Massimo Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 This is my first thread for Britmodeller and I’d like to share a project I carried out last year. As I said in my presentation post,I spend much time in the UK and when I’m in Cambridge or Bury St.Edmunds for work, in the night I like going for some spotting to RAF Lakenheat and Mildenhall. The Eagles of the C version are my favourites and I really lik the two shades of grey camouflage. It was a very welcomed surprise to see on Hannants’ site the new release by Caracal Models. It took not that long to purchase them, together with the Academy F15 1/48 Model. There are several models, including adedicated box for yhe MISP IIversion, but the price was completely different, there were none avaliable and I like a bit of scratch building, so I opted for the basic version. After having seen so many landings ,I decided I would have represented my Eagle in this configuration, with the nose wheel still lifted and the airbrake open. Eduard set for the F15 C exterior will help! To do something different,…I started from the eshausts!I think the kit parts with the help of the PE parts will be quite accurate, once painted! On the main frame, I started by cutting a few thinds off: the hook frame, not present on the MISP II version… …and the ailerons and flaps from the wings, as I wante d to reposition them in the landing configuration. This kit gives the opportunity to build a C exemple (single seater) or D (double seater) and, as well as two different front sections for the fuselage, two sets of intakes are supplied, as they are positioned at a different angle , depending if the engines ON or OFF. I chosed the lower ones, as my aircraft was to be represented while landing. Next I checked the fitting of the different components of the fuselage and found out the junction between the front halves and the back section didn’t pair very well and there werent any good location pins, so I added some strips of sprue to halp a bit. I’ve used the kit cockpit, as I think it’s a nice representation of the real one , if the canopy is closed. It fitted well and could be inserted to the front section from the back .Once it was completed I would have added it and glued the front to the back of the fuselage. Once happy with the dry fit test, I added a few spacers over the nosewheel bay to get the cockpit into the right place.and started adding a bit of detail to the front panel. Added the PE parts to the nose wheel bay…a really useless job, as I later realized all door are normally closed when the landing gears are out!!! I decided to use the seat from an old Italeri F16,which had impressed me for the detail. I needed a pilot and I found it in an old Hasegawa set.Attaboy!!! It fitted well to the seat… They fitted well to the cockpit… …and the cockpit fitted well to the fuselage! The canopy and windscreen didn’t fit so well, but what I wanted to check at this sage was the final shape of the bird.I don’t go crazy if the dimensions aren’t exactly correct, but I want the shape to be right and give theright idea of theaircraft. So this is what my Eagle was going to look like! I then added two strips of plasticard at the sides, where the canopy frame was going to fit and a plate of the right size to produce a good and strong fitting, once glued together. This is what the cockpit assembly in place looked like. It was finally time for some colour!!!The front panel was painted black with a drop of white, washed with black and drybrushed with grey.Same treatment to the seat. A drop of Clearfix was given to the HUD lens. Some more colour and the seat was ready for …the guy!!! The cockpit was painted light grey, masked with Tamiya tape and sprayed black on the panels. Once fully painted, it looked like this. …and this is how it looked once glued to the front fuselage. I glued the canopy frame too... …and then the time came for our guy! His helmet’s was old type and was filed down, to remove the visor’s cover. At this point I needed an oxygen hose for his mask and wires of different sizes resulted very hepful! With the hose in place and free to breathe, our guy felt much better! He started loosing his greyish shade to recover some colour…finally a happy man!!! He sat on his seat… …and jumped into the cockpit, ready to take off… Wait a minute!Don’t you think it’s a bit early??? After some masking of the cockpit area, the canopy frame inside was sprayed black and then I tried to create some shade in a flat area by spraying a lighter colour , then washed. This was the final look with our guy in place. That’s all for now. See you soon for an update! 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intruder503 Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 Impressive start!! I like how you made the O2 hose. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crossofiron1971 Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Lovely work sir! These fly over my work regually, nice to see you are making them imortal!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Massimo, soccia che lavoro! I'm in for this, where's my ? Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard E Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Good progress so far but I can't help wondering if Academy should be reporting their box art to the relevant authorities as a possible air miss ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodmin Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Excellent job you've made of that cockpit and pilot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massimo Posted July 23, 2017 Author Share Posted July 23, 2017 Hi everybody, here I am with an update.Having come to a dead point with the frontsection of the fuselage, I concentrated on the back section. Fiest of all, the main wheel bays needed some attention as i didn’t like the “wall” between the closed area and the open one.I wanted to show at least the idea of the bay. so I cut the part where the door should have been glued and made a bay of plastic card.Detail was left to a minimum and the perimeter was smaller as the doors needed a place to stick to and would have concealed everything. …ehm…you’ve got to look at the front, not this!!! I know they’ll be closed, but …you see…it’s a bit more …realistic!!! This is the final result. It was now time to concentrate on the engine ducts.The kit ones are a bit…uncomplete, as some sections are pure fantasy.I couldn’t do a miracle here, but I could only improve!!! I HATE FILING!!!!!...but I couldn’t avoid this.I used some shaped metal sticks with sand paper superglued to them and rolled sand paper to do this. The engines’ front fans were pinted dark metal, washed black and dry brushed. The ducts were painted white and the fans were glued attheir end, then the unit was glued to the fuselage interior. This is what it looked like at the end. The second picture is over exposed on purpose, so you can’t really see it!!!! Trust me…It was perfect!!!! Not so easy to se the fans now… It was now time to glue the main fuselage halves and the wings. I glued all the main parts og the fuselage rear section , adding cyanoacrilate as a filler, where needed.The wings junction tothe fusealge was the most critical area, as in the real aircraft this is all a flat area. The time to join the front and rear fuselage sections had come.The beast was slowly taking shape! Once sanded everything down, I checked and engraved tee panel lines that had disappeared while sanding. Then I started working on the shape of the right tail …..thing….what’s its name??? Flaps and ailerons were added then and the tail thing got its shape. I think that’s all for now. I’ll keep you posted! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intruder503 Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Good stuff, massimo! Keep it coming! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 I like it massimo, regarding the difficult to get right colours of the mod eagle camo what paints will you be using on this? Glynn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matteo44 Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 Hi Massimo! Nice to see your work! Fantastic!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 Impressive! Lovely job on the intakes, and the rescribing looks neat Looking forward to next update Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massimo Posted July 24, 2017 Author Share Posted July 24, 2017 13 hours ago, Hewy said: I like it massimo, regarding the difficult to get right colours of the mod eagle camo what paints will you be using on this? Glynn Hi Hewy, I used Tamiya acrilics XF-20 ( lighter grey) and XF-53 Darker grey. They are both ...warm shades and they gave me the exact...flavour I feel every time I go to the Heath and a C lands. To me they're perfect! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 Thanks massimo I've been researching for a Lakenheath msip ll c eagle myself in the mod scheme for a group build on this forum at the end of this month, i have the great wall msip ll f15c and the same decals as you, the big ed etch, aires nozzels, also an aces ll seat, it does seem to me too that tamiya are the go to paints for this. super job your doing i shall follow along Glynn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massimo Posted July 24, 2017 Author Share Posted July 24, 2017 2 minutes ago, Hewy said: Thanks massimo I've been researching for a Lakenheath msip ll c eagle myself in the mod scheme for a group build on this forum at the end of this month, i have the great wall msip ll f15c and the same decals as you, the big ed etch, aires nozzels, also an aces ll seat, it does seem to me too that tamiya are the go to paints for this. super job your doing i shall follow along Glynn WOW...a group build ...I'm new ...where can I find the details to follow the group build? You seem to have all the right stuff for a great job!!! I opted for something more..."wallet friendly"!!! I'll follow you with interest! I'm working on an update which should follow later tonight. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 3 minutes ago, massimo said: WOW...a group build ...I'm new ...where can I find the details to follow the group build? You seem to have all the right stuff for a great job!!! I opted for something more..."wallet friendly"!!! I'll follow you with interest! I'm working on an update which should follow later tonight. In the group builds section from the homepage keep scroling down, to group builds and the f15 is in current gbs but doesn't start till the end of the month, theres nothing wrong with the kit you've got and your doing a great job, lets hope i can do the parts as much justice as your doing, cheers Glynn 9 minutes ago, massimo said: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massimo Posted July 24, 2017 Author Share Posted July 24, 2017 30 minutes ago, massimo said: Hi Hewy, I used Tamiya acrilics XF-20 ( lighter grey) and XF-53 Darker grey. They are both ...warm shades and they gave me the exact...flavour I feel every time I go to the Heath and a C lands. To me they're perfect! Here they are , my little friends! Just one question: Can you find alcohol based colours in the UK? I friend of mine who lives in suffolk told me they can't be imported...is that true? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massimo Posted July 24, 2017 Author Share Posted July 24, 2017 (edited) sorry, I did a mistake... Edited July 24, 2017 by massimo2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massimo Posted July 24, 2017 Author Share Posted July 24, 2017 (edited) Sorry , I did a mess!!! Is there a way to cancel one post and post it later correctly? Edited July 24, 2017 by massimo2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massimo Posted July 24, 2017 Author Share Posted July 24, 2017 (edited) Hi everybody, another update on my Lakenheath Eagle project: Once happy with the panel lines rescribing, I concentrated on the PE grills to replace the model’s plastic ones. I started by cutting them off the model. To avoid seeing through the model, I cut some strips of plastic card, then I glued them on the holes inside. Then I painted the inside black , to create the effect of depth. And while I had the black paint in the airbrush,I went on with the weel bays’ interior. I then sprayed the weel bays’ interiors with white. The black under it created some shades. I tested this technique on the whool…(or whole???) model, and I was quite happy with it. A quich cleaning around the holes…. …then I was ready to glue the PE grills and dry test the air intakes.They didn’t fit too well and some filling, sanding and rescribing was needed. The interior of the air brake bay was a bit…flat! I cut a piece of plastic card of the right shape, rescribed some panel lines and rivets(thanks Rosie!!!) Once in place and with the addition of a few PE parts (…to be honest a bit…unsignificant!!!) and a few more scratch in the cylinder ‘s fulcrum housing, the look of it was definitely better! It was ready for painting, so again black base first…. …next whit3, then clear and a wash. And matt coat to fix everything. Ah… I forgot to say…the airbrake well interior …ISN’T WHITE!!! It’s the same colour of the aircraft….. Seeyou soon!!! Edited July 24, 2017 by massimo2 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 1 hour ago, massimo said: Here they are , my little friends! Just one question: Can you find alcohol based colours in the UK? I friend of mine who lives in suffolk told me they can't be imported...is that true? Specialist model shops sell some, but i tend to use only mr hobby and tamiya now mixed with with mr hobby laquer thinner, awsome finish. Much better than neat isopropyl alcohol. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massimo Posted July 24, 2017 Author Share Posted July 24, 2017 1 minute ago, Hewy said: Specialist model shops sell some, but i tend to use only mr hobby and tamiya now mixed with with mr hobby laquer thinner, awsome finish. Much better than neat isopropyl alcohol. I see, thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massimo Posted July 24, 2017 Author Share Posted July 24, 2017 (edited) As I said in my previous post, I wanted to try a different technique than : primer, pre-shading , camouflage and postshading, so I opted for a black base . As I’m not the most patient man in the world, I couldn’t wait to see if it worked or not, so…..I had a go with both greys.I really enjoyed this part of the work as you’ve got full control of the shade you want to reach and you see it changing under your eyes. Itt’s really difficult to overspray as it often happens with pre-shading. Rather than spraying one color first, I dido ne wing first until I liked the final result and moved on along the aircraft.I know most of you won’t like it, but that was real fun! My tidy working place…the kitchen table! I was going to represent aircraft 156, as I had a few pictures taken by myself. Initially I waned to represent it in this configuration , as I spotted it in April 2014. It had a nose from an E, painted Ghost grey. I tried it,but then I decided to represent it in another period of her life, when other parts had been replaced and were clearly visible. The main features of that configurtion were the following: · Lighter grey airbrake without dorsal patch of dark grey. · Both tailerons light grey with no patch. · Left intake light grey only. · One of the tail fins wore an uncomplete black and yellow stripe on the vertical fins. The underside shows clearly the final effect, while for the top side things got a little slower. It’s really starting looking like an F15!!! Good night!!! Edited July 24, 2017 by massimo2 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarvelling Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 Great stuff...!! I'll be following this.... I work at the BX on RAF Laenheath (been there since 1992, in the electronics/stereo/PowerZone dept.).... and so lovely to see a Lakenheath bird being modelled 1/48th scale eh..? Going to be pretty huge when finished!! Lovely work on the cockpit..! Nice to see the Liberty Birds flying here... Thank you 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massimo Posted July 24, 2017 Author Share Posted July 24, 2017 9 minutes ago, yarvelling said: Great stuff...!! I'll be following this.... I work at the BX on RAF Laenheath (been there since 1992, in the electronics/stereo/PowerZone dept.).... and so lovely to see a Lakenheath bird being modelled 1/48th scale eh..? Going to be pretty huge when finished!! Lovely work on the cockpit..! Nice to see the Liberty Birds flying here... Thank you It was a pleasure to build something I've seen so many times! I represented it while landing and I added the Squadrons badges on the wooden base. I think you'll like it! IF I FIND SOME DECALS, I've got an E in my dreams'list too, but it may not be so easy... Thanks for your comment!!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davmarx Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 Great painting job Massimo, I really love your beautiful Eagle. Ciao. Davide 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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