Drew T.

Thaks Cruiz. Here's a link to the stencil set I have. It has three stencils, but I only use the one with the tightest pattern since it looks the best to my eye in 1/48 scale. https://www.migjimenez.com/en/accessories/2205-airbrush-stencils-8432074080350.html

Thanks Kelly! I finally had a chance to get a coat of paint down. I started by applying a splotchy coat of Mr Color 305 over the entire model darkened slightly with black Mr. Color 92. Then, using an Uschi airbrush texture stencil, I applied a mottled patchwork of Mr. Color 308, 306, and 92. Finally, I followed up with a light coat of the same darkened Mr. Color 305, leaving just a slight amount of the patchwork pattern to show through. I left the pattern more noticeable on the horizontal top surfaces, since they are usually the most

I recently came across the 3D printed chaff and flare set for the F-15 that Frank Crenshaw of Kokopelli Scale Design sells. The set looks much nicer than the PE I was using from Furball, so I decided to buy a set and use them in this build. He provides more than enough pieces to make any chaff/flare combination you want. Since the areas around the engines are unpainted, I plan on painting these areas with Alclad. A gloss black primer seems to work the best as a base for Aclad, so after sanding the Mr. Surfacer on these areas with 2000 grit sandpaper, I sprayed a few coats

ime for a quick update. Now that basic construction is complete, I applied a light coat of white Tamiya primer to highlight imperfections. This is an iterative process where I then go back and spot prime areas that I fixed to see if the problem is gone. If not, I try again and prime again and repeat the process until all imperfections are gone. I then sanded down the primer with 1000 grit sandpaper and cleaned out all sanding dust in the panel lines and rivet detail. Finally, I applied a coat of highly thinned black Mr Surfacer 1500 to use a base for painting. Again, I found a few rough a

Thanks everyone! I probably wouldn't have caught the wrong position of the intakes myself if I hadn't come across Jeffrey's build. Cruiz, I created the flap edges by first cutting off about 1/16" off each end of the flaps and replacing them with a couple of thin pieces of strip styrene. I then sanded and carved them down to very thin pieces to replicate what the real thing looks like. Let me know if I'm not making sense or you need more clarification.

Following Jeffrey’s build, I trimmed the intake faces so that they sit at a higher angle than the Revell it. If you build the kit straight out of the box, the top of the intake faces sit roughly parallel with the top of the fuselage. However, nearly every photo of an F-15 on the ground shows the top of the intake faces slightly angled up in relation to the top of the fuselage. I also used thin sheet styrene on the sides of the intake faces with some panel lines engraved to simulate the sides of the intake ramps. Even using Tamiya glue sparingly, it still created some sink marks in the thin

Update time! I’ve been out of the country for a few weeks for work, but below is what I’ve accomplished since the last update. I found a few areas to detail as I completed the main assembly. I replaced the kit gun barrels with tubing from my Albion Alloys tube set. I also reshaped the fairing around the gun with Apoxie Sculpt.

Thanks John! At the rate I'm going on this one, I'll be happy just to get it finished by the end of the year! Thanks Scooby!

Thanks Steve!

No worries! It's a good idea, and it might be possible to pull off with a different material, like aluminum from a soda can, but it would be a ton of work to fabricate that many individual pedals. It would definitely be easier to simulate the individual pedals in 1/32 scale. Thanks BastianD!

Thanks Thadeus! Hi BoeingDriver, that makes perfect sense. I guess a more rigid fairing would crack up with the vibrations and movement of the engines, especially at full afterburner. Cruiz, I tried your suggestion of cutting a slot between the individual pedals, but I made them so thin, I ended up breaking a few. After rebuilding them with sheet styrene, I think I'll have to keep them as one piece. They become really delicate when slotting them into separate pedals.

Ahh, I see what you're talking about now. Thanks for the explanation. To be honest, I haven't even noticed that detail. I'm not sure I can pull off that look of individual pedals. I'm afraid I would have to thin them down even more to the point that they could get damaged when handling the model. I may try it when I'm ready to attach the exhausts. There would be less chance of damage once I get them attached.

Thanks everyone for the kind words! I may very well go blind after trying to replicate every rivet line! Cruiz, not sure what you mean about separation between the petals at the edge. Do you have a photo that shows what you're talking about? If there's something I missed, I definitely want to catch it now before it's too late. Drew

I carved a groove in the end of the fuselage halves where the exhaust cans attach to simulate the thin sheet metal around this area. On the topside, the GPS dome antenna was added from a section of styrene rod sanded into a dome shape. The tabs on the inside of the flaps are molded as one piece, but these tabs should be separate and connected to the fuselage. I carved them out of the flaps and added them to the fuselage. The vents above the intakes are depicted slightly dropped in the kit, so I cut open a slit at t

Update time! I’ve been spending the last several weeks correcting and adding surface detail to all the main parts. It’s easier to do this now before the main assembly. The Revell kit has pretty accurate detail, but after nearly going blind studying photos, a few panel lines are in the wrong place and some of the rivet detail is slightly out of scale. I replaced most of the kit rivet detail with my Galaxy Tools riveters using several different sizes. I found that high-res photos, especially those on the USAF website, were helpful in determining where the rivet detail should be added. I us