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Began this build well, then disaster struck in a moment of pure idiocy. 

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I laid it down in a puddle of plastic cement..... Nice. 

 

Then, I had this: 

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Will not be using heat guns so nonchalantly anymore. 

 

FLash forward a week later: 

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This is after 5-6 rounds of putty/sand and priming. No scribing, and some detail is gone, but oh well, its workable. 

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Close up on the fix. 

 

Fast forward another week (to last night): 

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First coat of MM Gunship Gray is down and smooth as can be hoped for. 

 

Now I wait. Let it cure up for 72 hours minimum and work on weapons/other models in the meantime. 

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Update 1:

 

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Drop tanks and LANTIRN pods (and wonky landing gear that will not stop bending and breaking). Time for a gloss coat and decals)

 

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Bombs away! So many freaking bombs! Model Master Khaki Green was the color of choice here. 

 

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SIdewinders all gussied up in white. Could not find a definitive guide to what color the missiles should be with these or the AMRAAMs. Nor for the JDAMs either for that matter. So I went with what contrasts the Gunship grey best, and that is a nice semi gloss white. Gloss coat and decals to follow. 

 

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Decided on a semi gloss white tip and a 50/50 mix of gunship gray and flat white for the rest of the body. Felt it accurately protrayed some of the AMRAAM photos I have seen. Again not much definitive single official color on these. 

 

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Finally, the masking is peeled and next step will be to paint the radome, likely a slightly darker shade of gunship gray/dark gray mix. We shall see. 

 

Stay Tuned.... 

Edited by Flyboy3394
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9 hours ago, Pappy121 said:

G'day Flyboy,

 


I would suggest FS36375 (light ghost grey) for the missile bodies, and for the guidance sections and fins of the AIM-9X, a drk metallic grey (not black),

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

 

Great advice! I will try that! I have the perfect paint for the guidance sections on the AIM-9X too!

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Looking good and nice saves!  I'm not sure how accurate you want your loadout to be, but the AIM-9X isn't in service yet with USAF F-15E's.  If you have any spare AIM-9M's around, that's what you want.  Also, for USAF birds, the JDAMs would only go on the bottom CFT stations- not the shoulder stations.   USAF Strike Eagles only have smart weapon interfaces on the wing and centerline stations (2, 5, 8) and the bottom conformal stations (LC/RC 1, 2, and 3).  I believe Academy intends to repackage the plastic as an F-15K, which is why it comes with all those weapons.   

 

Steve

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On 9/2/2017 at 6:26 PM, Falconxlvi said:

Looking good and nice saves!  I'm not sure how accurate you want your loadout to be, but the AIM-9X isn't in service yet with USAF F-15E's.  If you have any spare AIM-9M's around, that's what you want.  Also, for USAF birds, the JDAMs would only go on the bottom CFT stations- not the shoulder stations.   USAF Strike Eagles only have smart weapon interfaces on the wing and centerline stations (2, 5, 8) and the bottom conformal stations (LC/RC 1, 2, and 3).  I believe Academy intends to repackage the plastic as an F-15K, which is why it comes with all those weapons.   

 

Steve

 

Hmm, well I shall keep that in mind when mounting weapons! Thanks for the tips!

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Update 2: 

 

Got the nose painted 

X8v2bLY.jpg

 

I used MM R.N. Dark Gray. It is ever so slightly darker than the gunship gray I used for the rest of the body. 

However, upon peeling the masking, I found this: 

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The smallest possible area where the Radome meets the rest of the body did not get covered. So, I have waited around 60 hours and will be recoating tonight in that area to get proper coverage. 

 

Next up are the missiles: 

Fx4S0vU.jpg

I painted the sidewinders white, but after being advised that light ghost gray is the more proper color, I will be going back and recoating with that. 

 

0ucTcEX.jpg

For the AMRAAMs (AIM-120) I went with a 80/20 mix of flat white and gunship gray. It actually netted me what I think looks almost perfectly like light ghost gray, so I will stick with that. 

 

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Pulled the masking off and this was the result! Love it! Next I will go with a gunmetal gray on the guidance sections. Then the yellow stripe and brown stripe denoting live warhead and rocket engine.... 

 

Next up: re-coating mistakes and prepping for decals (i.e. gloss coat). Then will be moving to masking and painting the canopy. Any suggestions on colors for the canopy? 

 

Stay tuned...... 

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Update 3:

 

Canopy is masked and ready to rock. God masking tiny parts like this make me wish I was working on a 1/48th scale so badly. 

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Shot with a good bit of Gunship Gray enamel

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Some of the masking removed to check on how it held up and resisted paint leakage. Verdict: I overmasked!

 

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ost important update of the day: fixed up radome paint! 

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Came out wonderfully. Just dark enough to b distinguished from the gunship gray, but its subtle. I am a happy camper here. 

 

 

Next comes clear coating EVERYTHING and prepping for decals. 

 

Stay Tuned.....

Edited by Flyboy3394
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4 hours ago, kike said:

Did you spray black first so it can be seen on the interior of the cockpit as a frame color? anyway the reslut is great! very clean!

 

Wow, I didn't even think of doing that. I guess I should go ahead and do so while the other bits are curing.... Thanks for the tip!

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Update 4: 

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She is coated with future and ready for decals! Getting close! 

 

Missiles have been rocoated in acrylic light ghost grey and are drying in preparation for future and decals

 

Next steps: decals, another coat of future, then panel wash! 

 

Stay Tuned..... 

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Update:

 

Put down the gloss black coat down and it went on super smooth!

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Then, I sprayed Alclad Stainless Steel and got the glossiest, most reflective NMF I have ever seen. Forgot to post pics but will update soon. 

 

Next: Armament: 

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Got most of the AMRAAM decals placed. Those brown and yellow lines are a real PITA to get perfect! JDAMs are futured and ready for decaling. 

 

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The rest of the decal work I completed a couple nights ago. First time ever using waterslides but it worked pretty well! So many more to go though. I do not think I wil be able to use all the decals. Just too many and I am getting impatient about completing this bad boy! 

 

Next up: more decals, NMF finish, and panel wash! 

 

Stay Tuned!

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6 minutes ago, my favs are F`s said:

Aqua Gloss applied with a normal brush or with an airbrush? There is some mighty ginormous difference... :)) I think that this is a brush treatment and so it looks so... glossy?! 

 

Can't tell if you're being sarcastic but no it is not brushed. I use my airbrush as Alclad is all formulated for airbrush use out of bottle. The finish certainly dulled a bit with the aqua gloss, but it is going to do that no matter what I do, barring doing such a light coat that the finish wouldn't be protected. 

 

It came out far brighter than I expected so I do not mind a bit of dulling. 

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Aham, copy that. Allright then. :thumbsup:

It`s not sarcastic of course. :) Just try sometimes Aqua Gloss with a brush when you can. It leaves some flawless glossy coverage (the best, in my opinion). The key is to apply it on a "thicker" layer and let it set by itself until it dries completely for about a dozen minutes. Using as less as possible strokes with the brush, during the first few seconds of the application, then let it set. But that`s only if you strive to achieve the glossiest shiny effect. I could say that it is comparable to the result after using a polishing compound. And because it`s Alclad, it gives another advantage - a great protection effect for further treatments with either enamel or acrylic paints. ;)

 

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1 hour ago, my favs are F`s said:

Aham, copy that. Allright then. :thumbsup:

It`s not sarcastic of course. :) Just try sometimes Aqua Gloss with a brush when you can. It leaves some flawless glossy coverage (the best, in my opinion). The key is to apply it on a "thicker" layer and let it set by itself until it dries completely for about a dozen minutes. Using as less as possible strokes with the brush, during the first few seconds of the application, then let it set. But that`s only if you strive to achieve the glossiest shiny effect. I could say that it is comparable to the result after using a polishing compound. And because it`s Alclad, it gives another advantage - a great protection effect for further treatments with either enamel or acrylic paints. ;)

 

Ahh I see. 

 

I did not know that was possible being that it is thinned already. But, I will give er a go next time I am clear coating. Most of the time i am doing NMF, I want the most brilliant shine possible, so anything to help is appreciated! 

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Update: Tried using Model master acrylic wash. Well... it ended up awful. Dried too fast, and became near impossible to get off without rubbing alcohol. 

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Needless to say, I should have waited to use my oil paint. 

 

Any tips on stripping this crap off without destroying the enamel underneath? 

 

This is gonna put a damper on the project for sure. 

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On 9/21/2017 at 12:00 PM, Falconxlvi said:

Oh man, bummer!   If it's enamel paint underneath, try using Model Master acrylic thinner (their acrylic airbrush thinner)...that's about all I got 😬

 

Steve

I tried their thinner. Did not do a damn thing. So I used 90% ISO alc. Worked, but stripped down to paint, and destroyed most of my hard decal work too! Maybe it is because I used an acrylic wash on top of Future, which is acrylic? Wow. I really mucked this up. 

 

On that note, anyone know of a good 1/72 scale F15e decal sheet I could buy to replace the destroyed ones? 

Edited by Flyboy3394
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9 minutes ago, Falconxlvi said:

Bummer.  Well, Hasegawa makes a good 1/72 F-15E sheet that has a ton of options for Seymour and Mountain Home jets.  

 

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on EBay right now for about $21 USD shipped!

Falcon you are a lifesaver! Ordered! 

 

Now... to strip all that gunk off!

Edited by Flyboy3394
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