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Bandit inbound, watch your six! - F-15C USAF Aggressor


Pappy

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2 hours ago, Wings unlevel said:

Meant to ask how you did these? My GWH F-15E’s seats had ugly seams in the headbox which I’ve filled and sanded back to minimise the worst of it, but it looks you have done some deft scratch building?

 

Even after the liability insurance you’d think a surgeon’s wage should leave a bit leftover for plenty of styrene and resin!

 

G'day,

 

The parapack is just a scrap of resin offcut that was cut and dsanded to  shape, paint did the rest. As for surgeon,s income, with falling Medicare subsidies  suspect many can barely rub two learjets together to keep warm 😊

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25 minutes ago, Johnson said:

Not the best pic, but might help.

 

y4mQcqpb1Ia104ZS7MsxrxzeGFH10QvguSgIPQlE

 

And some inspiration, just in case you feel the desire to cut some more holes... :winkgrin:

 

y4m5E1NJw28__ftlg0qb02v4p3zrg-uqTlSsQ9pV

 

 

 

Thanks Charlie, as you say not definitive, more tantalising I would say. I asked the same question in the Modern Aircraft forum and Markus hooked me up withbsome useful links. I am going with unpainted Titanium for the bay and doors.

 

As for the last pic, that would be a stunning kit but not for me, i thing that many open panels ruins the sleek look of the jet,

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

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30 minutes ago, Pappy said:

I am going with unpainted Titanium for the bay and doors.

A good call Pappy. If they didn't paint the outside, probably wouldn't have painted inside either. But some interesting shades which would look good on a model. My suggestion for more holes was very much tongue-in-cheek. I think the F-15, stunning as it is, needs a bit extra to make a standout model. The work you're doing is quite enough and will look great.

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On 9/17/2022 at 11:24 PM, Johnson said:

A good call Pappy. If they didn't paint the outside, probably wouldn't have painted inside either. But some interesting shades which would look good on a model. My suggestion for more holes was very much tongue-in-cheek. I think the F-15, stunning as it is, needs a bit extra to make a standout model. The work you're doing is quite enough and will look great.

 

No wokkas Charlie,

 

G'day people,

 

I spent today doing some detail painting of the Forward Avionics Bay (FAB) and engine bay.

 

The FAB will be a natural focal point and I have tried to keep as close to my references whilst using a small amount of license to add some splashes of colour without turning the thing into a Christmas pageant

 

DSCN9133.JPG

 

I also blocked in the main colours for the engine bay and applied a mix of oil shades

 

DSCN9134.JPG

 

I will pick out a few of the lines and accessories once the oils dry but I could not resist a cheeky dry fit

 

DSCN9135.JPG

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

 

 

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On 9/19/2022 at 5:53 PM, Sam said:

Pappy, the detailing of the open panels you have added look great!

 

Thanks very much Sam

 

23 hours ago, Col. said:

Both areas really are looking great :thumbsup:

 

Cheers Col

 

13 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

This is going to be a very detailed and interesting build when on display. 

 

Hi Dennis, hopefully mine will stick out a little on a crowded model table

 

G'day people,

 

Happy TEWSday!

 

DSCN9137.JPG

 

Yup I managed to get the TEWS  avionics painted up and installed today. Not as good as the resin item but good enough for guvmint work as they say.

I also painted and installed the engine bay

 

DSCN9140.JPG

 


DSCN9141.JPG

 

It still needs some finessing to blend into the fuselage but it is mostly there. That done I could finally close up the rear fuselage halves. This was a mixed bag with the left side having a relative clean join but a slight step on the right side. I would show you some pics but it seems Photobucket is feeling a bit tired and emotional at the moment and and may need a little ie down

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On 9/20/2022 at 8:13 PM, Wings unlevel said:

Amazing detailing as always Pappy.

 

Thanks WU,

 

G'day people,

 

First round of FSR today

 

DSCN9150(1).JPG


DSCN9151.JPG

 

The seams are being tamed gradually but I think I have a couple more rounds yet before I get to an acceptable result. It seems (no pun intended!) that there is a common moulding flaw with this kit that results in two decent sink marks on the outer fuselage in the area adjacent the MWWs. Not a hard fix but annoying.

 

The fit of the intakes OTOH was quite rewarding

 

DSCN9152.JPG

 

I only had a small step at the back edge that just needed a smear of filler to help blend them in. I only needed to spend a few minutes re-scribing some lost panel lines but was otherwise very happy with how these turned out

 

With the putty drying I rewarded myself with painting up the stores for my 'Aggressor Config'

 

The config will be:

 

STN 1             EFT (optional)

STN 1A           AIM-9X CATM

STN 1B           AIM-9M CATM

STN 2 (FWD)  ELTA EL-8222 ECM pod

STN 7            EFT (optional)

STN 7B           AN/APX-95   ACMI pod

 

DSCN9146.JPG

 

The light blue EFT and the racks still need to have their dark blue colour added but alas I am awaiting the postie. I may leave both jugs off or just fit one to the C/L but for now I like the idea of one jug in standard grey and the other in the light/dark blue camo.

 

With the exception of the resin EL-8222 pod, these all came from gash spares. The ACMI pod was donated by a fellow club member and all round top bloke Andrew, cheers mate!

 

 

DSCN9149.JPG


DSCN9148.JPG

 

 

I decided to add the protective covers to the jammer pod and CATMs so I cut off their respective noses and scratched up some covers from scrap resin which was cut and sanded to shape

 

DSCN9131.JPG

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

 

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, Johnson said:

Looking good Pappy. I'm experiencing similar results with my Has F-15C. Gone together OK but lots of minor filling and scraping, a kit of it's time I guess.

 

G'day Charlie,

 

100% agree.

While the kit is now quite old I think the details still hold up.

 

It is interesting to note that the newer Acad and GWH kits also have a similar assembly sequence and they also require filler in pretty much the same spots. One thing I do like about the GWH kit is that the upper wings are moulded integrally to the upper fuselage as the parts breakdown of the Has kit will be a lot more work. Otherwise for such an old kit the detail level is quite good.  

 

I bought the kit quite cheapl so I can afford to spend extra on things like the resin avionics and engine bay sets. I have still spent less than the asking for the GWH kit which is about $70 in Oz, I can get a 1/48 Revell F-15E for that (probably less) so on balance I think the Has kit is better value but only if you can find them cheap e.g 2nd hand at model shows for example. If all three kits (Has. Acad and GWH) were the same price, I would opt for the GWH kit

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

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1 hour ago, Pappy said:

the GWH kit which is about $70 in Oz

 

That's a lot Pappy! GWH & Academy F-15Cs are retailing for about £25 here ($40). Is it the import tax?

 

I do agree about the wing (having just had to 'adjust' the wing/fuselage joins), GWH is a much better and obvious way. But they were never an option for me as I had two Has F-15Cs and one E in the stash.

 

Cheers,

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7 hours ago, Johnson said:

 

That's a lot Pappy! GWH & Academy F-15Cs are retailing for about £25 here ($40). Is it the import tax?

 

I do agree about the wing (having just had to 'adjust' the wing/fuselage joins), GWH is a much better and obvious way. But they were never an option for me as I had two Has F-15Cs and one E in the stash.

 

Cheers,

 

G'day Charlie,

 

It is more likely that the deadead 'Australia Tax '  is to blame i.e. the cost of importing coupled with a smaller market.

 

I could probably get the kit a little cheaper by importing directly through the various on line sources and then it comes down to about $55 -$60 landed but then you would have to wait. 2-3 weeks.

 

Of course were I to persue that option I would likely order some AM as the additional freight would be negligible and the LHSs just don't carry AM these days . I understand why, it is a lot of $$$$$$ tied up and very specialised market which most customers don't use. Add to that that no matter the size of the inventory they would not have the particular set you need!

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

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G'day people,

 

I spent today on the undercarriage. The F-15 undercarriage is mostly hidden as the main doors are typically shut on the ground. Obliviously they can be opened manually for maintenance but the usual state is for the larger doors to be closed. The Hasegawa kit supplies the complete NWW and MWW, so if anyone is so inclined they can depict these areas opened and go nuts with the detailing., I have only added a small amount and I was not being especially faithful to the references. Rather it was what the late great Shep Payne referred to as 'creative gizmology'

 

DSCN9156.JPG

 

I slid the cockpit innards into place after first stuffing some nose weight into the radome. I don' know if this jet needs it but added some for Justin. With that done, it was time to add the upper dorsal part to the nose assembly

 

DSCN9153.JPG

 

The two parts did not meet well on the RHS and I ended up with a small step, I think this one was down to me.

The LHS was much better

 

DSCN9154.JPG

 

This will just need a rub down once the glue has set. Now it was time for today's main task. - the undercarriage

 

DSCN9157.JPG

 

I kept the additional details fairly light as the main wheels obscure most of the leg and bay

 

DSCN9158.JPG

 

Cleaning up the landing and taxi light was fun and more like an exercise in lapidary than modelling but I got there in the end. Most pics of in service F-15s show the undercarriage to be clean and well maintained so I just added a light wash and will leave it at that

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Pappy said:

The two parts did not meet well on the RHS and I ended up with a small step, I think this one was down to me.

The LHS was much better

Not you Pappy. I got pretty much identical fit. Nothing disastrous that a bit of filler wouldn't solve but I did use a piece of sprue across the back of the avionics bay to widen the back a bit while the TET set.

 

1 hour ago, Pappy said:

I slid the cockpit innards into place after first stuffing some nose weight into the radome.

I hadn't considered nose weight - too late now! :unsure:.

 

All nice work in the undercart dept Pappy.

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13 hours ago, Johnson said:

Not you Pappy. I got pretty much identical fit. Nothing disastrous that a bit of filler wouldn't solve but I did use a piece of sprue across the back of the avionics bay to widen the back a bit while the TET set.

 

I hadn't considered nose weight - too late now! :unsure:.

 

All nice work in the undercart dept Pappy.

 

Thanks Charlie, it seems the fit of the nose section  on this kit is somewhat problematic. hopefully the assembly of the nose and fusealage will be better. I don't know if this kits needs the nose weight but added as precaustion. i was concerned the resin engine set may have dragged to CogG aft a lttle even with the resin avionics bays in the nose,

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

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On 9/23/2022 at 8:44 AM, helios16v said:

Cracking work again Pappy.  :cheers:

 

Thanks very much Chris,

 

G'day people,

 

I have spent the past few days sanding seams and there was not much to show. I have finally joined the forward fuselage to the rear. The upper seams were not an issue but unsurprisingly, the lower seam was more problematic

 

DSCN9184.JPG

 

 

 

I ended up with a sizeable gap and don't know why? I ended up adding a strip of plastic strip and sanding back

 

DSCN9156(1).JPG

 

DSCN9185.JPG

 

With the fuselage assembled the wings were also attached.

I also temporarily attached the stores just because

 

DSCN9190.JPG


DSCN9188.JPG

 

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

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20 hours ago, Wings unlevel said:

Helps keep the motivation levels up when endlessly filling and sanding!

 

Yeah, I agree, sometimes you can lose your enthusiasm when you are in the FSR loop. 

 

17 hours ago, modelling minion said:

Outstanding work as always mate, I wouldn't be able to get anywhere near this in 1/48 never mind 1/72.

 

🇺🇦

 

Hi Craig,

 

I actually prefer 1/72 sometimes as the seams or things like the wing and fuselage are smaller so you can gt more done. Most people tend to rush stores, especially if they are done at the end of a build when people just want to be done  and this can leave these looking less than great. Many modelers also find the building the stores to be something of a chore but I actually really like doing them. Also, if done well they can really set a kit off and become another focal point. We are indeed lucky these days as we now have lots of wonderful AM alternatives for accurate stores. The jammer pod for example had something like 8 decals alone!

 

11 hours ago, Johnson said:

 Good recovery and looking very good Pappy.

 

G'day Chris

 

Thanks. I still don't know why I had a gap. It wasn't the cockpit tub assembly as the gap was present even with this assembly removed. The resin avionics bay inserts were well forward of the rear edge and did not foul on anything. I was especially diligent to make sure these did not interfere with the fit of the cockpit tub assembly as well. perhaps during the attachment of the intakes and lower fuselage I managed to get something out of kilter?

 

In any case, I am back on track, but the kit breakdown of the wings (they are simply butt joined) means that I have some decent sanding an filling to look forward to as the resultant seam where the wings join needs to be eliminated completely and panels restored.,

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

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G'day people,

 

Lots of family commitments this long weekend but still managed to squeeze some bench time in.

 

The wing seams are finally done

 

DSCN9195(1).JPG

 

The underside seams were very quick and easy to sort


DSCN9193(1).JPG

 

The upper seams were not especially difficult, it was just a matter of doing the work. I ended up using CA as a filler as it sands well if sanded soon after setting and does not shrink and can be easily scribed without cracking.

 

Now that my darker blue shade has arrived I sprayed the light blue tank

 

DSCN9186.JPG

 

To my eye this looks a little too grey and light, more like a blue-grey instead of the blue that I see in my reference pictures....

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

 

Edited by Pappy
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