Academy 72nd Eagle

[SoftScience]

My second entry for this GB is Academy's 1/72 F-15. The boxing is of an F-15C MSIP. I wonder though, what it would take to backdate to an F-15A? 

 

The kit is pretty simple. There is okay detail, but not as much as on Hasegawa's 1:72 F-15. At the same time, this kit has a great deal less fit problems. At least thus far. 

 

That filler on the wing is from a wayward scriber incident

 

 

I lowered the ailerons to make it look a bit more animated.

[SoftScience]

There was a good deal of sanding and rescribing to do on the forward fuselage, where the top and bottom halves met. That's been done, and now I began gluing on the intakes. They fit a little better than the 1/48 Academy F-15 intakes, but only a little. I'm trying something different here. I glued on the outer halves. Once nice and dry, I'll do the insides and see if I can line them up. If not, there will be a step on the bottom, which may need the aid of some sheet styrene to level out.  We shall see.

 

Not visible in this photo - I augured out the solid gun port, and the solid rear facing vents under the wing roots. 

 

[Hewy]

What scheme you doing ss, agressor,or a mod eagle, looking good so far,  looks like you cut the ailerons out to reposition,  nice job

 

Glynn

[SoftScience]

On 8/11/2017 at 1:25 AM, Hewy said:

What scheme you doing ss, agressor,or a mod eagle, looking good so far,  looks like you cut the ailerons out to reposition,  nice job

 

Glynn

 

I'd like to backdate this to an F-15A, but I'm still waiting from somebody who knows, to tell me what I need to keep and remove.

[LeVi Tophatter]

42 minutes ago, SoftScience said:

 

I'd like to backdate this to an F-15A, but I'm still waiting from somebody who knows, to tell me what I need to keep and remove.

Hello,

Good going so far. With regards to 'backdating' your F-15C into an F-15A it's straightforward if you'll let us know:

-What nation?

-What timeframe?

-What unit? 

[mungo1974]

20 minutes ago, LeVi Tophatter said:

Hello,

Good going so far. With regards to 'backdating' your F-15C into an F-15A it's straightforward if you'll let us know:

-What nation?

-What timeframe?

-What unit? 

Yep as Levi said tell us what your doing and maybe we can help you out

[SoftScience]

USAF late 1970s or early 1980s. I'm thinking either one of the air superiority blue machines with red and white stripes, or a 318 FIS with the big blue compass stars on the tail. It depends on the decals I can score, but something early and USAF

[mungo1974]

If you build a early ASB jet you'll need an Escapac seat rather than a ACES II.

Nobody does the sub-type used in early F-15's when I built mine in 1/48 I used the same type fitted to USAF A-7 Corsairs.

The 318th should be ACES II, both would have early F-15A style wheel hubs. Early ASB jets will still have the Turkey feathers on the exhausts, the 318th won't.

Antenna fit for both should be the same as you get in the basic kit.

 

Let me think about it and I'll add more...now walking out the front door for work..lol

[SoftScience]

Looks like my intake method has paid off. The tops fit pretty nicely.

 

It's recognizably eagle like now.

 

[SoftScience]

29 minutes ago, mungo1974 said:

If you build a early ASB jet you'll need an Escapac seat rather than a ACES II.

Nobody does the sub-type used in early F-15's when I built mine in 1/48 I used the same type fitted to USAF A-7 Corsairs.

The 318th should be ACES II, both would have early F-15A style wheel hubs. Early ASB jets will still have the Turkey feathers on the exhausts, the 318th won't.

Antenna fit for both should be the same as you get in the basic kit.

 

Let me think about it and I'll add more...now walking out the front door for work..lol

Thanks, Mr. Mungo. Even that helps a great deal. 

[mungo1974]

Another thing I thought of while driving to work was the very early Eagles ie pretty much all those in the ASB scheme would have had the early style short airbrake on the upper spine. Not sure off the top of my head when they changed to the larger type I think it was either at the beginning of the FY74 production or very early into it.

So if your building a FSD prototype jet from FY71-FY73(which should cover all the early ASB painted jets) you need to smaller airbrake

[Jabba]

Good to see this coming along. I like the way that you fitted the intakes, much better than the kit way, which I did.

[SoftScience]

Thanks Jabba.

 

 

Given the difficulties in sourcing decals, I've decided to build the Oregon ANG bird in the box. 

 

This meant cutting off one of the pointy tail booms and replacing it with one fitted with a tubular antenna.

 

Two things.

 

The academy antenna fits like crap

 

AND

 

Like a fool, I cut off the wrong boom :'(

 

 

I replaced the Academy part with a spare from a Hasegawa eagle, and used one of the other Academy antennae to start resculpting the other pointy end.

 

In the process I realized that the original parts were a touch too long and too tall, so I'm fixing that in the process. Not so bad in the end

 

Still some cleaning up to do.