baldwin8 Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 Needing a kit to have fun with and hopefully minimum fuss. Trying to keep it in the spirit of building of just the kit supplied parts. Oh how easy it is to start browsing the web shops and fill your cart up with resin and etching. Most of my early modelling was a box build and even kit decals. A community friend gifted the kit to start and it was a boxing I did not recognize but the old reliable Hasegawa re-tooled F-15 was inside. No I couldn't hold back and found the Platz White Dragon release of 303 squadron's F-15J, a beautiful sheet printed by Cartograf. Does anyone think this looks like me!?!?! The Platz sheet, still available by searching on Japanese web-stores. The wing join seams were filled with stretched sprue but still required some Tamiya White Filling Putty. The vertical tail join line needed fill too. Actually a decent cockpit representation is provided but all references I could see showed the aft bay behind the seat was finished in white not the Metallic Blue-Green as instructed. The exhaust is 5 segments and maybe the biggest challenge is getting a proper looking circle of that opening as it is all glued. Patience and a cardboard circle template works using an Olfa circle cutter. Four external fuel tanks are included and I will be installing only the center tank. After a disappointing result with the first tank, I started a second tank, removed the locating pins and tried to be as careful as possible in alignment to prevent a large flat spot on the join line. Still a noticeable flat spot, I taped off the area and applied a liberal amount of the Tamiya White Putty, sanded and it seemed to look much better. Canopy was dipped in Pledge floor wax today so I will let it sit several days before masking and painting. Painting should only be a few days away and I have both the Light and Dark Ghost Gray in Mr Color and Tamiya Lacquer. Thank you for looking in, any comments welcome. Craig 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldwin8 Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 After comparing the Mr Color and Tamiya paints I've gone with Mr Color, laying down the darker Ghost Gray first, masking, later today the lighter Gray. Fiddling with rolled up bits of tape did nothing for my patience and I've resorted to my Masking Gum which is starting to get a bit thick. The masks are solidly in place and with hold up well to the airbrush pressure. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vultures1 Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Coming along very nicely Craig! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldwin8 Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 27 minutes ago, Vultures1 said: Coming along very nicely Craig! Thank you Vultures1. The masking went well, but I need to go back and touch up the inside of both vertical tails. The radome on the actual aircraft looks to be the lighter grey rather than the darker grey as instructions show. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 "Drawing gum". Very interesting, if it works well for you then I think I'll have to give it a try. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldwin8 Posted January 8, 2022 Author Share Posted January 8, 2022 38 minutes ago, billn53 said: "Drawing gum". Very interesting, if it works well for you then I think I'll have to give it a try. I found it best to make sure you locate the mask exactly where you want it, as moving it too much around once it starts to set will mess things up. But once it's dry and you remove it after painting, it comes off clean. It kept the mask off the surface 1/8'' to 1/4", making the feathered edge quiet acceptable. Here is a look so far, will do some touch-ups tomorrow. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldwin8 Posted January 9, 2022 Author Share Posted January 9, 2022 Most of the airbrushing is now done, happy with the results. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldwin8 Posted January 15, 2022 Author Share Posted January 15, 2022 All rested up and ready to decal. I photocopied the decal sheet and cut out the two dragon pieces and study the best placement for them. Not bad but just slightly off in my opinion. Another couple of days to finish off the data/stencils. Thanks for checking in. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Great job getting those big decals in place. If I had tried, they’d probably have ended up in little pieces! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Yes excellent work on laying down that Dragon decal. Regards Robert 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldwin8 Posted January 31, 2022 Author Share Posted January 31, 2022 Small setback for the completion. Some of the decal for the canopy framing lifted. Since it was dipped in clear coat, I am stripping the canopy and going about repainting the framework instead of the using the reddish brown decal provided. Thank you for checking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldwin8 Posted February 15, 2022 Author Share Posted February 15, 2022 This one has been wrapped up. Will have some more pics up in the RFI very soon. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Excellent! (In my best Mr. Burns voice) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Very nice model ! Your build reinforced my view that when it comes to a relaxing OOB build these hasegawa '90s kits are still among the best ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Very nice indeed. Regards Robert 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 That looks er... Awesome! Love the dragon! On 1/4/2022 at 8:44 PM, baldwin8 said: all references I could see showed the aft bay behind the seat was finished in white not the Metallic Blue-Green as instructed. The early F-15s bays were metallic blue-green, pre 79 I think. I really liked the colour, bought some and wanted to use it, but all the F-15s I'm planning the build (F-15 GB later in the year) are later and have white bays. Cheers, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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