Drew T.

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

Thanks Steve and Crackerjazz! To be honest, I did followup the enamel wash with a tiny bit of Abteilung Cream Brown oil paint worked in as well as a light drybrushing of light gray oil paint to highlight the detail. The same was done on the canopy framing as well. All this was done directly over Mr Surfacer 1500 black. Drew

Time for another update! I wanted to go as far as I could with the nose section before I start on the rest of the fuselage/wing assembly and join them together. The cockpit was installed in the nose section, along with the nose gear well assembly. It took alot of careful trimming like most Aires cockpits, but I finally achieved a good fit. After painting, I used AMMO light dust enamel wash around the rear instrument panel console and the black surrounding area to give an overall dusty look. I added rivets to the frame of the w

Thanks Jeffrey! I actually came across your excellent Strike Eagle build on Britmodeller a couple of weeks ago. It's the most in-depth and accurate build I've come across of the Revell kit, so I'm using it a guide for mine. If mine ends up looking anywhere near as nice as yours, I'll definitely be happy. Drew

Thanks crackerjazz, cruiz, and Steve! The numbers on the inside nose gear door are about 0.1 inches tall in 1/48. I tried to size them based on photos of 4th FW Eagles around the 2003 time frame. I'm much happier with how the MFD's look now. I'll probably use this technique on future builds as well. Drew

Hi guys, I just finished up with painting and decaling the landing gear. The paint used is Mr. Color off white C69. With the oleos, I usually use bare metal foil, but I decided to try something different this time. Alclad chrome works well for replicating polished metal, so I use that instead. It requires a smooth glossy base to get a polished look, so I first painted the oleos with Mr. Color GX2. This gives a very glossy finish that works well for the Alclad chrome. Then I sprayed a coat of Alclad chrome. I did all this before painting the rest of the landing gear white, so once the Al

Thanks Steve! Thanks Gianni!

Thanks Dan! I think the reason companies offer replacements for the Tamiya radome is that the Tamiya part is composed of two halves. There is a raised line (static discharger I think) that runs along this joint that can be lost or distorted when the two halves are joined. The resin replacements are a single piece that eliminates this problem.

Thanks Crackerjazz! Actually, I do use Tamiya extra thin! I try to place the glue in areas that won't be seen when everything's assembled. I also try to use as little as possible to avoid how much it melts the parts. Thanks Steve! This is the first time I've tried using Tamiya tape to replicate straps. I'm hoping the paint will help hold the tape in place. In areas where it didn't want to stay down, I used a tiny bit of CA to hold it down. Drew

Hi guys, finally finished with the landing gear. This is one of my least favorite parts of a build, so I try to get it done early and out of the way. I added some detail to the nose gear and nose gear bay, but didn’t try to go overboard since the front nose gear door would be positioned closed. The main landing gear took more work. The detail Revell provided is okay and mostly accurate, but definitely simplified when compared with the real thing. I thought I would go blind trying to figure out where all the linkages are located in

Glad that worked for you! Here's the video where I discovered there's no need to use a clear gloss before decaling:

Thanks Dave!