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Desert Storm F-15C *** Finished!


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Thanks for the reminder Dennis! I've been looking forward to building my Hasagawa f-15C for yonks! Here's the obligatory opening shots...

 

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Nice box art

 

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A bag of plastic bits to mess with

 

y4mmNneynpbB2XTt-YwkbhGKknLk9juPIb_4GAGw

AM goodies - I've been collecting for a while! :D

 

y4mksHaAxI4FqhZCm7ZuItAcGfIq8hQH39cpw5oY

Weapons and Crew (seeing as there are none in the box :huh:)

 

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Reading material

 

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Decals

 

I fancy this plane;

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11 February 1991, this F-15C, piloted by Captain "Gunga" Dingee, scored an aerial victory against an Iraqi AF helicopter during Operation Desert Storm.

 

I'll be starting soon but at the moment I'm stuck in a Sea Harrier cockpit in the Falkland Islands (Falklands War 40th Anniversary GB).

 

Cheers,

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

Finally, having escaped temporarily from the South Atlantic (Sea Harrier in the Falklands War) and survived the latest Blitzbuild (Airfix Red Arrow Gnat)... I've made a start on my F-15C. :penguin:

 

Dry fit of the cockpit parts and the 'hellhole' behind the pit. The kit seat is being replaced by the much more detailed resin Aires Aces II seat.

 

The nice raised (and thus probably hard to paint) kit instrument panel detail will have to be scraped away to make way for Eduard etched detail.

 

y4mCj9tupgwcZ2_RODK8iHgeBh4LTcvRKdUqvkTO

 

And having made a start I immediately got in trouble with the aftermarket stuff I've bought.

 

Eduard offer an early or late instrument panel;

 

y4mD70_GqHulmjZMobTmvxkbSnTE8adQmFkufVnF

 

Anyone know which would be correct for 79-0048 on 11 February 1991 during Op Desert Storm? I'm guessing early.

 

And back in Bay 5 (avionics), the Hasegawa kit has small electronic boxes on the port side, early I'm guessing. The nice Aires resin panel has larger (late?) boxes.

Which would be correct for my plane? I like the Aires ones!

 

y4mrHGAQyMaTzK4dpo-1Wk67R04RNsyhkg0StP4L

 

Any advice much appreciated (before I inevitably make the wrong choice) :D

 

Cheers,

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On 9/8/2022 at 1:12 AM, Johnson said:

Finally, having escaped temporarily from the South Atlantic (Sea Harrier in the Falklands War) and survived the latest Blitzbuild (Airfix Red Arrow Gnat)... I've made a start on my F-15C. :penguin:

 

Dry fit of the cockpit parts and the 'hellhole' behind the pit. The kit seat is being replaced by the much more detailed resin Aires Aces II seat.

 

The nice raised (and thus probably hard to paint) kit instrument panel detail will have to be scraped away to make way for Eduard etched detail.

 

y4mCj9tupgwcZ2_RODK8iHgeBh4LTcvRKdUqvkTO

 

And having made a start I immediately got in trouble with the aftermarket stuff I've bought.

 

Eduard offer an early or late instrument panel;

 

y4mD70_GqHulmjZMobTmvxkbSnTE8adQmFkufVnF

 

Anyone know which would be correct for 79-0048 on 11 February 1991 during Op Desert Storm? I'm guessing early.

 

And back in Bay 5 (avionics), the Hasegawa kit has small electronic boxes on the port side, early I'm guessing. The nice Aires resin panel has larger (late?) boxes.

Which would be correct for my plane? I like the Aires ones!

 

y4mrHGAQyMaTzK4dpo-1Wk67R04RNsyhkg0StP4L

 

Any advice much appreciated (before I inevitably make the wrong choice) :D

 

Cheers,

G'day Charlie, I cannot help with the panel but the resin Bay 5 boxes would be the choice to go with. I think that when Has tooled ther kit they were not given acces to a  jet with these avionics boxes (part of the TEWS system I think?) installed. In pics you can see the orange grommet  (the molded discs on top of each box)that interfaces the ECS cooling air to each  avionics box which are missing from the original kit. Note also that Bay 5 can be several colours.

 

Originally this was a metallic aqua colour thay the nose avionics bays are painted. Later aircraft had the bay painted white I think any serial starting with 80 onwards would be white. Some ( not many) had the bay repainted in white, grey or even ZC when they went through MSIP. but most just retained their original colour.

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

Edited by Pappy
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Thanks Pappy! I have gone with the resin replacement, I guess these are the orange grommets you refer to;

 

F-15A_77-0100_KFMH_31May2008_KenMiddleto

Photo from Ken Middleton's website, link copied, no copyright infringement. Ken's site has excellent F-15 reference photos!

 

I've also gone with the blue/green metallic aqua colour as my plane is a 79 build.

 

Photos later today I hope!

 

Cheers,

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Cockpit done. :phew:

 

Eduard PE main i/p, grey parts overpainted with dark gull grey. I left the kit raised detail on the side consoles which looks fine. Aires resin black boxes in the avionics bay. The double hook device (don't know what it does) but I've installed it the other way up to the Hasagawa instructions as this is what I could see in Ken Middleton's photo. I've also scratched the grey spike and the frame around it, again no idea what they do, but hopefully someone will tell me.

 

y4mgwHVQbVyFTZ-HEjYaQjQSpvyHSaYlp41eaRLH

 

I'm leaving the back off the avionics bay until I'm ready to join the whole front to the main fuselage, currently in work.

 

y4mPeyhyM6Mf5LwkI8Ds9mmV6202JtwNrJAS2hMX

 

I used a dark wash in the bay to bring out the details - which is completely invisible in the photo!

 

The Aces II seat is another Aires resin addition. The detail is incredible, impossible to photograph and naturally will never be seen. Bit fiddly trying to add the tiny (canopy breaker) horns. As I was getting them cleaned up one of them went PING but luckily I'd seen it fly in my direction and it stuck to my shirt! I found it by 'feel'! The seat is only 'placed' for this photo shoot. When finally installed it will need the guide rails.

 

y4mnLvTBSfRrxzaQHuQFd0P1PXokKegsoyLj2z5k

 

Hopefully progress will be a bit quicker now I'm out of the cockpit.

 

Cheers,

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I've been following Pappy's Hasegawa F-15C build, good tips on adding support to the wing components, and I'll model it with slightly drooped 'flaperons' as well.

 

y4mTT9fN_BDeizaD--m9JpqHUY-__3wR39AR6UQw

 

Dry fitting the parts hasn't revealed any horror stories so far, but an incremental approach to actually sticking them together seems like a good idea.

 

A major drawback of the model is the poor representation of the engine intake ducts, with the engine faces far too far forward. But they're not as bad as Hasegawa's Phantom F-4s, which I did feel the need to fix. With this kit, just too much work to get them absolutely right, and I'm afraid the OOB solution will have to do.

 

Cheers,

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On 17/09/2022 at 04:38, Johnson said:

The Aces II seat is another Aires resin addition. The detail is incredible, impossible to photograph and naturally will never be seen.

Beautifully detailed, having just finished my GWH F-15E seats I can appreciate how lovely (and well executed) these are.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The next stage - about ready for some paint.

 

y4m-V8zZCECOSvJKWgwvcBNZVGT7Xjup1J3rwbwK

 

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Lots of filling and sanding, no really major gaps, small stuff but time consuming. The loadout will I hope be right for Desert Storm 1991; AIM-7Ms and AIM-9Ls, from the Hasegawa weapons set. Not as good as Eduard Brassin but I'm running short of them and these needed using, I think they will be OK. I also used the Hasegawa weapons set LAU-129A/A Launchers for the Sidewinders, they were far better than the F-15C kit versions.

 

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The airbrake which I've got down (the plane looks better) needed a lot of work, fit was poor and it was too proud of the fuselage. Not completely flush however as photos of the real thing show.

 

And I really ought to re-insate the tiny triangle on the wing/aileron...

 

Thanks for looking,

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Slow progress but getting there. The base color of Xtracolor FS16375 Light Compass Grey went on fine and I'm happy with the color compared to photos on the web and the Squadron 'F-15 In Action' book.

 

All masked up and ready for the next color;

 

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But not happy with the Xtracolor FS16320 Dark Compass Grey. I did a test and it really doesn't look right, very little tonal difference.

 

y4mg_DIiarfhv9lbwGinz3rH-CKVQjLuZvUpy7L_

 

I know they can look similar, but photos of the real plane;

 

https://www.airhistory.net/photo/230491/79-0048

 

seems to show a bit more contrast between the colors. Any opinions on this from the F-15 experts?

 

I need to see what other greys I have an do some experiments. Back soon!

 

Cheers,

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y4miD8_HVaXP7vB58rgX05J3l3NL_4q1fkHzVoR7

 

Got the 'Dark Compass Grey' on.

 

It isn't really Dark Compass Grey. It's a mix of Xtracolor Light Compass Grey and Medium Sea Grey (about 3:2) which, after much experimentation (and anguish), is the best match to the photos I can do. Whether it's right is anyone's guess, but I think it looks OK.

 

The masks were made from enlargements of the Two Bobs decal instructions. They had to be altered in places as when checking photos for color match I noticed that the LCG and DCG positions were slightly different to the plans. I thought that doing the masks would be easy, but they turned out to be pretty complicated and time consuming. But I'm happy with the result and naturally couldn't resist dry fitting the zorst cans! :D

 

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The exhausts still need the white/grey interior doing.

 

Looking forward to getting some decals on, as usual with me, time's running out! :waiting:.

 

Thanks for looking.

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  • Johnson changed the title to Desert Storm F-15C * Paint On!
15 minutes ago, Wings unlevel said:

The experimentation and anguish have really paid off, Charlie. The colours look great and beautifully finished too!

Thanks Gerard. I was mightily relieved when I peeled off the masks. On to the next stage!

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Decals.

 

For me one of the more stressful parts of a build. I know, it's a hobby, one is supposed to relax. But this is where I get very anxious about getting the decals in exactly the right place, at exactly the right angle, and not cocking it up as, if I do, there aren't any more!

 

The top was relatively straightforward, but for the sides I needed to balance the model so I could see what I was doing and concentrate on the decal placement. Does anyone else go to these lengths I wonder?

 

y4mAK2uwsOs0MXOacLF9AccwkKfCYKTWoRQmRI1D

 

The laptop so I can refer to actual photos and zoom in on them. It's not a good idea relying on the profiles in the decal instructions if you have a photo, and this is presumably the one they used anyway seeing as there aren't many of this particular F-15C airframe. And there are differences.

 

The photo

 

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Photo Copyright Mark McEwan - Used with permission.

 

revealed a few differences to the instructions. The LCG and DCG paint demarcations were different but for the decals it was stencils that don't appear to be there on the actual plane, presumably painted over at some time, which is a shame as the Two Bobs decals were superb. Well printed, thin and went on easily. I think they may be the best I've ever used. The other difference I spotted between the real plane and the decals is the colour of the unit stripe on the tail. The blue on the plane is a lot lighter than the dark blue decal, so I will have to paint it.

 

This is where I've got to. The 'slime light' decals on the wings wouldn't go round despite lots of Micro Sol, probably a bit optimistic to expect them to curve around the wingtips. More painting I think.

 

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It all looks a bit bland at the moment. I think it will improve when the cockpit is revealed again and some gentle weathering is applied. The inside of the cans has had a couple of thin coats of Tamiya XF2 and will be treated to some black, probably Tamiya weathering powder, to give them the customary F-15 exhaust look.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

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  • Johnson changed the title to Desert Storm F-15C * Decals
  • 2 weeks later...

The rest of the Two Bobs decals went on OK, pretty pleased with the quality. But some tiny bits of silvering that seem completely resistant to the solutions in my store. The matt coat took a nerve-wracking while, multiple coats of Winsor & Newton's Matt UV Acrylic, but got there in the end.

 

Undercarriage. I don't know about you guys, but I found assembling the legs and various supports, lamps etc pretty fiddly! How Dmytro @dimaADA managed it with his simply awe inspiring F-15C build* I have no idea. He must have better eyes and a steadier hand than mine. But it's done and really nice to have it on it's feet.

 

Img_2251[1]

Last night was getting the stickers on the AIM-7M Sparrow missiles. I finished and congratulated myself (always a mistake) and was flicking through my Squadron F-15 'In Action' book and naturally found just the photo I should have looked at before I stuck the stencils on them. I'd stuck them all on the wrong side of the cable tunnel. :angry:

This morning I threw them in a dish of water and all but one came off OK :phew:. So guess what I'll be doing this evening?

 

Img_2247[1]

 

This afternoon (after the dog gets his walk :dog:) I'm going back to the cockpit, or more precisely the instrument coaming, the HUD and the little thing with a wire next to it that Pappy added which looks very good.

 

Still lots to do!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

* If you haven't seen Dmytro's 1/72 Hasegawa F-15C from Bitsburg Air Base (Germany, 1984), and you like F-15s, you really ought to treat yourself, it's quite something.

 

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  • Johnson changed the title to Desert Storm F-15C *** On Its Feet!

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