*Hobby Master HA3516 1:72 F/A-18A VFC-12 "Fighting Omars"

The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic twin engine all-weather
night fighter and attack aircraft. The F/A-18s first flew in November 1978 and the first production
flight on April 12, 1980. The first 380 aircraft were F/A-18As and in September 1987 production
switched to the F/A-18C. Variants A and C are single-seat aircraft while B and D are tandem-
seats. The Hornet can operate from either aircraft carriers or land bases with the capability of in
flight refueling. A total of 1,480 A-D variants were built.


VFC-12 Fighting Omars traded their A-4 Skyhawks in for F/A-18 Hornets in 1994. They primarily
tasked with providing adversary training for the USN and USMC units. VFC-12 is trading their
F/A18Cs for F/A-18A+s belonging to VFA 87. As they change the F/A-18A+ are going to receive a
splinter paint scheme that was developed by AD3 Darrall Taylor. The paint scheme is meant to
represent the scheme used on the Sukhoi SU-35. In 1992, the original Hughes AN/APG-65 radar
was replaced with the Hughes (now Raytheon) AN/APG-73. The “A” model Hornets that
upgraded to the AN/APG-73 are designated A+.