

early short-bodied MD-3 tractors

in resin and photo-etch brass.

Construction of the deck is

very simple, with a one-piece blast

deflector, which fits with 12 separate

actuator arms, and a hatch cover for

the launch pit (the later 4598 also

has a windowed bunker cover).

To add some dynamism, I

separated the six panels of the blast

deflector and bent the actuators so

that the panels would show some

variation of height. Before fixing

these I painted the white sub-

surface parts and the yellow and red

warning stripes; straightforward

but needing some forethought.

The catapult tracks were

various metallic shades of Vallejo

acrylics, and after pre-shading

the deck seams with black, I used

shades of Tamiya XF-65 grey

on the deck itself. Some browns

added a suggestion of scorching

behind the catapult and on the

deflector, and the tie-downs were

picked out in Vallejo Magnesium.

With the painting complete, Pro-

modeller dirt wash applied locally

gave a suitably grubby look.

The Brengun tractors are

very nicely cast and easy to

assemble. The photo-

etch parts add some

extra detail,

but I replaced

the flat tie-

down loops and

handles with fuse wire. I primed

them in white, then painted

them Mr. Hobby H413 yellow.

A few panels hand-painted

with XF-65 gave some variation,

and a length of coiled 0.5mm lead

wire made a hose. Peculiarly,

Brengun’s decals give plenty of

numbers, but only enough warning

stripes and script for one tractor.

The Dragon crew figures are

pretty good for the scale and

were painted with a range of

colours to represent deck crew

(yellow), plane captains (brown),

and maintenance guys (green).

KIT DETAILS

MANUFACTURER: DRAGON

SCALE: 1:

PRODUCT CODE: 4003 AND 4598

PANEL LINES: N/A

NO OF PARTS: 20

TYPE: INJECTION MOULDED PLASTIC

Dragon’s plastic deck

components

These are the parts for one (of two in the box)

of Brengun’s MD-3 tractors

The assembled tractor before painting.

The PE adds some worthwhile detail

CARRIER DECK

Deck painting in progress with

the yellow and red warning

stripes emerging

Painted up, the tractors

really look the part

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