zukor85 Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 hey... looking good.. is tat coffee stains on the plane??? hahaha... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Murph Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 (edited) after looking at some pics, i've realised that some jets have a square box in front of the windshield, just behind the radome line, painted a light gray, whereas others don't have that. what is that box - is it jet specific, or would all current OIF jets not have that? Those are antennas, and they are present on all A through E model airframes. On early E models they were light ghost gray, as time went on, they changed to gunship gray (the same is true of two antennas on the wing leading edges), so you would have to check photos for a particular airframe to see which color they were. also - when the intakes are dropped; there is a variable vent behind the intakes, slightly rearward of the gun port - would that be open when the intakes are down? Those are the bypass doors which relieve excess pressure in the inlet. They would generally be open only on high speed flight. finally - what is the take off flap angle? Not sure on that. The flaps have two positions: full up or full down, and the only cockpit indicator is a pair of lights (there is no gauge) saying which position they are in. You're best option is to match photos. Somewhere in our academic courses they might have that number. Regards, Murph Edited February 4, 2006 by Murph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doctorpepper Posted February 4, 2006 Author Share Posted February 4, 2006 thanks murph. you're the best! - on the way to fill up those bypass doors. taxiing or at rest hardly constitutes "high speed flight", you'd think? shocking error by revell! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Murph Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 - on the way to fill up those bypass doors. taxiing or at rest hardly constitutes "high speed flight", you'd think? shocking error by revell! :) Doc, I don't know why, but the 1/72 Hasegawa kits have them slightly open also. Regards, Murph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doctorpepper Posted February 8, 2006 Author Share Posted February 8, 2006 right then, some progress to report. Our F-15GB threads seem to have died down a little; definitely not as rowdy as i thought it would be anyway, after much filling, and sanding and scribing and filling and checking and sanding and scribing, i'm about satisfied with the state of the plane. i'm also pretty tired of scribing and filling only to scribe again, and very eager to move on - so i took it up to the next level. Glued the pilots in place, as well as the HUD. the HUD base was painted with clear yellow, clear green, then silver; the frame painted using flat black. from many photos i notice that there's a section in the front of the front coaming that's usually much more brown than the rest of the black coaming, so i drybrushed that area more heavily. I also liberally drybrushed olive drab all over, helping to bring out some of the raised detail and giving the pit a much more "used" look the canopy rails were a b|tch to glue in - revell simply didn't make them fit. i had to sand the WSO's coaming down quite substantially and THEN use tenax and clips to ensure that the coaming stayed down (i reserve tenax for applications like these - when i need a good, strong joint) i'm probably going to drill a few rivets on the intakes, just for detail. Canopy seam has been eliminated, both have been polished and are awaiting installation. I've also filled in the intake pressure bleed vents, as recommended by murph here's my pilots saying "hi!" you can see more of the details i described above: hope to get in more progress; otherwise i'm gonna have to cut my builds to just 2 jets :D thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Liberator24 Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Keep it coming DOC!! Love the pics... "Where are the model pics though. All I keep getting are these pics of real aviation!!!" They look that cool!! Seriously, man!! The eagle looks great!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hawkhornet Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 HOW did you get those pilots to fit in?!? when i try their legs never fit in Looking great by the way stav Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ken Middleton Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 DP, wow - the crew and cockpit look great! Nice job on those crew figures Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doctorpepper Posted February 9, 2006 Author Share Posted February 9, 2006 HOW did you get those pilots to fit in?!? when i try their legs never fit inLooking great by the way stav stav, the pilots' legs had the outer half (ie on the side of their little toes) sanded off. they've only got a half leg below the knee. the arms were more of a problem to fix... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
volzj Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Nice job Doc. The crew looks great. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doctorpepper Posted February 11, 2006 Author Share Posted February 11, 2006 i've hit a speed bump here! i sprayed pale burnt metal alclad for my metal areas and realised it's the wrong shade what shade of ALCLAD should i use? i need to buy this from spruebrothers FAST. should i keep the previous layer of alclad and spray over it, or should i take it off? will spraying alclad over alclad affect the next layer's adhesion? thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
David Walker Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 Yeah, that would definitely be the wrong shade. I'd think Dark Aluminum or Steel (or perhaps a mix of the two or a mix with standard Aluminum) would be much better. And spraying over Alclad II shouldn't present any problems. Just go with thin coats as you would normally and build it up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Murph Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 (edited) Doc, While the metal is largely titanium there. the "titaniums" I have seen on the market are too dark. I would go with various shades of aluminum. Regards, Murph Edited February 11, 2006 by Murph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doctorpepper Posted February 11, 2006 Author Share Posted February 11, 2006 thanks guys i've decided more or less, to proceed with the build and handle the exhaust areas later, either with Alclad (if it gets here in time, but i'm sure Gordon will try his best), or if not, then with Gunze metalizers (which peel off when masked, and are fragile to buff). i'm not looking forward to going back to Gunze metalizers, but for such a shiny surface, Tamiya AS-12 is a no-no. Please do persuade me out of this if i'm taking a wrong road - especially for you guys who've painted the exhaust areas last! oh btw, i ordered Alclad aluminium, white aluminium and jet exhaust. David Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Murph Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 Doc, Another option is Floquil Old Silver and Bright Silver; they look very good when used for NMF areas and are quite durable. Here's apicture of Frank C's F-86 done using those colors and some tints. Regards, Murph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doctorpepper Posted February 12, 2006 Author Share Posted February 12, 2006 murph that looks fantastic - however, floquil would be the same for me - i'd still hae to order it internationally. are those acrylics or lacquers? thanks David Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Murph Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 Doc, They are lacquers and are generally carried by hobby shops that stock train items. Another option is to thin and spray Rub n' Buff. Regards, Murph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doctorpepper Posted February 14, 2006 Author Share Posted February 14, 2006 (edited) Murph, my man, and all reading this thread: had to take alternative actions for the bare metal exhaust areas. Titanium is a rather hard colour to duplicate, and after some deliberation i decided it looked more silver than aluminium... i sprayed tamiya AS-12 on all the areas i wanted silver (including some parts of the airframe, to be masked with liquid and peeled off later to simulate chipping). i then took my micro mesh out and polished it up to 12000, then used polishing compound to complete the job starboard exhaust is unpolished, port is polished. difference not so obvious, yet then i took out Rub n Buff Silver Leaf. Murph recommended i thin and spray it, i rather use it to polish. Thing is, i'm not too sure about the durability of this layer, especially to masking, but if i spray a coat of future, the shiny-ness kind of disappears. anyway, it was just a matter of sitting there and buffing for about 20 mins, carefully, and with a nice cloth, before the following results were achieved: up closer - i might need to Rub n Buff again i can tell you, it's a lot shinier than in the photos. if anyone has used this method before, or Rub n Buff, and knows how it stands up to masking, please do post recommendations! thanks Edited February 14, 2006 by doctorpepper Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doctorpepper Posted February 16, 2006 Author Share Posted February 16, 2006 need to know - does any brand of kit have the exhausts fully closed? i just realised this - that when the jet is taxiing, the exhausts would be fully closed.. correct me if i'm wrong murph (which would mean less work for me too :lol:) thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fiddler Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 well, if you don't succeed on this one, you still could hang it up the wall, and have a nice mirror ;) Great looking plane you got there! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Murph Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 i just realised this - that when the jet is taxiing, the exhausts would be fully closed.. correct me if i'm wrong murph (which would mean less work for me too ;))thanks Doc, Actually it's the other way around. As power is increased to Mil Power the nozzle closes. Once A/B is used they start opening up again. On the ground taxiing with the throttles in idle, the nozzles are almost full open. Regards, Murph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ken Middleton Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 need to know - does any brand of kit have the exhausts fully closed? i just realised this - that when the jet is taxiing, the exhausts would be fully closed.. correct me if i'm wrong murph (which would mean less work for me too B))thanks Dp - check on my pic I posted in this thread back on Jan 23 that shows the backend of an F-15E Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doctorpepper Posted February 16, 2006 Author Share Posted February 16, 2006 hallelujah! i don't have to cut or convert anything! thanks guys Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doctorpepper Posted February 17, 2006 Author Share Posted February 17, 2006 went out and bought tamiya TS-30 silver leaf in a spray can, shot it over the lower engine section as i felt that the AS-12 wasn't silvery enough. surface was pebbly and recessed detail was starting to go missing, so i decided to sand things down, rescribe the panel lines and rivets in that area - took me about an hour. She's now drying, a new TS-30 coat has been laid down, will try to polish it up tomorrow after it cures, and take some photos so that you guys can see the diff between AS-12 and TS-30! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doctorpepper Posted February 21, 2006 Author Share Posted February 21, 2006 just about zero progress on my bird since you last saw it - maybe a few lines on the tails have been deepened. i might as well share what's occupying all of my available time - here's my workplace... i spend 12 hours a day here, eat 2 meals here, drink countless cups of coffee here. it's a subsonic wind tunnel which i'm using to do my research for my honours thesis; on low velocity flow past a cavity. a concurrent project is being run by a graduate student on flow past a cavity at transonic and supersonic speeds for his PhD my cavity setup, made entirely out of acrylic. along the way, i used modelling skills to good effect - filling with putty, sanding, polishing to minimise surface friction losses. i also learnt how to use a manual lathe and mill (yes, non CNC... i wish we had CNC though). at the bottom of the picture is the pressure transducer unit to take the pressure readings, before it is converted to a digital signal to be saved in an aging Pentium 2 MMX computer. and just last week, i finished all the readings i had to take, so i started on flow visualisation. due to a lack of time, i could not afford to use smoke wire, and had to settle for simple tuft visualisation. simple as it is, sticking those tufts makes me wanna bang my head against the wall - definitely more tedious than having to paint 32 bombs for a F-15E. tomorrow, i take a break and go off to Asian Aerospace. sadly, my camera is non-SLR, and with no 300+mm lenses, good pictures of the flying display will be hard to come by. i can guarantee that i will snap hundreds of photos of the F-15E if i can get close to it; and it will inspire me to get back on my build!. then it's back to the lab - the tufts i used so far are a little too short, gotta try a longer one until i get the necessary images. - a very sleepy and tired doc Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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