Gradually, the "Super Bug" is spreading all over the flight decks of U.S. Navy carriers, displacing all that came before it. Taking over fighter, bomber, tanker, and, soon, with the introduction of the F-18G Growler, electronic warfare missions, the Super Hornet will become the only fixed-wing aircraft on deck until the F-35 goes into service.
Both Revell and Hasegawa released 1/48 scale kits of the E and F model Super Hornets several years ago, and Hasegawa quickly followed with 1/72 scale versions. Revell didn't downsize until now. Some of the sprues are marked "single seat," so it follows that a twin-seat F model will come along sometime in the future. The parts feature finely recessed panel lines and good interior detail. Things under wings include three drop tanks and a pair each of AIM-9X Sidewinders, AIM-120 AMRAAMs, GBU-31 JDAMs (more specifically, the GBU-31(V)4/B version of the BLU-109, previously unavailable in this scale), Mk.83 dumb bombs, and an AN/ASQ-228 designator pod. Decals feature the colorful CAG bird of VFA-137 "Kestrels" and a low-viz marking for VFA-105 "Gunslingers."
Assembly held no surprises, although inserting the intakes with their attending fuselage sides to the main fuselage assembly required careful alignment. Each set of landing gear doors is molded together, requiring surgical separation if you pose the wheels down. The attachment of the main gear in the wells seems weak - just a small "D" tab into a hole with not much additional surface area to bolster the joints. Revell got the odd outboard cant to the underwing weapons pylons correct. The canopy can be posed opened or closed, and a boarding ladder is optional.
I painted the jet with Testors Model Master enamels. Insignia blue is a match to touch up around the edges of the blue trim. The decals are extensive and well printed, but, like Revell's F-22, many of the small stencils were printed in gray that disappears against the proper light ghost gray undersurface color. Decals are provided for the many vent screens scattered over the airframe, but the placement of the screens on the inner faces of the intakes is not clearly shown in the instructions.
The finished model looks spiffy, but there are some shape differences compared with the Hasegawa kit. The dorsal spine of Revell's kit appears longer and narrower. Which one is right? I don't know. One or the other could be right, or both could be wrong. After 29 hours, I'm happy with mine no matter what. Experience will be needed to work on all those decals, but the kit is easy to build and fits well.
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