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Mighty 1:32 Tamiya F-15E Strike Eagle


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Looking very, very nice. IT is good to finally have some F-15 Exhaust that are the correct length, and not the 3/16" to long like the kit parts. Even the flight path kit is to long. The work is very, very nice and clean, and look forward to seeing the exh painted up.

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Wow, really amazing work detailing the nozzles, it really sets them apart!

Good idea to get rid of those seams by dipping them in latex, once they are dark, weatherd and closed the seam will be invisible.

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Marcel

Thank you Marcel rolleyes.gif I ended up doing a 4th pouring session.... It should be fine now dry.gif

Awesome work, mate!

I appreciate yer kind words Janne :D/>

Are you kidding me! Holy cow - Amazing work man! Simply stunning detail!

Thank you Mike :)/> Great to hear from ya, I appreciate it!!!

Looking very, very nice. IT is good to finally have some F-15 Exhaust that are the correct length, and not the 3/16" to long like the kit parts. Even the flight path kit is to long. The work is very, very nice and clean, and look forward to seeing the exh painted up.

Hi Ghatherly... I didn't realize that the FP kit was too long as well!!! It might be difficult to find these TM nozzles since he has taken a hiatus for the time being dry.gif Of course it might be just as easy to assemble the kit nozzles then chop the 3/16" out from there.... Thanks for the kind words :cheers:/>

/Jesse

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello friends!

Sorry for the lack of updates on this Mudhen build, but the nozzles have proven to be a huge undertaking and definitely not for the faint of heart!!! i figure that over 150 parts have been added to EACH nozzle.... although I'm not complaining, since I really enjoyed putting it all together one piece at a time!!!

Tamiya includes the 100/200 engines which are not accurate for any of the later Strike Eagles dry.gif I figure life's too short to worry about it, so here they are after various Alclad II paints and some Tamiya weathering kits were used to represent discoloration from the extreme heat...

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It was a long hard fought battle to get to this point...

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The Eduard PE parts didn't exactly fall into place... or even fit properly for that matter dry.gif

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It's not real pretty this close-up, but it looks good with the naked eye rolleyes.gif/> The Eduard parts did not fit between the actuator arms, so each part was individually chopped up to ensure a proper fit... I also opted to go with the kit's actuator arms, simply because they look better than the resin parts and that nasty seams down the middle of each "arm" is supposed to be there!!! Of course, each actuator arm was shortened to the correct length as well....

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Edited by JesniF-16
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Finally... The nozzles are all painted up and ready for inspection :woot.gif:/>

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Mainly Alclad II paints are used as well as some enamels.... All different techniques were used to apply the paint (airbrush, paintbrush, drybrush) Pastel washes and Tamiya weathering sets were used to add further weathering :rolleyes:/>

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One thing about the Alclad Gold Titanium.... you can barely see the gold tint while or after you are finished spraying the color.... but beware, when you lay down the gloss coat, this stuff turns bright azz Gold!!!! Just figured I'd get it out there in case anyone cares dry.gif

 

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And why not.... Here's the reality of macro photography :D/>

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So there you have it, so glad I decided to do this project now rather than later just for the fact that one might lose a bit of steam later in the build! I started work on the office and I have all weekend to build, so hopefully I can get something done over there!!! I really look forward to dealing with the cockpit and pilots for a change of pace... Any comments or critiques are welcome and appreciated! Thanks for your continued interest :cheers:/>

/Jesse

Edited by JesniF-16
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Now you know why the old CE kits fetch such big dollars, as doing it this way or the FP way is a tremendous amount of work. I found out after my engines were done about the seam on the actuator arms is supposed to be their as you mention, maybe a weld of some sort on the real part. You work looks fantastic, just keep resisting the urge to throw them across the room every so often and you will be OK! LOL... Tamiya may have chosen to use the 100/220 exhausts because the first 100 or so Mudhens had the 220E for power, with the 229 being introduced at about mid production. To build for the 229, don't forget you will need the side cooling air scoop that vents the engine bay that mounts in place of the pop out vent doors. And Tamiya, never to make things simple, gave all the eagle kits engine fans are almoooost for the 229,....go figure????

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Jesse Buddy. I have a good comment and a slightly negative comment, which I provide for the very same reason Guy tries to keep me in line when I stray sometimes- We just want to help. The negative comment is that the gold/yellow color on collar of those exhausts just has to go. I've never seen that before. Shouldn't it be bluish?

The very positive comment is that the rest of the exhaust is SPECTACULAR!! Holy crap you did a great job! How did you do the staining on the interior?

Now get out some Alclad Hotmetal Blue and fix those collars!

Very cool macro pic, BTW. I've never had the guts to show the same. :whistle:

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Now you know why the old CE kits fetch such big dollars, as doing it this way or the FP way is a tremendous amount of work. I found out after my engines were done about the seam on the actuator arms is supposed to be their as you mention, maybe a weld of some sort on the real part. You work looks fantastic, just keep resisting the urge to throw them across the room every so often and you will be OK! LOL... Tamiya may have chosen to use the 100/220 exhausts because the first 100 or so Mudhens had the 220E for power, with the 229 being introduced at about mid production. To build for the 229, don't forget you will need the side cooling air scoop that vents the engine bay that mounts in place of the pop out vent doors. And Tamiya, never to make things simple, gave all the eagle kits engine fans are almoooost for the 229,....go figure????

Thanks for the great info ghatherly! I've never seen the CE set but I really gotta hand it to you for doing the FP set... you must be insane!!!! And thanks for the heads up on the side cooling air scoop :thumbsup:/>

Jesse Buddy. I have a good comment and a slightly negative comment, which I provide for the very same reason Guy tries to keep me in line when I stray sometimes- We just want to help. The negative comment is that the gold/yellow color on collar of those exhausts just has to go. I've never seen that before. Shouldn't it be bluish?

The very positive comment is that the rest of the exhaust is SPECTACULAR!! Holy crap you did a great job! How did you do the staining on the interior?

Now get out some Alclad Hotmetal Blue and fix those collars!

Very cool macro pic, BTW. I've never had the guts to show the same. whistle.gif

I appreciate the very constructive criticism Chuck, I agree that after I saw these pics, deep down I knew the doughnuts were just too dang gold dry.gif I think I can come up with a good solution.... I feel that it's necessary to keep a very subtle amount of gold tint, but I plan to add some more aluminum to the majority of the rings to tone it all down. Then a quick swipe with the hot blue Tamiya pastel.... I keep meaning to order the Alclad hot blue dry.gif I also appreciate the kind comment as well :D/> The inside was a mixture of sand & white enamel, then the black streaks/stains are painted with paynes grey oil color (takes forever to dry)... After that a highly thinned grimy black mix to meld things together and finally some Tamiya weathering set soot & rust colors. I will post new pics tomorrow if all goes well :thumbsup:/> Thanks again :cheers:/>

/Jesse

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Jesse, these nozzles are the best i've ever seen. But like chuck said, the doughnuts are too gold. A bit less would be good.

Keep up the superb work, this is going to be an awesome mudhen!!

Pat

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Jesse, these nozzles are the best i've ever seen. But like chuck said, the doughnuts are too gold. A bit less would be good.

Keep up the superb work, this is going to be an awesome mudhen!!

Pat

Thanks for the huge compliment Patrick :thumbsup:/> i will post new pics later today!

Jesse- the most accurate side intakes being made are in the Isracast F-15I conversion kit. I don't know of anyone making these as a separate item.

Thanks for the info ghatherly, I will definitely do a bit of research then look into either the Isracast set or some scratch building work :rolleyes:/>

/Jesse

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On 7/6/2013 at 11:53 AM, hornet97 said:

Wow, how did I miss this don`t really like air force birds but I`m sure you`ll do it justice, Jesse. 271.gif

Hello Hornet97... Hope yer Navy bird projects are going well. Thank you for your vote of confidence rolleyes.gif

Here are some new pics of the nozzles... It seems that I could still do more :hmmm:/> I am open to suggestions here guys.... Maybe I need to order some Alclad II hot blue and hot red to maybe add a bit more interest to the doughnuts ;)/> so for now this is where they stand until I come up with a new plan!!!

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Maybe this looks more better than before.... Or maybe I need to introduce a new metal color variant. Maybe it's fine the way it is.... I seem to have hit a wall on this one, any suggestions are welcome.

/Jesse

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Maybe this looks more better than before.... Or maybe I need to introduce a new metal color variant. Maybe it's fine the way it is.... I seem to have hit a wall on this one, any suggestions are welcome.

/Jesse

1000% better Jesse! I think they look perfect- no need for any more blue! Sorry to pressure you so much before (I should have done it by PM instead), but it was a spur of the moment thing to "save" your fantastic work so far. It would have been a real shame to have this perfect looking Strike Eagle with the Golden Arches around the burner cans. :D

On another topic, your photography is bothering me a bit too. It's WAY better than mine!

Edited by chuck540z3
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Wow~~really nice nozzles!! This F-15 is going to be a super detailed build, right?

Thank you Anzo biggrin.gif/> Yes this is a super detailed Strike Eagle and hopefully it'll be done by 2020 blink.gif/>

1000% better Jesse! I think they look perfect- no need for any more blue! Sorry to pressure you so much before (I should have done it by PM instead), but it was a spur of the moment thing to "save" your fantastic work so far. It would have been a real shame to have this perfect looking Strike Eagle with the Golden Arches around the burner cans. biggrin.gif

On another topic, your photography is bothering me a bit too. It's WAY better than mine!

Hey no problem Chuck... That's what this thread is for! I ordered some Alclad red & blue so I was pondering the thought of some very subtle salt weathering tricks when I receive shipment w00t.gif/> We shall see what happens.... The thing I have going for me is that I have a home made photo tent set up (permanently), so I can simply take the shots without messing around... not as good as your's, but always a white background dry.gif I think I'm up to 5 lights by now whistle.gif/> Thanks again Chuck 271.gif/>

/Jesse

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John, that is a great shot, but remember it is of the 220 motor, not the 229. The exhaust patterns are very different between the two engines, and Jesse is building a 229 jet I am pretty sure, sorry if I am wrong here. But irregardless, these are killer pictures of the top of the light gray's. Now take the top fuselage of the Tamiya F-15C kit and compare, and get ready for a filling and re-scribing project as they are very different. Revell got it very close on the layout, they just made the gaps wwaaaayyyy ttooooo Wwiiiddeee!!!!!!. Jesse, I thought my engines looked good, but man, you really upped the bar. Changing the color on the rings was the right thing to do. One other small detail is that with the electronic controls on the 229 engines, they are rarely the same burn pattern for both engines. They are usually close, but also can be very different, especially if there is a new engine mixed in with an older one. IAF RA'AM's show this in the Isracast book. Anyhow, keep up the great work!!

Edited by ghatherly
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One other small detail is that with the electronic controls on the 229 engines, they are rarely the same burn pattern for both engines. They are usually close, but also can be very different, especially if there is a new engine mixed in with an older one. IAF RA'AM's show this in the Isracast book.

-1 Deduction at a Model Contest! I wish I was kidding. ;)

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Excellent work on those exhausts!! w00t.gif

Thanks rom biggrin.gif

Your exhausts look great Jesse.

Here's a link to one of the best F-15 nozzle pic's I've seen, for comparison.

http://www.aero-cafe...FW_BBB_7788.jpg

Thanks John! and yes that pic is a good one.... I've studied that photo for hours, but I can't figure out how to replicate it :(/>

John, that is a great shot, but remember it is of the 220 motor, not the 229. The exhaust patterns are very different between the two engines, and Jesse is building a 229 jet I am pretty sure, sorry if I am wrong here. But irregardless, these are killer pictures of the top of the light gray's. Now take the top fuselage of the Tamiya F-15C kit and compare, and get ready for a filling and re-scribing project as they are very different. Revell got it very close on the layout, they just made the gaps wwaaaayyyy ttooooo Wwiiiddeee!!!!!!. Jesse, I thought my engines looked good, but man, you really upped the bar. Changing the color on the rings was the right thing to do. One other small detail is that with the electronic controls on the 229 engines, they are rarely the same burn pattern for both engines. They are usually close, but also can be very different, especially if there is a new engine mixed in with an older one. IAF RA'AM's show this in the Isracast book. Anyhow, keep up the great work!!

Thanks Gary... just last night I scored a set of Astra decals 3201B (Lakenhenth) & also a set of TB Mountain Home Avengers sheets from Ebay. I'm assuming that either of the markings would be for the 229 engines but I haven't researched any time frames yet. At least i will be able to choose a jet from one of those sheets and go from there dry.gif

Yup!! The tailpipes look great. The turbine and flame holder look great as well.

Don

Thanks Don for the boost of confidence :rolleyes:/>

-1 Deduction at a Model Contest! I wish I was kidding. wink.gif

So if the model has two engines and the burn patterns are different, they would deduct for that? It just seems so petty dry.gif

/Jesse

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Jesse, You are correct, both of those air wings are the -229 motors. Last I knew all of the -220E jets were in North Carolina at Seymour Johnson Air Base. Everyone else is flying -229's, with some of the Korean, Saudi, and Singapore using GE -129 power. The two most recent build USAF Mudhens are at Lakenheath, I would have to look up the serial number if you need it, but happy to look it up for you if you want to build that particular bird.

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