Wings unlevel Posted September 1, 2022 Share Posted September 1, 2022 (edited) I’ll be making a maximum effort to get this build done by the GB deadline - a 1/72 GWH F-15E dressed as the 494th FS’s 01-2000 ‘Valkyrie’ during the unit’s 2018 deployment to Operation Inherent Resolve, thanks to the excellent (and popular here!) Two Bobs ‘Maximum Effort’ decal sheet. Basis for the build is Great Wall’s, by all accounts, err, great F-15E kit. The D-Day 75th anniversary scheme looks amazing but I wanted an operational bird. Plus I read GWH’s decals aren’t the best? The Two Bobs sheet is printed by Cartograph. Here’s the mandatory sprues shot. Lots and lots of sprues (polar opposite to the Italeri F-5 I’m working on over in the F-5 STGB!) and lots of lovely detail. I’ll be raiding my Hasegawa JDAMs/pods weapons set for GBU-31s and -38s and a Sniper XR pod and pilfering my spares box (from the Academy F-15C I built last year) for an AIM-9X and an AIM-120 (the kit only has 1 x AIM-9L/M, one x AIM-9X and 1 x AIM-120, and the AIM-9X‘s fins don’t look quite right). The Two Bobs set comes with a large stencil placement sheet with weapons load out diagram for OIR which will be very helpful. Looking forward to making a start very soon. My F-104J in the Century Series GB is pretty much done, I just need to progress the F-5 before diving in too deep on this one. But usually a build like this will take me two months, and I just looked at the calendar… So I resolve to apply maximum effort to be on time and on target so this Valkyrie can ride into battle…I mean into the gallery… Thanks for looking, comments and pointers always welcome. Gerard Edited November 13, 2022 by Wings unlevel 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted September 1, 2022 Share Posted September 1, 2022 Welcome along to the build Gerard with some nice decals and kit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted September 2, 2022 Author Share Posted September 2, 2022 8 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Welcome along to the build Gerard Thanks Dennis, couldn’t let this one pass! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted September 4, 2022 Author Share Posted September 4, 2022 (edited) A start tonight. Barely worth a post, except that is a marker for when I started cutting plastic, etc. Speaking of which, the GWH plastic is quite firm and almost brittle. Might explain how part of the canopy frame snapped off somewhere along the line. 😥 incidentally the cockpit tub and IPs have been painted dark gull grey, but you can barely notice as it turns out the GWH plastic grey colour is a perfect match for dark gull grey… Edited September 6, 2022 by Wings unlevel 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 Sorry to hear about the canopy but the office looks to have a good bit of detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted September 5, 2022 Author Share Posted September 5, 2022 15 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Sorry to hear about the canopy but the office looks to have a good bit of detail. I’ll see if I can fashion a repair with plasticard strip. 🤞 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted September 6, 2022 Author Share Posted September 6, 2022 More goodies have now arrived. My GBU-38 warstocks have been bolstered by this Eduard resin set, while the life support section now has a couple of extra ACES II seats in inventory. That said I’ll probably use the kit seats, they seem beautifully detailed. Meantime I wanted to get a better understanding of how the canopy frame fitted with the canopy itself and the fuselage. Which necessitated removing a few bits off sprues, including the canopy itself. Was pleased to discover the snapped off end of the frame doesn’t leave any external gaps, it sits within the base of the canopy. The missing bit is only noticeable when you look directly for it through the canopy, and I’m confident I can hack together a reasonably seamless fix with a small strip of plasticard. 🤞 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted September 6, 2022 Share Posted September 6, 2022 3 hours ago, Wings unlevel said: Was pleased to discover the snapped off end of the frame doesn’t leave any external gaps, it sits within the base of the canopy. The missing bit is only noticeable when you look directly for it through the canopy, and I’m confident I can hack together a reasonably seamless fix with a small strip of plasticard. 🤞 Well thats always good to find out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 G'day WU, I have to agree. I think in this case the kit seats are superiior, they even seem to have a nice representation of the stfraps. or at least the upper ones as I cannot see what is on the seat bases clearly. The resin seats also lack guide rails unless you want to depict a seat that has been removed! lovely decal options too, how do choose. thbey are all great, cheers, Pappy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted September 20, 2022 Author Share Posted September 20, 2022 On 16/09/2022 at 22:31, Pappy said: I think in this case the kit seats are superiior, they even seem to have a nice representation of the stfraps. or at least the upper ones as I cannot see what is on the seat bases clearly. Agree, I think the kit seats are pretty impressive really, and it’s a shame all the side detail around the seat base will disappear from view once they’re installed! Yes only straps on the seat back, not the base, which seems a strange omission. Otherwise I’ve tried to do the seats a bit of justice and I think they’re alright. (Plus I can keep the resin seats for the Hasegawa F-15DJ I’ve just ordered on the overly optimistic hopes the aggressor GB proposal gets up!) So not a lot of progress to show, but I have finished the seats and tried to pick out a bit of detail, crudely fixed the canopy frame with a bit of plasticard strip (but it will look fine with the lid closed), removed the seams and polished the canopy and windscreen, and decaled the instrument and side panels. I didn’t quite get the placement of some of the cockpit decals aligned with the details they sit over, especially the WSO’s IP, but on the whole it looks pretty decent. Can start on assembly the cockpit and begin on the airframe proper now, so hopefully some more tangible progress soon! Gerard 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted September 22, 2022 Author Share Posted September 22, 2022 There’s some beautiful detail and engineering with this kit. Just look at this underside detail, including the MLG wheel wells which get closed up. A quick dry fit and all the major bits snapped into place beautifully. it’s only at the very rear where the tailplanes are mounted that there may be a small seam to clean up between the top and bottom fuselage halves. Reason for the dry fit was to determine where and how the transition between the white paint in the inlet ducts and the gunship grey of the inlets themselves works and if/how I needed to paint bits before assembly. This reinforced that the biggest failing/frustration with the kit so far is the short inlet trunks (with modded in fan faces), which the instructions say to paint white (and so I did). But as this Wikimedia USAF shot shows, the white doesn’t start til deep into the inlet trunks, certainly deeper than the kit’s truncated trunks run. I’ll have to have a rethink. That aside I can see it’s going to come together nicely. Gerard 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted September 25, 2022 Author Share Posted September 25, 2022 Some good progress this weekend, feel like I'm making some decent progress finally. After some washes and a final clear coat the cockpit was ready to be installed. (Wash looks a bit overdone in the pics, but is ok to the eye.) For the funs, as my kids would say, I fitted the radar, even though a) I'm closing the nose, and b) 'Valkyrie' may well have had its mechanically scanned APG-71 radar (as in the kit) replaced with the AESA APG-82 by the time of its 2018 deployment? (Is there any way of telling if an F-15E has had its radar upgraded?) Thankfully after I realised I needed to drill holes for the underwing pylons (not called out in the instructions, and while it seems an obvious thing to do, I only realised after scanning through @Jabba's thread!) I joined the top fuselage and wings and bottom wings together, using some sophisticated clamps to minimise gaps on the tailbooms. After more drilling, to the fuselage undersides for the pylons for the AAQ-13 and Sniper pods (again not called out in the instructions, but I was on to it this time!), I joined the fuselage and wings together, again with some more high tech clamping to ensure the tops of the conformal tanks conform nicely with no gaps. Have also been chipping away at myriad other bits and pieces, there's a lot to this! Next challenge will be joining the forward fuselage to the main fuselage, again it will need some clamping pressure so the gap at the join is minimised. But all in all the fit has been pretty good, with a little bit of care. It's been fun so far! Gerard 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 On 9/22/2022 at 2:15 PM, Wings unlevel said: A quick dry fit and all the major bits snapped into place beautifully. Not a like a Hasagawa F-15 then Nice work Gerard! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted September 26, 2022 Author Share Posted September 26, 2022 16 hours ago, Johnson said: Not a like a Hasagawa F-15 then Cheers Charlie! I’ve not had the pleasure of the Has kit, yet… But this turned up on my doorstep on Friday: I am a sucker for JASDF aggressor and special schemes, and an even bigger sucker for an online bargain! Not sure when I’ll get to tackle it though… Meanwhile, to the kit at hand: With the help of some humble rubber bands to minimise the join seam (it needed some lateral compression to avoid a big gap) the forward fuselage/nose is now attached tp the body. That join isn’t a panel line on the real thing so will need a little tidying up still, But on the whole the build has been really clean. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted October 3, 2022 Author Share Posted October 3, 2022 I don’t have a lot to show for the last week, and yet I’ve given this build a lot of love, mostly filling and sanding cleaning up gaps and seams. I’ve got the tricky forward fuselage/main body joined cleaned up pretty nicely I think, a squirt of primer shows, probably 90%, and the nose radome join I’m happy with too. Those pesky tail boom joins are getting there too. Underneath a bit of Mr Surfacer has done the job on the wing panel joins quite nicely. Once you rub it back with some lacquer thinner and cotton buds. Off screen I’ve also been working away on things like the tanks, stores, wheels, vertical tails, exhausts etc. There’s a lot too it, especially compared to my little Italeri F-5 I’ve just finished! Going away now for a week, not sure if I can sneak this away with me! 🤣 Gerard 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 Still looks good even if its hard to see the work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted October 8, 2022 Author Share Posted October 8, 2022 Home for 24 hours before a quick trip interstate for a family do. So some more tinkering. So intakes are on, but this is the worst fit on the kit so far… Vertical tails, flaps and flaperons on too. Then a few more rounds of Mr Surfacer to come. Still almost at the end of the beginning, when I can begin to contemplate priming and painting! How many days left in this GB?! Should be right!🤞😀 Gerard 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 Ouch that gun vent/opening is scary. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted October 9, 2022 Author Share Posted October 9, 2022 4 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Ouch that gun vent/opening is scary. An unexpected surprise. This kit has been enigmatic, mostly excellent and occasionally perplexing. But still, it is building up beautifully. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 I guess every kit has to have the ONE piece that never co-operate’s. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted October 11, 2022 Share Posted October 11, 2022 On 10/8/2022 at 3:42 AM, Wings unlevel said: So intakes are on, but this is the worst fit on the kit so far… Wouldn't be a kit if it didn't throw you the odd challenge! Looking very good Gerard. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted October 13, 2022 Author Share Posted October 13, 2022 On 12/10/2022 at 06:01, Johnson said: Wouldn't be a kit if it didn't throw you the odd challenge! Thanks Charlie, makes me a better modeller I guess! A little more progress, the HUD has been fitted. Not Pappy levels of detail but I did borrow Dave’s idea of giving the hud a light coat of clear green. (Incidentally I think the HUD shape is wrong, should be wider and not as tall.) HUD went on so I could fit the canopy. Plus I’ve also fitted the horizontal stabs and the shoulder weapon stations. So that pretty much finishes assembly, bar fitting the sensor pods. So paint soon. Still, a bit to do with the (beautifully detailed) landing gear plus the stores. Slowly slowly catchy monkey. Three weekends til the end of the GB, should just about do it! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted October 15, 2022 Author Share Posted October 15, 2022 Feels like it’s all coming together now. There’s a lot to an F-15E, but am starting to draw all the elements together. So the stores, gear and exhausts are all taking shape. Still some work to do but I feel like they’re progressing at least. And, bar a few antennas and probes, the airframe is just about done now, with the AAQ-13 pod and the pylon for the Sniper pod now attached. The kit doesn’t have a Sniper so I’m using one from the Hasegawa weapons kit. Turns out the Sniper has its own specific pylon for the F-15 too, which comes in the Hase kit, but it wasn’t compatible with the kit’s mounting pin holes. So I removed the locating tongue from the Hase pylon, but that left me with the question of where exactly does it mount to the airframe, without locating pins (or in the case a locating tongue). In the end I dry fitted the kit pylon, sprayed around it with white paint, and that left me an outline as to where exactly the Sniper pylon should be mounted. Happy with that: Should be ready to prime tomorrow. As I’ve already been priming and cleaning joins hopefully it will come up ok with not much more tidying up to do. Will prime in black and will attempt marbling preshading… So getting there, I think! Thanks for looking, Gerard 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 Once they come together and reach this stage you realise what a splendid and impressive bird they are. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted October 15, 2022 Author Share Posted October 15, 2022 1 hour ago, Johnson said: what a splendid and impressive bird they are. That they are! And the Eagle doesn’t lack in the looks department either! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now