SleeperService Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Hi People After my appalling GB track record I'm trying again with this; In the aftermath of the Falklands War and a cooling of US-Anglo relations a secret meeting took place at Camp David resulting in several initiatives to rebuild relations. Most of these are still unknown but among those that are (Blackhawk helicopters, USS Nimitz [renamed HMS Nelson] and Dwight D Eisenhower [HMS Dwight D Eisenhower]) the least known is the RAF use of the US F-117A which was completely concealed until they were revealed and retired on 22 April 2008. Operated by 74 and 23 Squadron from undisclosed locations while deception operations at RAF Wattisham used a few flying Phantoms and many decoys, each squadron had twelve aircraft and a single two-seater for proficiency and continuation training. Initial training seems to have always been carried out in the US along with major overhaul. RAF Machrihanish was repeatedly rumoured to be the transhipment point for personnel and airframes crossing the Atlantic in USAF Galaxy aircraft but it is pretty certain that they were never based there.It is generally accepted that the aircraft that crashed at Boscombe Down in September 1994 was an RAF two-seater which was returned to the US for rebuild but we have no information as to her serial number or markings although 23 Squadron seems likely. Using information from the retirement ceremony I intend to finish this as ZE355 which was also marked on a non-flying Phantom at Wattisham. With only three two seat airframes known to have been built I doubt that a kit will ever appear so this will use parts from the two seat option in the F-15 kit to fudge a convincing rear seat. Sod's Law dictates that photos will appear as soon as I finish the build! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Excellent! I'm keen to see how you get the F-15 parts mated to the F-117 airframe. That back-story has a distinct ring of truth to it as well by the way 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperService Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 Excellent! I'm keen to see how you get the F-15 parts mated to the F-117 airframe. That back-story has a distinct ring of truth to it as well by the way Too many happy hours watching Dark Skies... But I Thank You. Spent last evening clearing the decks so I have just the one thing to work on. There's something off about the Italeri front end which may make the mating easier. I hope.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperService Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 Welcome to My Alternative Universe! Despite the dearth of hard information I have made some progress with this build. I must also Thank all who helped in my original quest for help HERE The delay in updating is solely down to my indecision as to how to make the canopy. This is version 2.5 which may well be final. Everything seems to fit and there's room for the bits that need to be there...I hope. Here we have the slightly modified F-15 cockpit mounted backwards and the building up needed to get it to sit where I thought it should be. The refuelling position has had to be moved back about 6mm and the original hole narrowed to make the receptacle a snug fit. To quote Breaker I can't remember ever saying 'That Was A Good Experience' when I finished an Italeri build. It seems as though the modifications will be easier than getting the kit parts to fit properly..... The nose has been modified to a steeper angle and the front beak reduced in size to give the FLIR somewhere to live. The cockpit is blu-tacked into it's approximate position while I work out the rear bulkhead and front mounting points. The only other change is to lift the front of the ejector seats by about a millimeter. The canopy is a pretty good fit to the airframe needing only a small amount of blending at the front and the rear fairing completing before I carefully cut the rear section to allow it to be opened. I may chicken out of this bit! The cockpit rear bulkhead Mk I shortly to be replaced. The F-15 sprues have a spare front and F-15E rear panel which I'll be using. The front panel looks more like the F-117 one than the Italeri one does! Looking ahead I was rather concerned about the inlet grills and the other inlets until I found the Eduard exterior set 48-162 which dealt with that issue. But the bomb bay parts therein lead to more thinking so I have decided to go out on a limb and show one of the weapons bays open. This will entail more effort but will allow me to speculate on the Enhanced IR guided Sparrow missiles alleged to have been used by the two seaters to bring down Iraqi AEW aircraft at the start of the Gulf War. It appears the US aircraft were cleared for AIM-9 Sidewinders so I shall adapt the front end of a Sparrow, the radar guidance would likely have been replaced by extra explosive to keep the weight, and thus the flight software, the same and make a kill more certain. A trial fit suggests it would fit, just. Till next time unless the Men In Black come for me in the meantime.... 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Looking good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperService Posted September 8, 2015 Author Share Posted September 8, 2015 No photos this time but progress is made. I've refined the cockpit edges and am modifying the canopy edge (very carefully) to meet the airframe nicely. So far the Italeri intake pieces have resisted attempts to fit their openings and sit anything like level. I'm really glad I decided not to cut away the plastic grille before fitting them..... The next area I'll be working on is the tail end. The kit allows you to see the jet-pipe (jet-slot?) from the rear which should not be, a bit of work will be needed which will also deal with the wing control surfaces and the strange scalloped area on the fuselage/wing join. The kit underside has the first angle change too far forward so I scored the inside cut through the central join and flattened the fold. It's currently under pressure and thick card off-cuts while the glue hardens. All very unphotogenic especially with my rubbish ability hence no piccies. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 (edited) Unphotogenic perhaps but all good progress. Glad to hear you're getting through it Edited September 10, 2015 by Col. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperService Posted November 13, 2015 Author Share Posted November 13, 2015 Hi There I'm moved, settled, training course attended and I've just found the storage box with this model in it! And I've the weekend off! Better get a wiggle on. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperService Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 Despite my best plans I'm not as far forward with this as I'd hoped however after a lot of muttering and re-building I've got the two main parts finished..... Here's the underside with split tail-fins all ready to fit, note the filler there is a lot going to be needed on this. I removed the rather inaccurate control surfaces which are flat rather than conspicuously angled, a rebuild is underway. The DLIR apeture on the kit is too small and too far forward so that's receiving Lurve at the moment. Top shot showing the rebuilt rear end and lots more filler. Things went a lot better when I started treating this kit as a short-run jobbie rather than mainstream. The tape just marks flaws to be addressed. But everything now aligns with the bottom and it matches photographs a lot better than it did. A lot of work but a great way to improve one's skills Still to be done is the FLIR and a final bit of work around the inlets, I'll also build up a structure inside to prevent a see through effect. In other news the cockpit is being painted but the triple damned cockpit canopy has still not reappeared. However it looks like this will be rolling into KUTA VIII so I'll make a new one later on. I have considered the earlier flat sided version rather than the later bubble type fitted but the complete lack of solid information about the type's early RAF service makes me reluctant to do this, a modification/guess too far perhaps? And I do like the Sparrow IR missle idea.... I'm hoping to have it in one piece by the end of the GB. If I can get hold of a TARDIS it may get finished 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperService Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share Posted November 26, 2015 Quick update. The canopy has finally shown up but in three pieces Currently letting the glue set before stuffing with Miliput to vac-form a replacement. I'll modify the rear profile a bit while I'm at it. Today I have mostly been making the bomb-bays my NWSL Chopper has made a very tedious cutting of strip job an absolute doddle. Tomorrow I shall mostly be gluing and making door hinges. Thanks for the likes and looking, it is much appreciated! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperService Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 On the one hand I've maintained a Perfect Track Record...I've failed again. Everytime I start a GB entry everything seems to go against me not helped by being rather ambitious. This will carry on though at a reduced pace until I can get things under control in the New Year. Sorry for letting everybody down. On the other hand I will be learning vac-forming for the replacement canopy which will make other projects rather easier/possible. So it's been worth the attempt. Some great looking models already, this should be a great finish! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 You didn't let anyone down fella. It's a great idea and one I hope to see you finish in the near future. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts