This kit was actually the original (5802) 1/48th Monogram F-18 Hornet which was molded in white plastic with features to produce the early prototype/FSD (Flight Systems Development) F-18 aircraft. The 1980 kit featured the prototype decals and early extended LEX slots as well as the slight snag in the leading edge and short span ailerons.
Notable Kit Features:
Very nicely done cockpit with raised detail side consoles and a good ejection seat
Good overall shape with the exception of the tanks provided
Speed brake can be open or closed
Positionable horizontal stabilizers
Early style main landing gear
No gun gas vents under the nose
No gun ports on top of the nose
Two vents just behind the canopy are present
Extended LEX slots
Dogteeth on wing leading edges
No chaff/flare dispensers
Longer AIM-7 fairing on intakes
Shorter early ECM fairings as well as lower vent fairing on tail fin
Long nose probe
No ECM bumps under the intakes
Shorter span outboard elevators/flaperons
No leading edge fences
Build Inspiration:
Instead of building a prototype Hornet, I was champing at the bit to get a CF-18 kit underway after Canada announced its intention to purchase this aircraft for it military in 1980. As the 1/48th Monogram F-18 Hornet was one of the first to be released I got one of these kits at my local model shop and then just had to source some appropriate decals for the task (That took longer than I planned) I also bought the 1/48th Revell CF-18 kit 4514 around the same time which I built as a CF-18 prototype however it was later written off in a crash. The Revell kit was not nearly as nice a kit as the Monogram one was, despite the listed problems.
Canadian operations during the 1991 Gulf War, dubbed Operation Friction consisted of CF-118As of 416 "Lynx" & 439 "Tiger" Squadrons. Due to both being "Cat" squadrons they became "The Desert Cats" when deployed to Doha AFB in Qatar.
For political reasons, Canadian Hornets were used in a defensive role initially. Eventually that changed with Canadian Hornets acting as escorts for coalition bombers, as well as acting as SAM bait for the USAF F-4G Hunter/Killer operations. Although this sounds incredibly dangerous, the Canadian pilots found that if they stayed above 15,000ft they were out of the range of AAA and that SAMs could be dealt with using known countermeasures.
In all this time, Canadian CF-118s had not expended any ordnance however on 30 January 1991, that would change. Already in flight on a different mission assignment, Major Dave Kendall (118798) and Capt Steve Hill (118741) were contacted by their controller to assist some USN A-6s dealing with an Iraqi patrol boat. "How would you like to strafe a boat?" The two pilots caused major damage to the boat leaving it dead in the water expending all their 20mm ammunition in the process. They then attempted to lock on to the boat with their Sidewinder missiles however, the heat signature of the boat was not sufficient for a lock. Captain Hill managed to get a radar lock on the boat and engaged it with an AIM-7 Sparrow which impacted the water short of the boat but caused further damage. The Canadian pilots were officially credited with a "kill assist" and had boat kill markings painted on to their aicraft. This was the first Canadian offensive military action since the Korean war.
Heads-Up Report:
Monogram had a bit of a problem with the shape of the nose on this model as there was a correction made resulting in a bit of a step in the join - be prepared to sand, fill and reshape here and lose some detail
LEX underside seams require another batch of filler and sanding
Intakes will also require sanding and filler
The shape of the pylons seems a bit off to me
Interesting the raised tail formation lights were present on this kit both inside and out (and I don't believe they were present on the early prototypes)
Kit Additions / Modifications:
Filled in necessary LEX slots using plastic card and filler
Added upper LEX fences
Removed dogtooth on wing leading edges
Replaced exhausts with end cut Revell kit ones (which seemed to fit better)
Modified the pylons to straighten out the curved edge a bit
Capped the nose probe
Should have added the ID light to the port side (however I deemed my skills not up to the task after I glued the fuselage together)
Missed filling in the vents behind the cockpit as well as other oversights
Used third-party CAF decals
Finishing:
The aircraft received a paint scheme consisting of FS 36375 / FS 36495 / FS 35237 representing a CAF CF-188A of 416 Squadron during the 1991 Gulf War. My "Ship Killer" was apparently incorrectly identified during my early research as aircraft 188796 (What a big benefit the Internet is for research, back then it was books and such!) The paint finish was a bit rough and the decals have now started to silver and yellow a bit, however this build was a stepping stone along the never-ending learning curve of model making.
The After-Build Report:
This 1/48th Monogram F-18 Hornet came along about a decade before the Hasegawa Hornets. The competitors at the time were Revell, ESCI and Testors/Italeri. Obviously now that there are production Hornets kits available you wouldn't go searching out this kit for any build except a FSD aircraft...but there's a catch. I suspect as the production changes to the F-18 were solidified Monogram permanently modified their moulds to reflect these changes (getting rid of the extended LEX slots and wing snag) A later release of this "Prototype" kit would not have these features despite the fact that the model has the same kit number as well as box art (so you don't know what you are going to get until you open the box). With a bit of modification you could still build a later prototype/FSD, which did have the LEX and snags modified.
Completed build #57 - March 1997 using the 1/48th scale Monogram 5802# kit.
Feel free to comment or ask any questions - Keep on building, gain experience, challenge yourself if you like, but try not to stress yourself out over the build - it is supposed to be an enjoyable hobby after all - Cheers
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