Harv

Israeli Ra'ams have Black ACES II seats with the standard (grey-green) belts/harnesses. The cushions have the sheepskin coverings found on many, if not most, F-15s these days. The sheepskins start out black, but fade pretty quickly to a dark blueish-grey. One of the few chances for some tonal changes in that 'all-black NVG-friendly cockpit... HTH

The Saudis F-15S indeed has (were delivered with) P&W engines, just like the USAF Es. The ROKAF F-15K Slam Eagle was the first production strike eagle variant to use the GE engine, then followed by Singapore..Hadn't heard about a Saudi GE engine deal. I can't imagine that going from P&Ws to GEs is exactly a 'drop-in' fix. That is going to be some conversion if they are in fact upgrading their -S models to be GE powered. If that is the case, how ironic is it that South Korea's follow-on order of Slam Eagles are going to switch away from GE engines and over to P&Ws. (According to the

Well, looking at the sprue shots that have now been posted, it appears I have to ammend my earlier post- The large-diameter ECM bullets seem to be correct; although the JFS chimney vents are incorrect for an -E variant and the ECS grille as mentioned is present and should be filled. As Fuji said, it certainly doesn't look 'unbuildable'... Kewl.

Hm. Never built the Acad F-15, so I only know the issues from what I've heard from others. Kudos for them catching the AN/AWW-13 Data Link Pod, and the extra chaff/flare buckets on the tail booms. However, looking at the pictures /build ups posted, I see a few places where it appears Academy missed the details or chose not to address from the 'base' kits. 1. Starting with the very picky, and really not an issue for the builder, but speaking to Academy's interest in accuracy: Colors used in the build-ups. I believe the -K should have an all-black cockpit, like the Israeli F-15I Ra'am. I also t

Andy, I believe I have the 1/32 sheet; may have one or two of the others. Can't check until I'm at home in a couple hours; will send a response then. Harv

PM Sent re. Tamiya F-15E & VP F-104 Decal sheet

...Very nicely executed! Like the caricature pilot, as well...but one question: I'm probably clueless, but I can't figure out the grey cylinder with the figure. ~What's that all about??

Joe, this thread went all over the place! With a little more data, it is much easier to refine your answer... Building a 'power puff' F-16N using the FTD sheet, you just need to make sure you have the 'classic' F-16N items (to be accurate). You mention 1/48 Hase, but not which one...If you're starting with the specific F-16N, then everything is in the box as I stated earlier in this thread. More-or-less F-16C cockpit, (I defy anyone to show me photo proof of anything else); NSI (small mouth) intake with the intake cheek pods on either side, lightweight (early style) landing gear; GE engine noz

...Standing by to order. This kit has been in the stash since it was first released.

From my earlier post: "If you are talking 1/32, the old Revell F-16N release includes the chin pods and ACMI pod, and most of the other 'stuff' that is F-16N appropriate." Was trying to remember off the top of my head as I couldn't check the stash, and didn't want to go down another rabbit hole tangent...Believe you might be correct on the PW nozzle, Andre, but that kit does have the appropriate small-mouth (NSI) intake, albeit with niether internal trunking nor an engine face, PW or GE.

Gustav, thanks for the update (and corrections) As I stated, the Navy wasn't using those types of pods to my knowledge. Also, I don't normally do 1/72, so my knowledge of available kits in that scale, much less any AM stuff, is zilch. Lastly, the 3 sets of 1/48 AN/ALQ-188s I just picked up were your stuff, and they look outstanding. Looking forward to the new items for my NSAWC F-16s.

Thanks, Fuji - I know I was probably reading too much into it, and your straight forward, to the point response is 100% concise and correct; but was trying to figure out why one would consider the ALQ-188 and the F-16N together, since the Navy didn't ever use those. The whole multi-pod AM set situation is the only thing I could come up with, especially having recently purchased multiples of each in both 1/32 and 1/48...

Fuji, not trying to step on toes, just to clarify because of the way these things have been marketed in AM sets... Joe, the AN/ALQ-188 pod, sometimes referred-to as the "Dead Gecko" is used by USAF Aggressor squadrons (AK and Nellis F-16s, and also on Nellis F-15s IIRC), and typically found mounted on the aircraft centerline pylon. Looks a little like a small drop tank, with four 'leg-like protuberances' (antennae) - two forward-facing and two aft-facing, that are usually tilted downward, giving it the resemblance to a, well, dead gecko. These pods as Fuji stated above, have never been used b

~LAU-117? Sounds great. AGM-65s, too? Yes. (Be sure to include markings for each service's fav- i.e. LASER version for USN, etc. ~Love to see some great FSU 'bullets' for my Flankers and Fulcrums ~TWO SEATER F-16s!!! YESS!!! Just do what that Taiwanese effort attempted a year or so ago, with a fuselage piece to fit the Tamiya viper, (only they screwed the proverbial pooch), and you're golden! ~LAU-128s plus AMRAAMs? Again, YESSS!!! Not sure what a previous poster was referring to, but none of my 1/32 Tamiya F-15C, F-15J, nor F-15E (original release) kits have AMRAAMs in the box, only Sp

ALF- Guess I'm one of 'those guys' also building the big Tamiya Phantom for this GB. I kind of take the opposite approach, and do a lot of detail paint both while stuff is still on the sprues, and in smaller assemblies before putting it all together. For me, it is easier to pre-shade and do finer line & panel work in small chunks - and I don't get bored having to paint acres of 1/32 grey and white schemes all at one time - For you, it appears that building first and painting a nearly-completed model works well...you're doing a super job; keep up the great work, and I'm looking forward to s

I'm not really a 1/72 kinda guy, but Afterburner decals does a USAF Aggressor sheet for both F-15Cs/Ds. Afterburner 72-001 Platz Decals makes 1/72 JASDF aircraft; here's a link to some of their stuff from Flight Decs: Platz 72 HTH

Jerry, not sure if you're referring to my posting, but I've got a Tamiya F-4J build going in the Gone But Not Forgotten Group Build right now, and I had a few pictures and comments on working with those intakes. F-4J Build Link And as far as the other thread on Large Scale Planes, the guy there took a totally different route, but still used the kit intake trunking pieces, to fix his kit. (It is an incredible build, and done in an amazingly short time!) - Check it out! LSP F-4S Phantom

...Sure looks like a Fulcrum to me! Really like the weathering, especially the bare metal exhaust/burner area. Well done-

Whoo-hoo! ...Got the kit, got the ZactoFixes, got the LH Stencil sheet...been waiting for new Flanker sheets since I missed out on the 'Guardians of the North' sheet...

These look nice...Will you have pics/profiles of the overall jet(s) available? Regardless, I see a big Ukranian Flanker in my future...

I'm surprised no one has mentioned either Mr. Surfacer (I like 500) and/or Mr. Dissolved Putty. Both are fine for small seams and even larger gaps if put down in layers. They aren't really great for load-bearing or stressed seams (like epoxy), but the nice thing that makes them my first choice is that once dry (usually 20-30 minutes for Mr. Surfacer; a bit longer for the Dissolved Putty), the fillers' characteristics are very similar to the styrene, making them easy to sand, scribe, and fair-in to the surrounding plastic. This is especially handy for areas requiring a BMF, because the finish a

Haven't built any of mine yet, but the kit plastic looks sure looks nice as-is to my eye, assuming you're doing P&W powered jet. I'm an adversary / aggressor buff, so I'm looking to do block 30s as a start (F-16N adversary, AK aggressor), both of which have the earlier bits (e.g. landing gear) but use GE engines. That requires either an AM GE burner can (F-16N) or burner can & MCID (Large Mouth) intake (AK Aggressor). There are several options (Wolf Pack Designs does the intake/burner combo, for instance), or you could swap the parts from the Block 50 -CJ kit (original Tamiya new-tool

Tony, Not positive, but I think all the JASDF birds have a white bay 5. As far as the bottom of the aircraft, you're right, there is just a bit of the black & white cammo that extends from the intakes/upper wings and wraps around the sides of the fuselage/intakes/lower wing roots area. I believe all the JASDF aggressors have their individual cammo colors applied over the standard light/dark ghost grey scheme. (The bottom of the a/c is pretty much all a base color of light ghost grey). I'd say white is the correct cammo color, although you could probably get away with a very, very light

QUOTE (graves_09 @ Dec 2 2008, 03:51 PM) I doubt lack of available references is the cause of kit inaccuracies. The fact that the tomcat is retired shouldn't really make much difference. If it was still in active service the conversation would sound the same. I think the tomcat being in museums should make it easier to get access. After all demiling them does not really change the features that the modelers care about. It is the guts inside that get taken out. Colin, as I attempted to point out, accessing a well-preserved F-14 is easy to do if the desire is there. It would be harder for a