Grim Reapers - End of an era. 1/48 GWH F-15C 45th Anniversary of F-15A/B/C/Ds in Europe

[theaa2000]

Evening All,

 

Here's my latest build I completed for the F-15 50th Anniversary GB this week. This is the 1/48 GWH kit that has been out for a while now and it is built as 86-0172 of the 493rd Fighter Squadron, RAF Lakenheath. This year the Grim Reapers retired their F-15C/Ds and with that ended 45 years of the F-15A/B/C/D variants in Europe, and to commemorate both the anniversary and the end of regular Eagle operations they painted 86-0172 in this scheme. Sadly, this jet has now been flown back to the US and has been transferred over to an Air National Guard unit (can't recall which one) and is no longer wearing this scheme, and the 493rd have moved over to the F-35A which will probably not have any special schemes any time soon.

 

• Kit: Great Wall Hobby F-15C MSIP II L4817 - the new boxing with the white/blue borders, but is unchanged I think from the original
• Scale: 1/48
• Type: F-15C
• AM sets: KA Models 3D printed resin exhausts, Aires ACES II resin ejector seats, Quinta Studios 3D printed cockpit decals, Eduard Wheels, exterior PE and masks, QMT resin intake covers (modified to fit), LP Models 3D printed boarding ladder, Twobobs "Grim Reapers End of an Era" decals and an ACMI pod from the Tamiya 1/48 F-16
• Paints: MRP 093 Dark Mod Grey, 094 Medium Mod Grey, 040 Gunship Grey for the primary scheme and then various MRP shades (Titanium, Steel, White, Night Camo Black), some Tamiya (LP-11 Silver, Clear Red, Blue and Smoke), Vallejo Model Colour/Air for hand painted details and Molotow liquid chrome for the Oleos.
• Others: Weathering was done with some enamel washes for the cockpit/panel lines, oils for some staining and fading and a pencil for some chipping near the cockpit

I've built the GWH kit once before but the E version as another Lakenheath based aircraft from the 494th FS so I was familiar with it's construction and the problems so this build went together pretty quickly and I paid extra attention to some areas that require it, like the join of the nose to the fuselage and the join of the two fuselage halves near the horizontal stabilisers. It amazes me that how in certain places this kit is state of the art (like the one piece ordinance) but in others it's quite poor. Another gripe is that the lights on the wings are not separate clear pieces and instead they are moulded on, which makes it difficult to make them look convincing. If I were to do this again, I would replace them with coloured acrylic sanded to shape - maybe this is something to try on the F-15E I still have in the stash. I think the kit could benefit from a re-tool now that it's been out for a while and GWH have hopefully received some feedback on how it goes together.

 

In the GB completion thread, I used a grey background for the photos but I feel that washes out the model somewhat given that it is mostly grey so I've retaken some photos on a white background and also tried focus stacking here.

 

With a special patch showing this very jet  

 

86-0172 looked pretty clean when it had this scheme so I kept weathering to a minimum

 

The KA models 3D printed resin one piece exhausts are incredibly detailed and were pretty much a drop in replacement for the kit parts - I would highly recommend them to anyone

 

 

 

 

 

The Quinta cockpit decals are superb and in an Eagle, especially with the canopy up you can actually see the detail. I'm also very happy the HUD stayed attached and clear as I'm not the best at working with PE. I "glued" the frame and glass pieces with Tamiya X-22 and once the front canopy was in place masked over the whole canopy section. It was then that I heard a rattling noise from under the tape and was quite worried that it had come loose but it was actually some plastic from a whole I drilled, which was a relief  

 

And a look at the underside, which again has had minimum weathering, mainly on the JFS exhaust and tanks.

 

Thanks for looking!

 

 

[billn53]

Excellent Eagle!

[Tojo72]

Great markings and a really nice looking Eagle.

 

I didn't realize that both the airforce and the navy had squadrons named the Grim Reapers

[canberraman]

A magnificent build and finish. That Grim Reapers retirement scheme was really tasteful.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Mark

[Luke1199]

She's a stunner, top top job!

[theaa2000]

9 hours ago, billn53 said:

Excellent Eagle!

Thank you Bill  

7 hours ago, Tojo72 said:

Great markings and a really nice looking Eagle.

 

I didn't realize that both the airforce and the navy had squadrons named the Grim Reapers

Thanks mate! Yup, VF-101 and the 493rd FS are both nicknamed the Grim Reapers but I think VF-101 have been deactivated which is a shame. My F-14 is in VF-101 markings so now I have representatives from both squadrons.

49 minutes ago, canberraman said:

A magnificent build and finish. That Grim Reapers retirement scheme was really tasteful.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Mark

Thanks Mark! Yeah it was a pretty tasteful scheme (as tasteful as big skulls could be ), especially compared to the recent Eagle scheme in the US to celebrate a flight hours milestone.

22 minutes ago, Luke1199 said:

She's a stunner, top top job!

Thank you Luke!

[eng]

Thats a real beaut! The shine on that canopy is incredible 

 

Eng

[exdraken]

Fantastic Reaper!

[exdraken]

Those resin nozzles look nice!!

Do you think for the are worth the extra, extra high, expenses?

Did you only use the closed nozzles themselves, or the more complete part incl afterburner?

 

 

How was decal fit? Twobobs definitely was quick producing some! 😀

 

[theaa2000]

11 hours ago, eng said:

Thats a real beaut! The shine on that canopy is incredible 

 

Eng

Thanks Eng! I didn't do the best job of this on my first GWH F-15 so I was really trying with this one. I scrape cleaned the seam line, then used sanding/polishing cloths/sponges followed by the 3 Novus polishing compounds before dipping the canopy in future to get the finish seen here.

1 hour ago, exdraken said:

Those resin nozzles look nice!!

Do you think for the are worth the extra, extra high, expenses?

Did you only use the closed nozzles themselves, or the more complete part incl afterburner?

 

 

How was decal fit? Twobobs definitely was quick producing some! 😀

 

Thanks! I only used the nozzles themselves not the whole set with the afterburner. I personally do think they are worth the cost given the detail and the fact that they are ready to install and paint immediately. There is no clean up of resin casting blocks, no removing brittle resin pieces, no CA glue required to assemble tiny pieces - all of which I'm not the biggest fan of  Yes they are pricier than some other offerings but the time and effort saved makes it worth while to me and the detail is as good as any resin piece I've seen.

 

The Twobobs decals were as ever excellent - I've used their decals on 3 projects so far and they've all gone down perfectly with the help of Mr Mark Softer Neo and some cotton buds. Their decals are thin enough to settle into and around fine detail but can also withstand being moved around the model surface. I have a few more of their sheets for A-10s, F-22s, another F-15c, another EA-6B and some E/A-18Gs in the stash for when I get round to those projects.

[Lightningboy2000]

Absolutely superb! Was gutted on every occasion that I didn't get to see this airframe in the flesh at LN. Still sad that these are no longer at Lakenheath. I have got the GWH 1/72 kit on pre-order & hope I can finish it as good as yours. The thing about their kits I don't like are the mold seams down their canopies.

 

Martin 

[Alpha Delta 210]

Without doubt, one of the finest Eagle models that I have seen here! I'm in awe of your skills.

[HOUSTON]

 

Your  EAGLE  is  striking to look at  and I would say one of the most EXQUISITE and IMPECCABLY finished model I have seen.Love the scheme and the specialist patch you have gotten.

 

A real STUNNING model.

KUDOS.

 

[F-32]

She's a real beauty

[theaa2000]

18 hours ago, Lightningboy2000 said:

Absolutely superb! Was gutted on every occasion that I didn't get to see this airframe in the flesh at LN. Still sad that these are no longer at Lakenheath. I have got the GWH 1/72 kit on pre-order & hope I can finish it as good as yours. The thing about their kits I don't like are the mold seams down their canopies.

 

Martin 

Thanks Martin. I was hoping it would stay in the UK long enough to make an appearance at RIAT but that didn't happen sadly. I saw your build as well in the GB thread and it looks amazing. I didn't even realise it was 1/72 until I read it - fantastic work especially in such a small scale!

 

Unfortunately, because of the canopy shape I don't think the mould seams are avoidable, but I hear you, it's one of the most nervewracking parts of the build, especially knowing it's not that easy to get a spare out of GWH.

 

12 hours ago, Alpha Delta 210 said:

Without doubt, one of the finest Eagle models that I have seen here! I'm in awe of your skills.

Thank you so much! That's really cool to hear!

9 hours ago, HOUSTON said:

 

Your  EAGLE  is  striking to look at  and I would say one of the most EXQUISITE and IMPECCABLY finished model I have seen.Love the scheme and the specialist patch you have gotten.

 

A real STUNNING model.

KUDOS.

 

Thank you Houston! Very very kind of you to say and glad you like it so much!

 

1 hour ago, F-32 said:

She's a real beauty

Thanks mate!

[corsaircorp]

Nice and tidy Eagle !!

Congrats Sir !!I really love it !!

Sincerely.

CC

[bar side]

Very nice.  I wanted to do this airframe - if I get to it I hope it looks half as good as yours! I did get to see her a couple of days before she departed back to the US.  Not a great photography position but great to watch her & the wingman for a series of approaches & near vertical departures.  They kept going round & I just wanted to sit & watch

 

Did like the Cs & Ds more than the Es.  But the RIAT scheme E is quite nice…

[djos]

First class work.

I always somehow connect Grim Reapers squadron with F-14, so this is new for me and simply beautiful.

Regards Djordje