Model Alliance F/A-18A Hornet “RAAF 20th Anniversary” (MAS 729015)

I traded this sheet a while ago for a couple of Hornet intakes sets I scratch-built and casted.

Credits Ken Bowes

Fightertown Decals NSAWC F/A-18A/C (FTD 72001)

This sheet was kindly given to me by Brian at Fightertown Decals when I bought some kits from him. You get full markings for three nice camo schemes (Two “iranian style” and one grey) and, while I am not sure if it is standard or just another generous gift from Brian, markings for two VF-24 F-14A Tomcats including the black-and-white tail scheme, one of the best-looking Tomcat schemes.
Note that the set contains two versions of the brown markings: Light brown/dark beige and dark brown (Almost chocolate). I think the lighter shade was not good enough for Brian and he had these markings reprinted, typical of the standard of quality you can expect from Fightertown Decals!
For the kit itself I strongly recommend the Academy offering. If you can, get the -A boxing as it contains all the parts for the -C and is often cheaper 🙂


Credits Fightertown Decals

Authentic Decals VFA-211 “Fighting Checkmates” F/A-18F (72-38)

This sheet was kindly sent to me by Oleg from Authentic Decals. It provides markings for one out of six schemes, both hi- and low-viz.
A nice touch is the decals provided to decorate the intake covers. These would be tricky to replicate with paint and intake covers are a good option if you don’t want to get/make proper intakes for the Hasegawa kit.
Note that all VFA-211 aircraft have the new type of ECS exhausts (“Bard pipe”). This can be found on the Revell of Germany kit as well as on the newer Hasegawa kits (My personal favorite). If you have an older Hasegawa kit you can still upgrade it with the Res-Im set. I will post more information on this set soon!

TwoBobs F/A-18A/C Hornet CoNA (Centennial of Naval Aviation) (72-095)

This sheet contains full markings for four single-seater Hornets decorated to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the US Naval Aviation. Printed by Microscale, it contains some of these two-part decals most modellers really don’t like. Considering how thin the carrier film is these should not be a problem for the average modeller though, it’s just a bit more work. I can’t figure out why this annoying issue is specific to Microscale though (I have yet to see it on any other printes’ sheets).

Two Bobs F/A-18E Rockin’Rhinos #1 (72-044)

Two nice schemes are included in this sheet, with enough stencils to do both. On the down side most markings are given as multiple layer decals, which may be a bit tricky. This allows the modeler to control the register rather than relying on the printer’s skills, which was a great option at a time when printing was not as advanced as today. However, many decals are now printed with perfect register without any problem so I’m a bit skeptical about this approach.

Source: US Navy

Source: US Navy