F/A-18A+ & C Upgrades

MAW Decals, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Bret Green

HyperScale is proudly supported by Squadron

MAW Decals has released two new resin sets to convert either Hasegawa or Revell's 1/48 scale Hornet kits to F/A-18A+ standard.

The F/A-18A+ is an upgrade to existing airframes. The most obvious external differences are the "bird slicer" antennas in front of the windscreen, GPS dome and new UHF blade antennas. All these parts are supplied in both sets.

MAW's conversions are supplied in white resin. Specific details are as follows:

48-R006 - F/A-18A+ Upgrade Hasegawa F/A-18A

This is a simple conversion that simply replaces the kit nose with the new resin part. MAW also supplies a new front landing gear forward bulkhead. The only cutting of the kit will be a protruding lip of plastic on the landing gear ceiling.

The GPS dome and UHF antennas will not require any kit surgery at all.

48-R007 - F/A-18A+/C Upgrade for Revell F/A-18C

A little more cutting of the kit is required for this conversion, as the nose is supplied in two parts - the cone and the upper forward deck with the "bird slicers". Once again, the new GPS dome and UHF antennas are included as separate parts.

An interesting innovation is the inclusion of decals to replace the recessed kit vents. These are finely printed and should look good on the finished model.

Casting blocks on the nose pieces are quite stout and will require careful application of a razor saw for removal. This should be within the capabilities of modellers who have used resin conversions previously.

If you want to depict an upgraded F-18A+, then this is certainly the best way to do it. I am especially pleased to see these conversions as the RAAF uses this version of the Hornet, and will be doing so for some years to come!

Both Highly Recommended.

Thanks to MAW Decals for the review sample.

Review Copyright © 2007 by Brett Green
This Page Created on 08 June, 2007
Last updated 24 December, 2007

Back to HyperScale Main Page

Back to Reviews Page