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1/72 F-15C 102nd Fighter Wing, Mass ANG ; Otis AFB. DONE!


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Should be good, have you a picture to show us of the jet you plan to model?

Thanks Dan - here's my kit & decals photo

F-15kitandTwoBobsdecals_zpsbae47606.jpg

And the real jet over New York, September 2001.(image posted for illustration, no intended claim on copyright).

011106-F-4308R-004.jpg

Cheers,

Dermot

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So you know how it goes - fondling the plastic (don't tell my other half) before the GB begins. And then I discovered this..

 

Kits094a.jpg

 

I remember - I won the kit quite cheaply some years back on a well-known online auction site. And when I got it, the seller had posted it in an ordinary A4 padded envelope - the numpty. I think someone sat on it and the postman wasn't an Eagle fan either!

 

Not to worry, nothing a little glue, care and attention can't fix.

 

All the best,

Dermot

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And the real jet over New York, September 2001.

011106-F-4308R-004.jpg

 

That's a great photo of your subject.   To orientate exactly where - does anyone recognise the bridge in the corner???

Oh and best of luck repairing the fuselage.

 

Googled images of New York.  That's the Verrozano Narrows bridge joining Brooklyn and Staten Island.

We're looking towards New Jersey.

Edited by theplasticsurgeon
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And like an Irish frozen burger, I'm off! Customary sprue shots...

 

AcademyF-15CSprueA.jpg

 

 

AcademyF-15CSprueBC.jpg

 

Repair on the cracked fuselage has worked out ok I think - just a smidge of filler here or there maybe..

 

AcademyF-15Crepair.jpg

 

And thanks to the generosity of fellow Britmodeller Monty Python (aka Chris), I now have the third drop tank I need for this build; the kit has one, I pinched another from an Academy F-15B in the stash and Chris' makes it three.

 

HasegawaF-15Droptank.jpg

 

No work tomorrow so hope to get a bit more done.

 

Thanks for looking and enjoy your modelling.

 

Dermot

Edited by Dermo245
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Hi all and just a quick update on this one.

 

Got the intakes done and installed deep in the fuselage, followed by the top half of the fuselage which fitted really tightly. Some gaps at the sides near the back to be filled. I also painted the cockpit instrument bay but since this will be finished with the canopy closed, you won't see that! :doh:

 

Academy172F15C.jpg

 

When I went to test fit the front cockpit part, there was a really nasty step in the fuselage spine....caused by the tight fit mentioned above which was obviously pushing down on the fuselage. After looking at it some more,  :hmmm: I used that well-known kit part, the Mk1 sprue spacer. Must admit it worked like a dream! (it's the vertical piece of sprue you can see below)

 

Academy172F15Cb.jpg

 

I have an Eduard Zoom set that I could use (confession - am a P/E total novice) but am now thinking of OOB for this build.

 

Thanks for reading and enjoy your modelling.

 

Dermot

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi everyone and some cracking Eagles around here - really inspiring me to build better!

I have to admit the fiddly fit and build of this Academy kit is really testing my patience..Hopefully it's the kit and not my ham-fisted efforts! :banghead:

- on the burner cans, the individual linkages have tapered ends (not shown in the instructions) which I only discovered half way through. So some don't fit so well - please don't look too closely!

- the intake sides have bevelled edges which made gluing the 3 parts together a bear.

- fit of the top half of the front fuselage to the lower part was really poor (might have some previous issues due to the crack shown earlier)

- fit of the intake sides to the fuselage not so good either...

- added some tabs on the nose to locate the nose cone part smoothly

AcademyF-15Cworkinprogress_zps754c18b8.j

Enough of the grumbling you say. :shutup: And you're right! Onwards and upwards from now on.

Thanks for looking.

Dermot

Edited by Dermo245
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When I went to test fit the front cockpit part, there was a really nasty step in the fuselage spine....caused by the tight fit mentioned above which was obviously pushing down on the fuselage. After looking at it some more, :hmmm: I used that well-known kit part, the Mk1 sprue spacer. Must admit it worked like a dream! (it's the vertical piece of sprue you can see below)

Academy172F15Cb.jpg

This is actually a well-known issue with the 1/72 Academy Eagle. Most folks will try to putty & sand that area where the forward fuselage joins the main fuselage at the spine. I think your method of fixing this problem with the vertical sprue is ingenius. I'll have to steal your idea I'm afraid :)

Edited by Jackman
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This is actually a well-known issue with the 1/72 Academy Eagle. Most folks will try to putty & sand that area where the forward fuselage joins the main fuselage at the spine. I think your method of fixing this problem with the vertical sprue is ingenius. I'll have to steal your idea I'm afraid :)

Thanks and no worries - I probably stole the idea from someone else here!

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  • 2 weeks later...

After Halfords primer, some more filling and sanding around the wing roots/intakes and then 2 coats of Aggressor Grey - this is Revell's Grey 36157 with about 20% white added.....or thereabouts.

Like all my builds, this was brushed on with the widest brush I have (must get a wider one). I also brushed from back to front and the finish seemed to turn out better than I expected.

D5F99B24-32D3-4DBE-A63F-6ACD63772D0C-260

The afterburner cans are just dry-fitted and are darker in the photo than they appear in reality. Some other minor paint touch-ups to go and then on with the blue grey camo. I've left the tails off to help with painting the camo and for the decals...hope i don't regret that.

All the best,

Dermot

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Thanks for the comments everyone.

I spent Friday night adding the second camo colour (blue-grey) to my build. As mentioned before, I'm a brush painter so went through all the usual preparation steps - stirring, thinning, stirring again. And then painting.

For whatever reason, the brushmarks were visible. Not great. Not happy. It was late. And just to prove the 5th law of modelling exists, I didn't walk away from the bench and leave it for the night. I stayed at it. And the brush marks got worse. Not a good place.

:badmood:

I searched online for answers, thought about how I might rescue it. Or ditch it. Or start another build. In the end, I DID leave it for the night. And Saturday. And then came back to it last night.

As best as I could with my limited skills, I sanded away the offending paint. Mixed and thinned the paint some more. And with a deep breath, went at it again. Touched up the other areas also affected. For sure, she won't win anything and there are some smaller marks still there but I think I've managed to mostly rescue it. And I'm also hoping the final matt coat will reduce the effect a little bit more. Yes, there is a nasty step in the dorsal airbrake I know - that i'm putting down to experience with building this kit.

Don't be too harsh. She won't be the prettiest Eagle here. But I'm sticking with it.

D589EEB4-F870-4BAA-B479-67A43E7CF3D8-353

Thanks for looking.


Dermot

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