Sometime around July, 2024, the United States Navy experienced two firsts. Both happened in planes from Carrier Air Wing 3 deployed aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. A woman with the VFA-32 Swordsmen became the first American female pilot to score an air-to-air kill against a Houthi drone. A pilot with the VAQ-130 Zappers became the first to score an air-to-air kill using an EA-18G Grower.

I thought it would be cool to commemorate both in the same display since they happened so closely together from the same wing on the same ship in the same deployment.

My goal was to imply the diorama was taking place in the hangar of the Eisenhower without being strict about location accuracy. Obviously the real ship doesn't have giant patches on the wall, but I thought they were a neat touch to further the goal of commemoration.

I have a figure by the Super Hornet meant to represent the female pilot who scored the first air-to-air kill. The picture here makes her look a bit like Dwight Schrute (not my best paint job) but she does look better in person, especially when she isn't seen as unreasonably close as my camera. 

I completed the Growler first. It was a good build and I learned a few things in the process which I applied to the Super Hornet, which was almost entirely the same build. One such lesson was refining my painting technique. I used black primer then used a weathering stencil from Mig to apply splotches of light gray-green. I then added a thin layer of the main color followed by panel lining. After this, I would slowly add coats of the primary color. It doesn't stand out well in the images, but the paint has a nice and natural looking variation to it. 

The cockpits are Quinta for the Growler and Reskit. Overall, I liked the Reskit just a bit better, but they're about the same. Reskit came with seat cushions and that's about the only difference. 

The engines are Reskit as well. I used a combination of streakers, washes, and metallic paints to get them looking how they do. I'm still trying to work out the best effects.

The weapons on the Super Hornet are all Reskit, except for the AMRAAM. The Reskit weapons were well-detailed but the Sidewinders came in a bit bent and the stickers were awful. I got them to the point they were good enough and just moved on. The GBU-54s were better. No issues with decals, so maybe I just got a bad batch. But on a special note about the weapons, I spoke to a real F-18 pilot who was deployed at the time about what weapons would make the most sense and this was the loadout he recommended!

I used aftermarket wheels for both. Reskit for the Growler, Eduard for the Super Bug. I prefer the Eduard. 

Both models were liberally washed with Mig washes and hit with oil paints to weather. I tired my best not to overdo the panel lines. I see a lot of modelers way over-line their panels and none of the reference photos I look at have panels that look like that. It's more subtle in real life. 

The model bases are 12x18 plywood boards. I found 3D printed tie downs on ebay and drilled holes for them. I put the tie downs in the holes and filled them with Vallejo putty. It didn't come out as nicely as I had hoped, but it did the job. For the surface, I used AK asphalt paste, painted it over with various shades of gray, then hit it with washes and oils. 

The mule and the figures are all Reskit. For the first time, I used UV resin on the goggles. I thought that looked cool!

The decals for the Growler are Furball while the decals for the Super Hornet are Fightertown USA with a few Furballs mixed in. 

Overall, I'd rate the Meng kits a 9.5/10. I'm not sure there's a better F/A-18 in this scale, but there were a few minor issues here and there. My Tamiya kits have generally been better, but if you want to do a Super Hornet in 1/48, this is the one. 

This was my most ambitious project yet. I don't think I'll do anything quite this elaborate again. It got exhausting by the end of it, but I'm proud of my work!

What do you think? I'm sure people have criticisms and I'm here for them. Give me your nitpicks! Give me your gripes!

Two Firsts -- Meng EA-18G Growler and F/A-18F Super Hornet in 1/48