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F-15C Eagle 57th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Air Forces Iceland [Hasegawa 1:48]


Filler

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I'm in with this F-15C build; much to my wife's consternation as the pile of partially started kits continues to grow.

 

I am building the C model, but will pinch the conformal tanks from the E kit to make the fairly unique 57 FIS Eagles that used these FAST packs to provide a significant extra range over the North Atlantic. The E kit is actually a B with the added CFTs that are I believe slightly different to the ones seen on the actual F-15E.

 

I picked up long ago a set of Astra decals for Keflavik based Eagles, but unfortunately I spotted a problem just a couple of days ago. My fixation with NATO aircraft seen in Western Europe between 1986 and 1989 means that the decals are out of the period. They're so close, but in I think 1992ish the Tactical Air Command (and SAC) were combined to make the Air Combat Command and the 57th FIS of Air Forces Iceland became the 57th FS of the 35th Wing shortly after - which is what these decals represent. Luckily, Britmodeller came to the rescue again and @Seawinder has very kindly offered to send me a set of SuperScale decals that have late eighties 57th FIS markings.

 

As you can see in the photo below, I have the the two kits (the E will be good for a B/D model in the future) the Astra decals that will provide the national insignia, a Verlinden detail set that I may only use the seat from and a set of Aires exhausts that I will need to use as the kit only has the early exhausts with the feathers. Must say though, I REALLY don't want to use any aftermarket beyond decals as every thing I start grinds to a hault as soon as aftermarket or scratchbuilding gets involved. But a seat should be ok and the exhausts are necessary (I just hope they are not the atrocious fit that the last Aires exhaust I used was).

 

Lastly, this will be my first time to paint with Mr Color lacquers instead of Mr Hobby acquious paints.

 

7-D4-B4-AB2-02-ED-48-F2-BC4-C-2-EDA7-E46

 

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Nice subject choice and even better to see you're modelling the different configuration specific to that specific unit :speak_cool:

Tell your wife not to worry about you not finishing this one as we'll all be encouraging you to get on with it :whip:  ;)

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Great choice, nice kit and goodies too, looks like a great set of ingredients, you can use the mr hobby aqueous range of paints with they're laquer thinners they work a treat (in case you've  built a bit of a collection ), also cellulose thinners works great too in case you run out

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Hi,

 

great choice doing an 57th FIS Eagle, due to their regular use of CFTs they were always something special :speak_cool:

 

On 11/16/2020 at 11:47 PM, Filler said:

The E kit is actually a B with the added CFTs that are I believe slightly different to the ones seen on the actual F-15E.

According to a post here the CFT should be slightly larger than the FAST Packs but in absence of good comparison pics I'm not sure if this differences would be really noticeable.

 

Cheers

Markus

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21 hours ago, Stephen said:

I'm sure that I built a Hasegawa Eagle with the Aires exhausts a while back and didn't encounter any problems.

That's good to know. It was an F-16 exhaust that had a significantly smaller diameter that the kit at the mating point. And there was terrible interference between the various parts too.

 

18 hours ago, Scimitar F1 said:

I am planning exactly the same build (as well as in 1/32!) I also have a 57th FIS sticker bought off the F-15 pilot at IAT 87.

 

Will watch with interest - particularly the LAU for the Sparrows on the tanks.

 

Will

That's a nice bit of memorabilia Will. The whole FAST pack/CFT thing is looking like one of those endless debates, but as far as I can make out quickly comparing the kit parts and photos of the aircraft is that the Hasegawa parts look pretty damned close. Even the missile hardpoints look to be a decent representation to me. I also think that the date of the kit suggests that they're based on the FAST pack of the time rather than the production E.

 

12 hours ago, modelling minion said:

Another one that I plan to do too, with the same kits as well so I'm really interested to see how this turns out.

Please don't be put off by my efforts 😅

 

11 hours ago, Shorty84 said:

Hi,

 

great choice doing an 57th FIS Eagle, due to their regular use of CFTs they were always something special :speak_cool:

 

According to a post here the CFT should be slightly larger than the FAST Packs but in absence of good comparison pics I'm not sure if this differences would be really noticeable.

 

Cheers

Markus

Like I was saying above in reply to Will, the FAST pack v CFT debate seems to have quite a lot of contradictory explanations/opinions on line. In all honesty though, if they look close enough, which I think they do, they'll do for me. I like accuracy, but I've too many stalled builds because of getting hung up on details. As long as I end up with a cool looking 57th Eagle I'll be well happy and my feeling is that the kit parts will do the job nicely.

 

I spent last night watching the Bake Off with my wife and then assembling a cot. I am quietly confident that tonight I will make a start on this build.

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I've got a little bit done on this over the last couple of days. The kit cockpit has been assembled and painted. A bit rough, but as I like to have the lids closed on my models it's good enough.

FE928-C56-51-D4-465-F-9327-90442-C8-BF6-

 

Next up was the intakes. I was quite surprised to find that Hasegawa had produced full length intakes given the age of the kit and whilst that is a good thing, they require a lot of work to get them looking decent. I was looking to see if there was any tips on tackling them and found @Jon Bryon's builds in his fantastic blog. Jon provides good advice, but also mentions 'months' spent on them and that they're not all that visable in the end either. However, I thought I'd have a go at it anyway and try and follow Jon's approach.

 

Locator pins and ejector marks were dealt with on the right.

79-E5-EC81-71-E8-4501-9591-69402-E30-B95

 

First superglue and now some disolved putty was used to hide the seams before I give it hopefully a final sanding. Getting paint down there will be fun!

75830-EB4-6044-4461-96-ED-1-FCFDC333951.

 

As per Jon's build (if I understood correctly), I have attached the intake fronts to the bottom have of the fuselage. A fair bit of tidying up required here, plus continuing the rounded corners that Hasegawa abandoned ahead of the main intake trunking. Thinking of using fine miliput for that.

38827-A4-A-70-F9-4-ED5-BBDA-5-D4918-C78-

 

So that's where I am and it's not bad progress for me, especially as I dropped a bottle of Rocket superglue on Friday evening. I was quite lucky as 95% of it landed on the recessed lid of my little bin. Sends you into quite a panic when this happens!

5-D05-BB4-E-AB53-4527-81-F8-18447551-BF9

 

And then, yesterday, to prove I am a clumsy idiot I managed to launch a pot of Tamiya glue across the desk. Fortunately the Eagle was not hit in either incident.

D493-B245-85-F5-4908-9-C56-A2993-DFF62-F

 

Finally, does anyone know if Eagles require nose weight? No mention in the instructions. I just added a pretty pointless token jesture, but haven't sealed it up yet.

B67-DAC95-256-B-4765-9-DA6-6-ED79-E2-C1-

 

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First attempt with some superfine Milliput. I think it was the right choice, but it was still very tricky to work with such microscopic amounts. More inclined to stick to the tools despite working wet. Once dry I’ll give a very gentle sand and if necessary apply a smear of Mr Surfacer.

 

019002-F3-3-B51-420-A-8471-F2283-C90418-

 

Quite happy so far. Trunks not glued yet as still need painting.

 

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Too right! One spot of super glue hit the carpet and two or three hit my old hoodie I was wearing, the rest of the bottle ended up on the bin lid and was ok until I piled tissue on it and it started furiously hissing and smoking. Thankfully the Eagle wasn’t the victim of   the GTE (Glue to Everywhere) interceptions.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've managed to get back on this a little in the last few days after progress came to a sudden halt two weeks ago.

 

My wife who was then 38 and bit weeks pregnant had just returned from a midwife appointment and sat down in the living room with a cup of tea when she heard an almighty crash. Thinking that the glass display case housing my beer glass collection had collapsed she went into the dining room to see and was confronted by two masked men coming in through the french doors. She screamed and they fled and she was left very shaken, but thankfully she and the baby are fine. So a few days of police, insurance, window surveyors, security installation etc followed. It's taken me two weeks to settle down enough to think about modelling again. And now the little one is due any time now, so I may not get much bench time again soon.

 

Anyway, I have continued to get the intakes done and and the fuselage upper and lower halves joined. I thought it had gone really well until I noticed one intake ramp isn't quite sat square - but nothing I can do about that now. The cockpit section and the wings are now ready to join to the fuselage and that is what I'll hopefully do this evening.

 

2-A96-E000-C4-F3-471-F-9555-A941-DCC4-D0

 

AF0-E5556-84-B2-4-D7-C-8-F7-F-FD374-A954

Always a good point when it's starting to look like airplane!

 

I've also removed the casting blocks from the Aires exhausts and dry fitted them. I was glad to find I can push them in at the end of the build, but very disappointed (but not surprised) to find that they are incorrectly sized. This time Aires have them too large and they are a flush fit with the kit whereas they should be a smaller diameter.

 

Aires and Hasegawa:

B3-B1-BECD-68-ED-4-D92-87-F6-2-DF7-DFC67

 

McDonnell Douglas and Pratt & Whitney:

 

Have Aires ever made anything that fits the intended kit correctly?

 

 

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I am really sorry to hear what your wife went through, it must have been a really horrible and shocking experience for her, and for you to have to hear about. Its no wonder you haven't felt like doing any modelling recently. I am glad that she is okay and wish you both all the best for the upcoming birth.

 

Your F-15 is looking really nice, the intakes are great.

As for Aries, if they have ever made anything that fits perfectly then it is purely by accident.

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50 minutes ago, modelling minion said:

I am really sorry to hear what your wife went through, it must have been a really horrible and shocking experience for her, and for you to have to hear about. Its no wonder you haven't felt like doing any modelling recently. I am glad that she is okay and wish you both all the best for the upcoming birth.

Thanks Craig. Yes, it was a huge shock for her and she was very shaken. It was weird that she'd messaged to say all was well at the midwifes and by the time I had read it and called her she answered the phone to say we'd been burgled. My brother came around and took her to the hospital to be checked over whilst I waited for the police. She's bounced back pretty well though and oddly it's me who it seems to have hit harder. I think it's the frustration of feeling like you haven't protected your home and family. It's certainly made me a bit paranoid and sent me security mad. I expect that my focus will be well diverted soon enough with all sorts of mini human fluids to deal with! Need to make as much progress with the Eagle as I can.

 

51 minutes ago, modelling minion said:

Your F-15 is looking really nice, the intakes are great.

As for Aries, if they have ever made anything that fits perfectly then it is purely by accident.

Thanks again. I am pretty happy with the intakes although I know I can do better next time with what I've learnt this time. Aires are pretty maddening, but the one thing I'll say in their defence in this instance is that if they'd got it right, the kit would not really have a part for them to mate with. I guess I can live with it though, especially as they otherwise look very nice and provide a vital solution to Hasegawa only providing very basic early exhausts with the feathers.

 

Thinking since I posted earlier, I will get the FAST packs on this evening as I imagine they'll be easier to fit and fettle before I've added the wings. Plus I should also get the speed brake on as I am certain it'll not just drop in nicely.

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7 minutes ago, Filler said:

I think it's the frustration of feeling like you haven't protected your home and family.

A perfectly normal response, its built into our DNA that we are the protectors of our families. You can also guarantee that I will be at work if something goes wrong at home so won't be able to help.

10 minutes ago, Filler said:

sent me security mad.

We find that having a camera on the house deters the local scrotes, they just look for easier targets.

11 minutes ago, Filler said:

all sorts of mini human fluids to deal with!

I remember them well! Some really interesting colours and consistencies, not to mention the smells!!

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All the best for the family,terrible shock that must have been , and she must feel very vulnerable  now, stay very vigilant for another fortnight at least , you're doing a fab job on the f-15, 👍

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4 hours ago, Filler said:

I expect that my focus will be well diverted soon enough with all sorts of mini human fluids to deal with!

 

4 hours ago, modelling minion said:

I remember them well! Some really interesting colours and consistencies, not to mention the smells!!

Oh God do I remember those days 🤢🤮😵 So happy mine is in her 20’s now. 

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Sorry to hear your wife and you have had such a horrible experience to endure but also glad to hear she's not suffered any lasting effects from it.

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Still awaiting the new arrival, so still have some time to carry on with the Eagle.

 

Wings attached. One wing fitted very nicely, the other not quite so good, but I suspect that owes something to my joining of the wing upper and lowers. Hasegawa have the join running through the middle of some large panels, so quite a job to remove all trace of the join. Needs a bit of a polish and then I'll get some primer on and see how it looks.

 

FABE520-A-4864-47-E4-8-DD3-C636-AD5-C81-

That's a lot of surface area.

 

Last night I got the FAST Packs on. They're a reasonable fit and running some Mr Surfacer along the join should tidy them up nicely and even help replicate the seals that run around them.

42-AE6885-7-EC2-4-FFF-9119-07-F7-CBA5-BB

 

On the down side, I have noticed that I've somehow made a right pigs ear of the starboard intake - sloping all over the show! It's really bugging me, but to even try and correct it now will require some serious surgery (slicing/cutting, packing and a lot of delicate filing and sanding) and could well leave it looking a lot worse. Not sure yet what to do.

 

The other thing I forgot to do, but still can do is to drop the plain flaps a little as they do drop a bit when at rest. I'll mull over that one too. I think the trick with doing that is getting a thin enough cut.

 

 

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Wow thats a bit of a roller coaster of emotions. I share your thoughts on home security. After 5 burglaries in 3 weeks I got a dog. No visits since.

 

The Eagle is coming along well but you will have to put it away to enjoy your other arrival as much as you can. The baby phase is hard work but doesnt last very long.

 

Colin

Edited by Colin W
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