Drew T. Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 Hi Guys! After completing my F/A-18, my next project is Revell’s F-15E that I have had in the stash for years. I got lazy and didn’t do an in-progress thread on the Hornet, so I figured I better do one this time. After reading reviews of later issues of Revell’s Strike Eagle, I’m glad I got the kit back when it was first released. My copy was molded in Korea and has very crip detailing with no flash compared to the later copies 10-20 years later that were molded in China and look noticably rougher. Below are the add-on’s I’ll be using: Aires cockpit ResKit’s wheels Quickboost seats because I didn’t want to mess with the PE seatbelts in the Aires cockpit Quickboost horizontal stabilizers (I might regret buying these since I can’t see much difference between them and the kit stabilizers) Phase Hanger War Reserve Material Drop Tanks Phase Hanger Pylons with LAU-128D/A Missile Rails Hypersonic JFS Exhaust Master AoA probes Eduard Brassin AIM-120C missiles Eduard Brassin Lantirn navigation and targeting pods Eduard Brassin AIM-9L/M missiles Eduard Brassin GBU-12 (not looking forward to building 9 of these bad boys) TwoBob’s Decals OIF Throwback Noseart of the 336th FS Top Detail TD23112 0.8mm Rivets for the CFT pylons Masterclub MC435055 0.8mm Hex Nuts for the CFT pylons I got the idea to use the rivets from Vedran’s excellent build thread here: http://www.maketarstvo.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29525 I’ll be using his build as guidance, as well as Jeffrey K’s great looking build on Britmodeler here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234940521-f-15e-97-0219-148/&tab=comments#comment-2439941 Below is the jet I’m modeling, which is Shangri-La II. https://www.airfighters.com/photo/239673/M/USA-Air-Force/McDonnell-Douglas-F-15E-Strike-Eagle/88-1671/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Da SWO Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 I'm going to follow this build. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kurnass77 Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 3 hours ago, Da SWO said: I'm going to follow this build. Me too Gianni Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drew T. Posted January 3, 2022 Author Share Posted January 3, 2022 I meant to post more yesterday, but I had problems and couldn't connect to the forums after the first post. Here's the progress so far. I’ve had the Two Bobs decal sheet since it was first released and I always wanted to do a model of Shangri La II. I think the Revell kit is a good option for this subject since the Strike Eagles in 2003 had yet to receive many of the upgrades they have today and aren’t included in the Revell kit. I was going to get the Wolfpack update set for this build, but it is practically made of unobtanium and much of it is not needed for a 2003 era jet. To start, I’m deeped all the panel lines with a Tamiya 0.15mm saw. It's alot of work, but makes applying the panel line wash easier and evens out the panel line depth, since they can be shallow in certain areas due to limitations of the mold design. The canopy is the trickiest part to engrave the panel lines, but it’s doable with tape and patience. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drew T. Posted January 3, 2022 Author Share Posted January 3, 2022 (edited) Sorry for the multiple posts. I get a form error if I have too much text in one post. I also used the same saw to cut along the sides of the flaps on the vertical stabs and wings. This looks more realistic since you can see daylight at this joint on the real plane. I completely cut out the outer horizontal flaps so I can reattach them in the lowered position. I also thinned the trailing edges of the wings since they look too thick. Curiously, the trailing edges of the vertical stabilizers are much thinner. The fuel dump at the tip of each wing was opened up with a tiny drill bit. I opened up the regenerative heat exchanger exhaust and used aluminum from a soda can to simulate the louvers. Edited January 3, 2022 by Drew T. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drew T. Posted January 3, 2022 Author Share Posted January 3, 2022 Next was the cockpit. I had to thin the sidewalls of the kit in the fuselage to get the Aires cockpit to fit. Painting the cockpit involved priming with black Mr. Surfacer. I then masked the screens and consoles and painted the rest dark gull gray. I used some Air scale decals on the seats and instrument panels. I followed up with an oil wash, clear flat, then some drybrushing with light gray. Finally, I applied a thin coat of UV glue on the screens to get a dark, shiny finish. That's all for now. Next up, I'll work on detailing the nose gear bay so I can get the nose assembled. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 WOW, great start so far !! LOVE the Strike Eagle and, I'll be following along as well. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Janissary Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 Great start! I'll be following with great interest. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drew T. Posted January 4, 2022 Author Share Posted January 4, 2022 Thanks guys! I'll try to keep this thread updated throughout the build. Drew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 Off to a great start! That's a dapper looking pit! Following along : ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Nice! I've got one in the stash, hoping to build it sometime soon. Your timing is perfect 😉 Lovelly pit! I absolutely love the yellow stipped details. Were they decals or do You happen to have a bunch of 1/48 scale mini helpers? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drew T. Posted January 13, 2022 Author Share Posted January 13, 2022 Thanks guys! Thadeus, to answer your question, all the yellow and black stripes came from the Airscale decal set for modern cockpits. The have a couple of different sizes of yellow/black stripes to choose from on the sheet. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drew T. Posted February 4, 2022 Author Share Posted February 4, 2022 Hi guys, finally finished with the landing gear. This is one of my least favorite parts of a build, so I try to get it done early and out of the way. I added some detail to the nose gear and nose gear bay, but didn’t try to go overboard since the front nose gear door would be positioned closed. The main landing gear took more work. The detail Revell provided is okay and mostly accurate, but definitely simplified when compared with the real thing. I thought I would go blind trying to figure out where all the linkages are located in photos of the gear bay, but I think I managed to replicate most of it. Revell completely left off the front section of the main gear bay, but since the front main gear door is normally closed, I just opened up the section that the kit blocked off and added a basic structure to replicate what little of this area is visible. The detail I added is all made from sheet and strip styrene and stretched sprue. The wiring is all made from lead wire. The landing gear doors were all thinned down to a more realistic thickness. The brackets on the nose gear door were replaced with thinner sheet styrene and the molded in linages for the main gear doors were removed and replaced with scratchbuilt linkages. Next, I’ll paint, decal, and weather the landing gear bays so I can finally start construction of the nose and body. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 That's unbelievable work, Drew. Just how do you do that -- shaping and gluing all those microscopic bits together so clean and straight -- not a single wonky alignment. Mind if I ask what kind of glue you use to build these things? Cause Tamiya thin cement would melt those tiny bits right off and gel glue will ooze out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 WOW, fantastic work Drew !! LOVE seeing "old school" scratch-building especially when it's done to this caliber. Here's my question, to you and others I've seen do it, don't those thin pieces of tape become unstuck over time or, does the paintwork help hold it in place ?? Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drew T. Posted February 5, 2022 Author Share Posted February 5, 2022 23 hours ago, crackerjazz said: That's unbelievable work, Drew. Just how do you do that -- shaping and gluing all those microscopic bits together so clean and straight -- not a single wonky alignment. Mind if I ask what kind of glue you use to build these things? Cause Tamiya thin cement would melt those tiny bits right off and gel glue will ooze out. Thanks Crackerjazz! Actually, I do use Tamiya extra thin! I try to place the glue in areas that won't be seen when everything's assembled. I also try to use as little as possible to avoid how much it melts the parts. 19 hours ago, A-10 LOADER said: WOW, fantastic work Drew !! LOVE seeing "old school" scratch-building especially when it's done to this caliber. Here's my question, to you and others I've seen do it, don't those thin pieces of tape become unstuck over time or, does the paintwork help hold it in place ?? Steve Thanks Steve! This is the first time I've tried using Tamiya tape to replicate straps. I'm hoping the paint will help hold the tape in place. In areas where it didn't want to stay down, I used a tiny bit of CA to hold it down. Drew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 Fantastic work Drew! As a former F-15E driver, I can confirm you are knocking this one out of the park. Looking forward to seeing this one finished up! Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kurnass77 Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 Love all the job done ever since, will be useful when start mine...I hope Gianni Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drew T. Posted February 9, 2022 Author Share Posted February 9, 2022 On 2/7/2022 at 11:58 AM, Falconxlvi said: Fantastic work Drew! As a former F-15E driver, I can confirm you are knocking this one out of the park. Looking forward to seeing this one finished up! Steve Thanks Steve! On 2/7/2022 at 1:00 PM, kurnass77 said: Love all the job done ever since, will be useful when start mine...I hope Gianni Thanks Gianni! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drew T. Posted February 13, 2022 Author Share Posted February 13, 2022 (edited) Hi guys, I just finished up with painting and decaling the landing gear. The paint used is Mr. Color off white C69. With the oleos, I usually use bare metal foil, but I decided to try something different this time. Alclad chrome works well for replicating polished metal, so I use that instead. It requires a smooth glossy base to get a polished look, so I first painted the oleos with Mr. Color GX2. This gives a very glossy finish that works well for the Alclad chrome. Then I sprayed a coat of Alclad chrome. I did all this before painting the rest of the landing gear white, so once the Alclad was sprayed, I masked it off for the rest of the painting and weathering process. After painting, I used the landing gear decals included in the Hypersonic decal set for the Odyssey Dawn mission. I sprayed a light coat of light gray on the tire treads and used a black wash to highlight the tread. The decals for the serial numbers on the nose gear door were too small, so I made my own masks using my Silhouette cutter and sprayed the numbers. The landing gear, landing gear bay, and wheels all received a wash of Ammo panel line wash black night. To seal everything, I sprayed a semi gloss clear of 50:50 mix of Mr. Color UV Cut Super Clear Flat and Clear Gloss. Also, I wasn’t happy with the look of the MFD screens on the instrument panels. I had used UV glue to replicate the glass screen, but it never seemed to fully cure and didn’t dry very flat or smooth. I stripped it off and cut out pieces from a sheet of thin clear plastic packaging material. The pieces were cut and sanded to fit in the MFD screen area. The back of the pieces were sprayed black and they were glued into place. I now had a very flat shiny black surface that better replicated the MFD screens. That’s all for now. Thanks for looking! Drew Edited February 13, 2022 by Drew T. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 Yikes!! You're one deadly modeller : ) How big are those numbers that you made Cricut masks for? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cruiz Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 I love your work, Drew; the scratch building is top-notch, and I'll save this build as a reference for mine. Those MFDs look much better now, a wise choice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 Stellar work Drew ! Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drew T. Posted February 13, 2022 Author Share Posted February 13, 2022 Thanks crackerjazz, cruiz, and Steve! The numbers on the inside nose gear door are about 0.1 inches tall in 1/48. I tried to size them based on photos of 4th FW Eagles around the 2003 time frame. I'm much happier with how the MFD's look now. I'll probably use this technique on future builds as well. Drew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JeffreyK Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 Great work!! You're as mad as me, rebuilding the wheel wells. I did the same on my build a few years ago, but not to your excellent standard! J Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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