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Repo Eagles - Academy 1/72 F-15C


Ray B.

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I'm itching to build something and I don't want to wait until Saturday for the Interceptors GB to start, so here's a side project.

 

CjYKl9Z.png

 

I've really been enjoying Academy's 1/72 F-14A kit with the newer tooling, and I figured I'd give one of their other kits a try. Decals from Twobobs, as I wanted a non-gray color scheme, and I think for this one I'll go for the desert tan scheme.

 

I'll be working this one off and on as time allows. The Flanker I'm building for the Interceptors GB will take priority, so I've got a few days to make some good progress on this, and I'll keep it on the side for the times that I'm waiting for things like primer, paint, and clear coat to cure.

H2kWV4o.png

 

So... let's get started.

 

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Hmmm Im considering one of these for the Future Eagle STGB. Think I’ll follow to decide if the kits worth it or if I should stay with Hasegawa. Of course by July of 22 the New Revell 1/72 “E” will be out. 🤔

Edited by Corsairfoxfouruncle
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45 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Hmmm Im considering one of these for the Future Eagle STGB. Think I’ll follow to decide if the kits worth it or if I should stay with Hasegawa. Of course by July of 22 the New Revell 1/72 “E” will be out. 🤔

 

I've heard this one can be a bit of a handful when it comes to the fit of the intakes. We'll soon see.

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14 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Hmmm Im considering one of these for the Future Eagle STGB. Think I’ll follow to decide if the kits worth it or if I should stay with Hasegawa. Of course by July of 22 the New Revell 1/72 “E” will be out. 🤔

 

Stay with Hasegawa. Even after all these years, it's still the best when it comes to accuracy, details and finesse.  The standard F-15C is pretty affordable:

https://www.hlj.com/1-72-scale-f-15c-eagle-usaf-hsge13

Or you can very easily convert the F-15J into a F-15C:

https://www.hlj.com/1-72-scale-f-15j-eagle-jasdf-hsge12

Just don't get the old mold with the raised panel lines:

https://www.hlj.com/1-72-scale-f-15c-eagle-hsgc6

 

14 hours ago, Ray B. said:

 

I've heard this one can be a bit of a handful when it comes to the fit of the intakes. We'll soon see.

 

IIRC, Academy kit offers options for downward pointing intakes as well as straight intakes.  The thing that you must lookout for when building the Academy Eagle is the spine.  In your 2nd pic, the upper fuselage part. Watch out when you fix it to the rear upper fuselage. If done wrongly, there will be a "step" between the upper spine area and the rear part.  Some people have had success by ignoring the instructions & fixing the 2 parts together ( part E1 & B16)

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10257417

and then fixing the upper half & lower half together.  The instructions will have you fixing B16 to the lower half and then mate E1 to that. This might end up with the "step" that I mentioned. 

 

The notes mentioned by this gentleman might help:

https://dmminiatures.com/2017/12/02/academy-f-15c-msip-ii-eagle-in-1-72-scale/

Quote:

At any rate, I recommend that when you come to the stage where you have to glue the front fuselage together, you may want to follow the sequece below. Patience is key. And of course a slow-curing cement like Tamiya extra thin.

Join the main fuselage and front fuselage section together. Carefully aligning the upper joint first, then the lower part. Put reasonable pressure on the joints and leave it a side to cure.

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I have this kiit and another which comes with the 144th FW, Fresno ANG California finish in the stash. I was planning to do the Fresno ANG version with the kit decals perhaps next year however those Two Bobs decals look impressive and if I can acquire a set I would probably use them.  We have some property just out side of Fresno and I have seen their F-15s flying about. :)

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6 hours ago, Jackman said:

 

Stay with Hasegawa. Even after all these years, it's still the best when it comes to accuracy, details and finesse.  The standard F-15C is pretty affordable:

https://www.hlj.com/1-72-scale-f-15c-eagle-usaf-hsge13

Or you can very easily convert the F-15J into a F-15C:

https://www.hlj.com/1-72-scale-f-15j-eagle-jasdf-hsge12

Just don't get the old mold with the raised panel lines:

https://www.hlj.com/1-72-scale-f-15c-eagle-hsgc6

 

 

IIRC, Academy kit offers options for downward pointing intakes as well as straight intakes.  The thing that you must lookout for when building the Academy Eagle is the spine.  In your 2nd pic, the upper fuselage part. Watch out when you fix it to the rear upper fuselage. If done wrongly, there will be a "step" between the upper spine area and the rear part.  Some people have had success by ignoring the instructions & fixing the 2 parts together ( part E1 & B16)

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10257417

and then fixing the upper half & lower half together.  The instructions will have you fixing B16 to the lower half and then mate E1 to that. This might end up with the "step" that I mentioned. 

 

The notes mentioned by this gentleman might help:

https://dmminiatures.com/2017/12/02/academy-f-15c-msip-ii-eagle-in-1-72-scale/

Quote:

At any rate, I recommend that when you come to the stage where you have to glue the front fuselage together, you may want to follow the sequece below. Patience is key. And of course a slow-curing cement like Tamiya extra thin.

Join the main fuselage and front fuselage section together. Carefully aligning the upper joint first, then the lower part. Put reasonable pressure on the joints and leave it a side to cure.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the fit of this kit, I have noted your comment and will incorporate them when I get around to building my F-15. 

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An inauspicious start to this build. I'm not enjoying this kit so far.

 

EQPI5ON.png

 

The decal for the instrument panel fought my every effort to position it, and the far left and right sides ended up folding under themselves. I dropped it back in the decal cup there, unfurled it as best it could, and any attempt to remove it resulted it in curling back on itself. I ended up dropping the whole panel in there and applying the decal underwater, and the result is acceptable enough for a closed canopy build. Decal 15 there had a similar issue but I was able to straighten it out and lift it out of the cup with my finger.

 

Definitely not a relaxing beginning. The fit between the fuselage halves is not great, either. The join is going to have to go slowly, but I'll muscle it into submission. My first thought was that I can't believe this is the same company that made that splendid F-14A kit, but I have to remind myself that this is an older tooling. I've heard good things about their new F-15E. Hopefully that'll lead to a new -C model soon.

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I will follow this build with great interest. Although I have dozens of Academy Eagles I haven't built any of them yet. Few years ago to test my own decal artworks I built two Agressor Eagles using old Revell F-15D and Hobbycraft F-15 (which was a pathetic kit):

 

33.jpg

18.jpg

 

Serkan

Edited by Serkan Sen
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5 hours ago, Serkan Sen said:

I will follow this build with great interest. Although I have dozens of Academy Eagles I haven't built any of them yet. Few years ago to test my own decal artworks I built two Agressor Eagles using old Revell F-15D and Hobbycraft F-15 (which was a pathetic kit):

 

33.jpg

18.jpg

 

Serkan

That splinter scheme came out really well. Nice job!

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It was super windy yesterday and knocked out power to ~270k people in the area, including me. For 26 hours.

 

No airbrush, no lighting... not a lot of building. Just finalizing some cockpit things.

 

gDE9fYu.png

 

Seat is brush painted with Badger Stynylrez black primer, Tamiya XF-51 Khaki Drab for the seat cover, and Vallejo Model Color Light Green for the oxygen bottle.

 

8Y2xYM3.png

 

The intake ducts have cutouts so the main gear bays can extend up into the ducts. That's the attachment point for the ducts.

 

93aeHCS.png

 

Just all sorts of bad feelings here. The U-shaped part on the cockpit floor was designed for a different seat, I'm guessing, because this one doesn't touch most of that surface. Those little notch cutouts on the insides of the air intakes? Attach to nothing. The front face of the intake ducts? Attach to nothing. There's a sizable gap there that's going to need filling. Maybe time to get some two-part epoxy putty? I've never used it, but we're talking a significant gap. I don't know what all those extruded remnants are, but two had to be carved off and sanded because that surface will be visible when things are done.

 

I've got power again, but it's time to set this aside for a spell and start in on the Flanker.

 

 

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