Another 1/48th Revell F-15E

[shake zula the mic rula]

A couple of weeks ago, thanks to a Michael's 40% off coupon, I came home with a Revell 1/48th F-15E. And thanks to the gentle coaxing of jminer, I'm starting my first in-progress thread.

I've got some plans for this bird. I want to use Twobobs 1/48th Mountain Home Avenger sheet for it, and add some ordinance from a Hasegawa weapons set. Right now I'm just trying to figure out if GBUs, or good old fashioned Mk. 82s would look better. Regardless, I want this thing to be armed to the teeth.

Construction started in the cockpit. I've got seats, sticks, and that hood thingy that goes over the WSO's instrument panel ready for detail painting.

Various cockpit parts, canopy frame, the horseshoe shaped thing that goes over the front of the canopy, circut board thingy that goes in front of the pilot's HUD. And an unrelated item. The cockpit tub and instrument panel from a 1/48th Academy SU-27, I'm using that to practice drybrushing. Sadly, that's one skill I haven't yet got the hang of.

Instrument panels for the pilot and WSO, ready for detail painting.

Cockpit tub, ready for detail painting.

First oopsie, when I was removing the tape I used to mask off the cockpit tub, some of the paint came off. I'll touch that up before continuing.

Well, that's all for right now. I'll post more as I continue with the build.

[strikeeagle801]

Looks good so far Tim. Don't worry about touching up the paint where it came up in front. It's going to be covered up by the IP and instro hood anyways, so no one will be able to see it.

Aaron

Edited February 5, 2010 by strikeeagle801

[Aigore]

A really good start, shake

A full load of old fashin iron bombs would look cool! I filled my F-15I with Mk 81s...looks kinda odd with all them targeting pods and fancy sensors and there are all dumb iron bombs hanging under the belly :D

Cheers!

[jminer]

Hi Tim,

Progress is looking good so far, keep us posted. In regards to your drybrushing skills, the only way you'll get better at it is by practice, so keep going. strikeeagle801 (Aaron) has been an invaluable resource for me on my F-15E builds and is more than willing to share his knowledge. He's been very helpful to me with my previous Strike build.

Again, keep us all posted on the progress and don't be afraid to ask for advice or help, thats' what we're all here for.

Justin

[RedHeadKevin]

A really good start, shake ;)

A full load of old fashin iron bombs would look cool! I filled my F-15I with Mk 81s...looks kinda odd with all them targeting pods and fancy sensors and there are all dumb iron bombs hanging under the belly

Mk 81's? The 250 pounders? While I agree that a full load of iron bombs looks wicked cool, have you thought about building your Strike Eagle with a full load of GBU-38's? All the good looks of a ton of bombs, but the precision of GPS guidance.

[MarkW]

Gotta be careful what racks you hang JDAMs...not all racks handle them.

[strikeeagle801]

According to the Modern Eagle Guide, all 15 stations are wired for GPS weapons now. If this is not really the case (I have NO doubt about Jake being correct) at this time, it soon will be. So, if you want to, load 'em up! It'd be really cool to see 12-15 GBU-38's on a Strike!

As Justin said, I'm more than willing to help. You gotta question, don't be afraid to ask. Especially about the 391st, as it's my favorite squadron.

Aaron

ps. I have to agree with others though. There is something pretty cool about a strike being loaded with a full load of pig iron. On of my favorite DS loads is six MK-82's on one CFT, and six MK-20 CBU's on the other.

Edited February 5, 2010 by strikeeagle801

[MarkW]

That is good. I guess the Edwards birds would be the last (if ever) to get that upgrade.

[shake zula the mic rula]

Ok, small update for today. I started detail painting the seats last night. The sharpened toothpick trick worked like a charm. I got sent home from work early today, due to too many people and not enough work. I would do some more detail painting, but I've drank way too much coffee and I've got the caffiene shakes pretty bad. Gonna have to wait for that to go away before I can start working again. I just ordered the Mountain home avengers sheet from twobobs. I think I've got the loadout sorted. How does this sound, six GBU-12s, two GBU-31s, and five Mk. 82s?

Hey Aaron, when did they start adding AIM-120s to the Eagle? I'm assuming they would have been on there during the start of Operation Enduring Freedom.

[strikeeagle801]

Your loadout there will not work. Too many GBU-12's. Because of the fact that they are longer than a standard MK-82 because of the guidance sections, you can't put ordnace on the middle pylons if there are GBU-12's on the front and/or back (meaning that nine would be the max amount. Four on the top and bottom "corners" and one on the C/L). The only time I've seen a mixed load of GBU-31's was when they are loaded on the centerline station, and GBU-12/38's are loaded on the CFT's. A cool load that I like with the GBU-31 (The heaviest combat load that I've seen) is five GBU-31's. One on each bottom corner and one on the centerline. I call this the "justice load". That's the load they'd carry if they had actionable intel that Osama was holed up in a shallow cave somewhere and wanted to send him to Allah in a hurry.

You could do GBU-12's on one CFT and MK-82's on the other if you wanted to, with four GBU-12's on the gun side and six MK-82's on the other. With the addition of a GBU-12 on the centerline, this was a load that was flown by the Bold Tigers in the beginning of OEF.

As far as AIM-120's, they were integrated into the Light Grays by the end of Desert Storm, and the Strikes soon after that. They were flying Operation Northern/Southern Watch missions with them pretty frequently, and were very common by Operation Allied Force in '99. During OAF, the LAU-128 was not carried as frequently (due to lack of inventory), so it was common to see one LAU-128 with an AIM-120 on each wing, with the AIM-9 being on the older Sidewinder rail. By the time OEF kicked off, each Strike would be carrying the full compliment of LAU-128's on all stations, and would usually be carrying two AIM-120's on the outside rails, and two AIM-9's on the inside rails. This limits the AIM-9's seeker head a little, but load crews were worried about puncturing the CFT's with the AIM-120's fins, so they were loaded on the outside. You can see some later OEF/OIF loads with 3 AIM-120's mounted, so they must've gotten over that problem some how. It is now common to see just one AIM-9M and one AIM-120B/C loaded on the outside rail of both wings.

Aaron

ps. Here's a link to some OEF loads. At one time or another, the 391st has carried all of them. The first few weeks of the war, the 8 (or 9) GBU-12 load was pretty common. I'm going to be doing the GBU-15/GBU-24 load on mine...if I ever finish it.

Edited February 6, 2010 by strikeeagle801

[shake zula the mic rula]

Your loadout there will not work. Too many GBU-12's. Because of the fact that they are longer than a standard MK-82 because of the guidance sections, you can't put ordnace on the middle pylons if there are GBU-12's on the front and/or back (meaning that nine would be the max amount. Four on the top and bottom "corners" and one on the C/L). The only time I've seen a mixed load of GBU-31's was when they are loaded on the centerline station, and GBU-12/38's are loaded on the CFT's. A cool load that I like with the GBU-31 (The heaviest combat load that I've seen) is five GBU-31's. One on each bottom corner and one on the centerline. I call this the "justice load". That's the load they'd carry if they had actionable intel that Osama was holed up in a shallow cave somewhere and wanted to send him to Allah in a hurry.

You could do GBU-12's on one CFT and MK-82's on the other if you wanted to, with four GBU-12's on the gun side and six MK-82's on the other. With the addition of a GBU-12 on the centerline, this was a load that was flown by the Bold Tigers in the beginning of OEF.

As far as AIM-120's, they were integrated into the Light Grays by the end of Desert Storm, and the Strikes soon after that. They were flying Operation Northern/Southern Watch missions with them pretty frequently, and were very common by Operation Allied Force in '99. During OAF, the LAU-128 was not carried as frequently (due to lack of inventory), so it was common to see one LAU-128 with an AIM-120 on each wing, with the AIM-9 being on the older Sidewinder rail. By the time OEF kicked off, each Strike would be carrying the full compliment of LAU-128's on all stations, and would usually be carrying two AIM-120's on the outside rails, and two AIM-9's on the inside rails. This limits the AIM-9's seeker head a little, but load crews were worried about puncturing the CFT's with the AIM-120's fins, so they were loaded on the outside. You can see some later OEF/OIF loads with 3 AIM-120's mounted, so they must've gotten over that problem some how. It is now common to see just one AIM-9M and one AIM-120B/C loaded on the outside rail of both wings.

Aaron

ps. Here's a link to some OEF loads. At one time or another, the 391st has carried all of them. The first few weeks of the war, the 8 (or 9) GBU-12 load was pretty common. I'm going to be doing the GBU-15/GBU-24 load on mine...if I ever finish it.

Thanks for the link Aaron. I think I'll take your advice and do one half GBU-12s, with one on the centerline pylon and the other half Mk. 48s. By the way, the F-15C I bought from you arrived today. I hope to start on it after I get finished with the current build.

Speaking of which, I apologize for the long delay between posts. Right now the cockpit is about 85% done. I'll post some pics when I get it finished, which will hopefully be by Friday, if all goes according to plan.

[shake zula the mic rula]

Early Sunday morning update.

With the exception of drybrushing the seats here and there, and gluing in the sticks, the cockpit is done. I don't know why, but the cockpit always seems to be the hump for me to get over, after that it's smooth sailing.

In the reference photos I used, the pilot's seat looked tan to me, so that's the color I used. The WSO's seat had some sort of black cover on it, so I just left that part black.

I've got the hole for the jet fuel starter drilled out, now I just need to find some brass tubing to fit in there.

My local Hobby Lobby was out of gloss white paint, so I substituted with white Tamiya fine surface primer, shown here with the wash applied to bring out the details. Afeter I wipe off the excess wash, I'll hit them with a coat of Future. I plan on doing the same thing to the main gear bays, gears themselves, wheel hubs, and the gear bay doors.

The first aftermarket accessory, Twobob's Mountain Home Avengers sheet. I've never used their decals before, so I'm really eager to use them; the quality of the decals are outstanding.

Well, that's all for right now. Questions, comments and critiques are more than welcome.

Tim

[jcasilimas]

looking good!! nice job...

[JMan]

You will love TwoBobs decals they are the best. If I had more money I would buy a whole crap load of em. They are nice and thin, and and lay down like a newborn baby after suckling........a bottle, you pervs. Great job so far. A question the Mountain Home Avengers. Are they from Mountain Home Arkansas?

[strikeeagle801]

A question the Mountain Home Avengers. Are they from Mountain Home Arkansas?

Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.

I don't know why, but the cockpit always seems to be the hump for me to get over, after that it's smooth sailing.

Let's hope so Tim. There are some other parts that are kinda tricky in this build. If you want some pointers, send me a PM and I can kinda fill you in on what to watch out for.

In the reference photos I used, the pilot's seat looked tan to me, so that's the color I used. The WSO's seat had some sort of black cover on it, so I just left that part black.

The seat covers can be tan or olive drab originally. The black covers are sheep skin, and are reletively (less than 10 years I would think) new to the fleet, but are quite common now. You can still see the older covers around on occasion, but it is the exception now, not the rule. This is not telling you to change it. I like how it is varied like that. Keep it.

Aaron

Edited February 21, 2010 by strikeeagle801

[jminer]

Cockpit looks great, Tim. You've done a great job getting the cockpit together. I agree with Aaron that the look of the tan cushions on the front and the black on the back give it some interest. I'm also a big fan of TwoBobs decals. I've got the T-Bolts Rule sheet (also from Mountain Home AFB), so it looks like we'll have brother squadron jets. Keep up the great work, can't wait to see yours finished.

Justin

[strikeeagle801]

Cockpit looks great, Tim. You've done a great job getting the cockpit together. I agree with Aaron that the look of the tan cushions on the front and the black on the back give it some interest. I'm also a big fan of TwoBobs decals. I've got the T-Bolts Rule sheet (also from Mountain Home AFB), so it looks like we'll have brother squadron jets. Keep up the great work, can't wait to see yours finished.

Justin

Actually, if you were to coordinate your tail numbers, you could build the same plane even. The 391st switched planes with the 90th after the first OEF deployment (2002ish), and then when the 90th went to Raptors, they sent the jets back to MO with the 389th.

Aaron

[cook7997]

Aaron,

Looking good! It's nice to see Mountain Home get some attention on here. We are all just praying that they actually get the f-35 in the near future. Keep up the good work.

Cameron

[jminer]

Actually, if you were to coordinate your tail numbers, you could build the same plane even. The 391st switched planes with the 90th after the first OEF deployment (2002ish), and then when the 90th went to Raptors, they sent the jets back to MO with the 389th.

Aaron

I didn't know that. I learn something new here every time I log in. Thanks for the info, Aaron!

Justin

[shake zula the mic rula]

Cockpit looks great, Tim. You've done a great job getting the cockpit together. I agree with Aaron that the look of the tan cushions on the front and the black on the back give it some interest. I'm also a big fan of TwoBobs decals. I've got the T-Bolts Rule sheet (also from Mountain Home AFB), so it looks like we'll have brother squadron jets. Keep up the great work, can't wait to see yours finished.

Justin

Thank you. I'm just wondering if the carrier film is all over the sheet, or if they are so thin, I just can't see it.

Actually, if you were to coordinate your tail numbers, you could build the same plane even. The 391st switched planes with the 90th after the first OEF deployment (2002ish), and then when the 90th went to Raptors, they sent the jets back to MO with the 389th.

Aaron

Interesting idea.........

[shake zula the mic rula]

Another update. Construction of the fuselage has begun. I built one of these back in 2001, before I knew anything about filler, or sanding for that matter. All I can say is, the fit is ok. Nothing great, but I've seen much worse.

Jet fuel starter, built and installed. Just a couple of brass tubes glued together with CA, then glued into the lower part of the fuselage.

GPS dot, built using the tip of one of the kits sidewinder missiles. I still have to finish sanding it down to the general shape.

One of the flaps that I have scored and lowered. I don't know if I was using a dull razor blade, or what, but all that scoring was a pain and took forever. You may notice a few oopsies around the flap area, fortunately the couple times the blade slipped it hit the fuselage, and not one of my fingers.

For some reason the airbrake doesn't want to sit flush with the fuselage. I may have to sand the underside of it just a little bit.

Some CA got on the fuselage, as a result of me sqeezing a little too hard. Still have some sanding to do there.

I don't know if it's visible in the pic, but there is a seam line that runs down the length of the canopy. Anyone have any tips on how to remove it?

Well, that's all for now. Comments, questions and critiques are welcome.

Tim

[HOLMES]

Jawdroping...

Gobsmacking..... :P

BLINKING BRILLIANT.... :( :(

[blunce]

I don't know if it's visible in the pic, but there is a seam line that runs down the length of the canopy. Anyone have any tips on how to remove it?

Hey Tim, go to the beauty isle at Target or Walmart and look in the nail section for a buffing square. Its a foam square with 4 different grades of "sandpaper" attached to it. By the time you get to #4, your plastic will be highly polished. That's what I use on my clear plastics. You may want to start with something like 400 or 600 before using level #1 on the buffing square.

BTW, MST is one of my favorite shows, and great to have on in the background whilest modeling!

Your Eagle's coming along real nicely!

Edit* I could be wrong, but I think I read somewhere that the speed brake (on the real thing) doesn't sit flush, and actually lays on top of the fuselage like you have it there in the pic. Check around, can't remember where here at ARC I read that.

Edited February 28, 2010 by blunce

[strikeeagle801]

Unfortunately the only pics I can find right now that show that area, I don't have permission to post, but as Brain said, the real deal does "stand proud" a little bit in the back as depicted in the kit. Looking good so far. One small critique...you've got the GPS dot in the wrong spot. Should be moved to the middle of the panel just forward of where you have it, right at the mid-point of the length of the airbrake.

Aaron

[limyc]

To remove the seamline on the canopy, I sand the seamline with sandpaper 400 -> 600 -> 1000 wet. Polish with polishing compound afterwards, dip into Future for the extra shine.