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Revell 1/32 F-15B, 74-0141, NASA 836


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I bought a second hand Revell 1/32 F-15C, kitnumber 4759. It came in this box :

194364-12192-79.jpg?nr=4800&company=revell&name=mcdonnel%20douglas%20f-15c%20eagle

But inside the box I found all the parts for a two-seater, except for the left and right forward fuselage halves and the seats. The conformal fuel tanks and 2 ASAT missiles are also in the box.

Most of the parts were loose in the box, some of them were already painted.

I had no idea what to do with this two-seater, untill I saw pictures of the NASA F-15B, S/N 74-0141, NASA number 836.

It seems that every picture of this airplane shows some differences, I've decided to go for this version :

74-0141%2000.jpg

ed09-0183-28.jpg

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But without the test equipment under the belly :

ed09-0011-13.jpg

The seats look like those found in early F-16's, with "horns" on both sides. I will use the seats from CMK or True Details. The IP's and wheels will come from partsrparts. Exhausts will be from CAM or GTresin.

The forward fuselage parts will come from Revell or a fellow modeller.

The gold stripes will come from an AM decal sheet, the NASA "swooshes" will be homemade (or at least I will try to make them myself).

I'm no F-15 expert, please feel free to point me in the right direction to turn this kit into a F-15B.

In progress pics will follow today.

Sincerely

Pascal

Edited by Pascal D
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No sprue shots, all the parts were cut loose when I got the box, the sprues were no longer there.

I started with the bottom half of the fuselage. The sides and wheelbays were glued in place :

21092014%20(1).jpg

Needs a little filler and some sanding, the NACA ducts will be filled with placticard and putty :

21092014%20(2).jpg

21092014%20(3).jpg

The wings, stabilizers and fins all have two halves. These were glued together, the gaps filled with putty and the trailing edges sanded :

21092014%20(4).jpg

21092014%20(5).jpg

I'm having no luck in finding pictures of F-15B's. All the walkarounds deal with the D model. But I have an old Tamiya 1/48 F-15A and a Monogram F-15C. Would any of those be a good reference ?

Sincerely

Pascal

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With the help of a couple of fellow modellers, I now got some very nice pictures of this aircraft. Thank you very much guys.

I'm a lousy fotographer, but I'll try my best to show the results of today's work.

I filled the NACA ducts with pieces of plasticard, the rest of the gap was filled with CA glue and sprinkled with flour. The glue and the flour combo gives a quick drying filler that is also very strong.

The duct nearest to the camera has been sanded :

22092014%20(1).jpg

There's a rectangular piece of plastic - with two rectangular holes in it - that's not on the real aircraft, this had to go :

22092014%20(2).jpg

I used my dremel to sand off the piece. The heat of the sanding disc melts the plastic into the rectangular holes, so in one move I got rid of the excess plastic and the holes were filled :

22092014%20(5).jpg

There are supposed to be 2 pieces like this on in the Revell box, I'm missing one :

22092014%20(3).jpg

Fortunately these parts look different on the real aircraft, so I made the first of 2 out of a sheet of plasticard. The panels were scribed and six holes were drilled to simulate the screws (these are very visible on the real aircraft) :

22092014%20(4).jpg

22092014%20(6).jpg

That's it for today. Feel free to give comments on my updates.

Sincerely

Pascal

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The JFS (jet fuel starter) exhaust (round hole with louvres) looks like this :

28092014%20(1).jpg

But with the help of some fellow modellers, I found out that the louvres were removed and that the tube of the exhaust is visible on real aircraft. The ten louvres on both sides of the exhaust seem to be there on the real NASA F-15B, but I'm not sure as I haven't find a picture that shows this part of the aircraft.

For now I will leave those louvres in place.

I drilled a hole where the exhaust was and inserted (dryfit) a piece of plastic tube :

28092014%20(3).jpg

28092014%20(4).jpg

Under each engine nacelle there a thing that looks like a blade antenna. Are those fuel dump vents ? :

28092014%20(2).jpg

The intake trunks (is that the correct word, or am I talking elefants ?) had big seams on both sides. After a lot of sanding I poured latex paint in the trunks. It's the first time that I used this technique but the result looks very good :

28092014%20(5).jpg

28092014%20(6).jpg

Sincerely

Pascal

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Pascal,

That's really excellent work on the intakes. I've seen that technique used here quite effectively by Aigore. I haven't had the opportunity to try it myself, but you you're the 2nd person to verify how well it does work.

Joel

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Thanks for the replies guys. I have to say that the technique worked very well with just one coat of latex. I've poured a second coat in some spare intakes, but the result is not near as smooth as on the ones in my pictures.

I've cut off the little vanes under the nacelles and drilled 6 holes. Two more holes may be necessary, but I'm not sure yet.

Did a test with the Rivet-R from RB productions. Not my best rivet-job, some rivet lines have to be filled and redone, but I think that most will look OK under a couple of coats of paint :

B30092014%20(1).jpg

B30092014%20(2).jpg

I cut the panel that holds the sparrow out of the fuselage, a new panel will be installed, one that's flush with the fuselage :

B30092014%20(3).jpg

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Thanks Joel.

Did another test to make the rivets, this time I used copper tape.

Made a template from regular tape, put that on the copper tape and cut it to size. The copper tape was then glued on the model and the rivets were added.

The rivets are very fine, I wonder if they will still be visible after a couple of coats of paint :

NASA%20F15B%20001.jpg

NASA%20F15B%20002.jpg

NASA%20F15B%20003.jpg

In the pictures you can see that the rivets are not round but rectangular. That's because of the tool I used (a wheel from an old clock), but also because I didn't follow the same line on my second pass with the tool.

A next test will be to make the rivets in the tape before it's glued to the model. That way the rivets will be deeper and rounder because the copper tape is softer when it its still on its backing paper. I also will do the same with aluminium tape to see if there's a difference.

Then I will spray some paint over the 3 test patches and decide which one is best suitable for the job.

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Did the final test, this time I used aluminium tape. I added the rivets before I glued the tape on the model :

06102014%20(1).jpg

The wrinkles are clearly visible :

06102014%20(2).jpg

These were removed with the back of a brush and a piece of abrasive pad, you can clearly see that the alu-tape is thicker then the copper-tape :

06102014%20(3).jpg

06102014%20(4).jpg

After a coat of primer and a wash I becomes clear that this method is not suitable :

06102014%20(5).jpg

06102014%20(6).jpg

The result with the coppertape is better, but I don't have a tool to make nice round rivets in the tape. So I will opt for the first method (without tape), luckily there aren't that much visible rivets on this aircraft.

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@ pascal What spike said goes for the main gear as well. I have build this eagle several times. One got its main gear broken after 2 years of service. Use metal for strength or buy aftermarket full metal gear.

I like the alu tape, that can be used for the rear end of the fuselage.Looking forward to see the nex progress posting!

Edited by Eric2020
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Thanks for the info Eric. I will drill some holes in the landing gear struts and reinforce them with steel needles.

Did some more rivetting with the Mini Rivet-R and a drill. The result is not great, the rivets in the large squares will be filled and redone. But this time properly, not freehand but with a strip of brass or aluminium to guide the wheel of the Rivet-R :

10102014%20(1).jpg

Those on the side of the fuselage look OK :

10102014%20(2).jpg

Feel free to comment, all help is welcome.

Sincerely

Pascal

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More filling and more rivetting :

13102014%20(3).jpg

13102014%20(4).jpg

Still not 100%, but it looks good enough for the underside of the plane.

Made some more panels that come where the holders for the sparrows are on a regular F-15 :

13102014%20(5).jpg

The first one is glued in the body :

13102014%20(1).jpg

Some gaps need to be filled but it's flush with the fuselage :

13102014%20(2).jpg

Sincerely

Pascal

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Thanks for the replies guys :woot.gif:/>

Yesterday I got a cardboard box in the mail. This contained the parts that I ordered from partsrparts : http://partsrparts.homestead.com/F15parts.html

The detail is excellent and there are no bubbles in the resin. IP's, sideconsoles, rear instrument shroud and wheels. The IP's fit the Revell cockpit like a glove :

18102014%20(2).jpg

It also contained the nose parts that were missing in the kit :

18102014%20(3).jpg

Thank you Bruce, the quality of work is first class.

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