Ben Brown

Based on other photos, it looks like they used FS 34092 Dark Green from the A-10’s Europe 1 camouflage days instead of FS 34079. The F-16C in SEA camo looks they used the correct dark green. The dark green in this year’s Memphis Belle demo jet looks a little off, too. Ben

SCOUT712 is correct, the kit wings are the thick type, so you can only build one of the last 10 (12?) RF-4Bs out of the box, but it’s perfect for an RF-4C. Hypersonic makes some great unslotted stabilators that fit the Hasegawa kits. The fuselage is more RF-4E; the lower aft fuselage is cut back for the longer nozzles. If you want to get picky, you’ll need to extend that natural metal part aft ~2 mm. Here is Tommy Thomason’s blog post on F-4s and J79s. Both the B and C nose gear doors are included. Both long and short afterburner nozzles are include

Looks like the only 1/72 decals for the 460th are in the old Hasegawa kit, but they’re for a regular line jet. There are several options in 1/48, if you want to battle the Monogram kit. It does build into an impressive model. Ben

Me too! Ben

Their cross reference shows LP-56 to be the same as XF-89. LINK Ben

Hi All, Not to get too anal enthusiastic about it, but 71-0237 was the first F-4E with the internal wing reinforcement. 🙂 Bill, beautiful F-4E and F-104C!!! You're making it very hard to resist the Meng kit. Ben

I need to find an excuse to get out that way. I flew out of there in the ‘80s, before the Global Transpark thing started. I probably wouldn’t recognize the place now. Ben

Anyone get any pics of the Draken International Mirage F.1 that was supposed to be there? I would’ve loved to get up close to one. Ben

I’m enjoying building my -700, too! It’s a very nice little kit. Ben

Good to know. The stuff I was getting from the paint section of Home Depot was originally labeled denatured alcohol but was relabeled as fuel a couple of years ago. Ben

I think they’re still waiting for a 3-D scan of @Gene K so they can include the figure with the decals for “Sandy.” 😉 Ben

The stuff sold as fuel is denatured alcohol. I asked a while back and it’s labeled “Fuel” to keep people from trying to drink it. Ben

Can you buy the appropriate sprues from the manufacturer? Ben

Denatured alcohol will remove Mr Color without affecting the plastic. I’ve stripped entire models with it. That said, I have had one instance where the alcohol left a slight haze on a clear part. This was easily fixed by polishing it and dipping it in Future. Ben

Those fuselage stripes are simple enough that you could make your own with red and white decal film. They seem to be the only unique parts in FG-907’s markings. The red is most likely Insignia Red. You can confirm with Kursad (Caracal’s proprietor) in his forum on this site. I’d get solid sheets of red and white trim film from Microscale and cut my own stripes. The sheets of stripes may not have enough of the correct width. The Caracal sheet has enough extra numbers to piece together the serial and buzz numbers. Ben

😄

Wow, time sure does fly! That was a fun trip. I wonder if the then-wing commander still has my Tamiya F-15E? Sadly, I think Hawk and the other Tuskegee Airmen in the photos have passed away. Ben

What year was that? We were so much younger (and lighter!) back then! 😄 Ben

I’ll have to defer to the guys who actually have hands on experience with the F-15E. All I did was photograph them at air shows and watch them longingly from the Wilbur’s BBQ parking lot. 😄 Looks like the scoops were open when the engines are shut down. Ben

Thanks for the links. Unfortunately those are all post Desert Storm, with the later versions of the squadron and wing badges. The first SuperScale sheet you linked to would have been good if they’d got the colors right on the squadron badges. For all of the decals available for Desert Storm F-16s, A-10s, and everything else, it’s surprising the F-15E from that war seems to have been generally been ignored. Ben

Are there any Desert Storm SJ decals in 1/48 besides those provided in the Revell kit and the ancient Repliscale sheet? Ben

Here are some scans for you. The runway pics were taken before Desert Storm, I think right before they left as part of Desert Shield. You can seen how the radome color is lighter than in post war photos. The others were taken at an air show in 1993, but should still be representative of a DS jet. Arrestor hook. Antennas. CFT air scoops. Where is the sabre drain you mentioned located on the F-15? I'll see if I have a photo of it. I don't see anything that looks like a sabre drain on the E. Ben

Hi Chris, I’ll scan those photos for you. I’m getting pulled in multiple directions right now so it might take a day or two. I’ll check to see if I have any photos of the Sabre drain area, too. I was living near Seymour Johnson AFB back when the F-15E started to arrive and spent a lot of time studying them so I could make the Hasegawa kit more accurate. When the F-15Es were new, those flush mounted antennas were off white. The rectangular one just forward of the windscreen was light grey, as was the blade antenna aft of the canopy. The radome color was very close to that o

Those original intakes on the sides of the CFTs were rectangular pop out doors that were open on the ground. The actuator inside looked like a small coilover shock from a car and everything inside the intake is white. I’ve got a couple of closeup photos around here that I can scan if you need them. I’m not seeing the two small antennas OP is pointing out. There are a couple of small, square, light grey, flush mounted antennas there. I can scan a pic that shows those too. My pics were taken in late 1991 or early 92, IIRC. Ben

The lower aft fuselage around the afterburners represents the RF-4E with the longer nozzles. It has to be modified to represent an RF-4C. Ben