Impatient Pete Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 Hi all, I remember all the discussions as to the best way to make a Strike Eagle back before the Revell-Monogram kit was available. I never really paid too much attention but I remember things like the wheels and CFT's. Question is, what all would be involved (aside from the pit) in turning a Revell Strike Eagle into a non Strike Eagle. I'm not really interested in hearing a discussion about whether it's "worth it" or not BTW. What's "worth it" to one modeller, isn't worth it to a lesser motivated one and vice-versa, eh? So let's start off by leaving off the CFT's and grafting an old Monogram upper cockpit area to the Mudhen. Backfill and sand down the bulged gear doors. Now it starts to get picky... I also seem to recall something about the antennae on the vert stabs. Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Harv Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 From the Old Crew Dog himself, March 03...Maybe worth pinning? Hmmmm E to C or D... Mon Mar 31 11:57:55 2003 24.66.94.141 C/D model to E model differences First I will tell you that I have worked on all the models of the F-15 A through E from 74 model to 96 model E's, including the J when I was on exchange in Japan with JASDF and the I and S when I was Transient Alert at Lakenheath. The 96 models had more composite material on the airframe thus Gear door interiors and speedbrake interior have a ribbed structure. E to C/D starting from the Radome working back, general considering the C is a single seater and the D is a Tub. 1)Radome on the E does not have the Urethane boot on the tip (glossy portion on the C/D model) 2)ICS Antennas from the C/D, in between the blade Ant and aft of nose gear aft door on the underside of the nose replaced with flush mounted Ant. 3)HUD combining glass and fwd/aft cockpit instrumentation and CRT differences from C/D to E. 4) the E Canopy framing has ECS ducting installed due too the increased need for more cooling air for the backseater and avionics. 5)Wing root anti-collision lights are smaller and set closer to the wing root on the E then the C/D. 6)Speedbrake is beefed-up and has a small indentation on the aft Trailing edge for a hand hold for manual raising of the speedbrake on the E, also there should be no well for the speedbrake as on the real aircraft it lays flush on the skin of the airframe on all F-15's. 7) Just aft of the speedbrake there are 6 screens (three per side of the rectangular panel on the center line) this is the JFS (Jet Fuel Starter) chimney on the E, on the C/D there is one screen offset to the left for the JFS chimney, the panel in the middle is for additional avionics on the E. 8) The engine humps have additional doors to facilitate engine maintenance on the E as the C/D only has one for the engine forward mount and two for the aft mounts. 9) Rudders have an additional beef-up for the center hinge point on the E, this was being done to the C/D but through attrition. 10) A logo light was installed at the base of the Vertical stab on the E not on the C/D. 11) the E model horizontal stab has a reinforcing strip (sealant) raised line running along the leading edge dogtooth fairing mount, C/D models do not have this. 12) Stinger Ant or what we called nipples are of a different configuration from the C/D model to the E, references should be checked for the specific aircraft to be modeled as to what is installed. 13) All E models came from the factory with panel 128 removed, depending on time frame the A/B/C/D models these were not removed till 1991 after a mod was done. These are mods Nose to tail on the belly of the aircraft 14) Gun door has a bulge on the E referred to as the ext clip door, this was were we put our forms for the aircraft also access to the gun drum which the interior was modified from the D to E in having more avionics stuffed up inside of there as well. 15) Main forward Gear doors are bulged on the E for the beefed-up landing gear and increased height and width of the E model tires. 16) JFS exhaust no longer has the louver just a hollow pipe (aft of centerline pylon on the centerline of the aircraft) on the E model, C models were all modified with new JFS exhaust by 1994. 17) E model Engine bay panels modified so they could be dropped for engine maintenance without dropping the CFTs, the CFTs covered some of the engine bay panels on the C and we had to drop the CFTs anytime we had Engine maintenance. 18) There are two Engine Oil servicing doors on the forward engine bay panel on the E, one inboard and one outboard, the C had one. 19) Tail hook was extended down 2" from the bottom of the fuselage on the E to give more room for more avionics, the C models was flush to the fuselage. 20) Stab actuator panels reconfigured so limited stab maintenance could be done with CFTs installed including a small access panel for doing flight control trimming was installed, C model had unmodified panel as CFTs were hardly ever installed. Ohh and the struts.. 1)Nose and main struts are beefed up, thinker then the A/B/C/D struts. 2)Draglinks on both nose and mains are thicker with the drag springs larger in circumference (round spring looking things at hinge point on drag link used to help strut retract) 3) The bungee on the C/D model strut replaced with a rigid link on the E (thing that comes down and attaches to the draglink from the trunnion on the mains) this is what makes the strut rotate into the wheelwell when retracting. 4) Wheels (rims) on the E have a spacer on the mains for height and different internal for width, different rim overall, face still has the same pattern as C/D. 5) The nose strut has a shimmy damper installed on the front to keep the heavily laden E model nose tire from oscillating on hi-speed taxies or take-off and landing (looks like a thick tube coming out of the strut). 6) The oleo is square I frame on the E in comparison to the rounded oleo on the C. 7) Nose tire is thicker on the E then the C. There are numerous other changes not noticeable on a model of 1/48 or 1/32, but you get the point. This is a pretty basic list but gives you some idea as to some of the changes to the E model, there are more panel differences but I would be typing all day with panel lists in front of me. Any questions just e-mail me direct. Cheers Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Impatient Pete Posted June 5, 2007 Author Share Posted June 5, 2007 Wuhu? Awesome! Thanks. A long list, but not really that bad when you pick and chose items that really stand out. An excellent starting point! It seems that most of the little panel items could be overlooked. The lights wouldn't be too hard to do. I would go ahead and backfill and sand the doors flat and leave the gear details for the model "enforcers" to knit-pick. here's my list o' mods from the above list: 5)Wing root anti-collision lights are smaller and set closer to the wing root on the E then the C/D. -(toothbrush handle trick) 7) Just aft of the speedbrake there are 6 screens (three per side of the rectangular panel on the center line) this is the JFS (Jet Fuel Starter) chimney on the E, on the C/D there is one screen offset to the left for the JFS chimney, the panel in the middle is for additional avionics on the E. -this seems pretty easy using sheet to fill the screens areas and moving an existing screen- 8) The engine humps have additional doors to facilitate engine maintenance on the E as the C/D only has one for the engine forward mount and two for the aft mounts. -fill them- 10) A logo light was installed at the base of the Vertical stab on the E not on the C/D. -fill it- 11) the E model horizontal stab has a reinforcing strip (sealant) raised line running along the leading edge dogtooth fairing mount, C/D models do not have this. -sand it off- 12) Stinger Ant or what we called nipples are of a different configuration from the C/D model to the E, references should be checked for the specific aircraft to be modeled as to what is installed. -work the nipples- 14) Gun door has a bulge on the E referred to as the ext clip door, this was were we put our forms for the aircraft also access to the gun drum which the interior was modified from the D to E in having more avionics stuffed up inside of there as well. ?sand it down? 15) Main forward Gear doors are bulged on the E for the beefed-up landing gear and increased height and width of the E model tires. -covered earlier- 19) Tail hook was extended down 2" from the bottom of the fuselage on the E to give more room for more avionics, the C models was flush to the fuselage. -refer to pics? Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ol Crew Dog Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 Is it I am just getting old or does "Work the Nipples" sound like fun modeling???? :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skull Leader Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 -work the nipples-Pete ALWAYS good advice. :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
otis252 Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 Hey Guys, Another great thread with tons of info that would be hard to find elsewhere. But, how about this, could the forward fuse. from the Mono. -C kit be grafted onto the -E model main fuse? Has anyone measured this for proper "diameter" or even better completed this conversion. Something to think about. Chuck Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kenlilly106 Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Hey Guys,Another great thread with tons of info that would be hard to find elsewhere. But, how about this, could the forward fuse. from the Mono. -C kit be grafted onto the -E model main fuse? Has anyone measured this for proper "diameter" or even better completed this conversion. Something to think about. Yes and no. (great answer, eh?) I had the idea to take a rescribed Mono C forward fuselage and graft it to the R/M F-15E main fuselage, and actually got the parts together and was working on this seam when the model slipped and fell about 6' to a concrete floor. The main gear doors can be sanded down flat if you back them with putty, and it's not that hard to remove the gun door bulge. The respective height/diameter of the Mono C forward fuselage fits almost perfectly in terms of diameter and height (kinda, more on this later) to the R/M F-15E main fuselage IF you shave off about 1/8" from the aft end of the forward fuselage. The big problem is that the R/M spine curves up due to the 2 place canopy, the C spine is a lot flatter. Normally this wouldn't be much of a problem, except that the E kit has the large vent about 1/8" behind the seam, so any major seam work will run the risk of destroying this detail. I built up the area between the C and E kits with putty and carefully sanded it, it looked fine from a seam filling standpoint, but the upward curve of the spine looks odd, plus the E spine has more of a pronounced 'peak' than the C one, so I'm not sure how to handle that part, I thought about cutting strips out of the E spine and forcing it down and gluing and puttying over the cuts, but you're back in the same boat with the vent detail. I also had the idea of taking the E kit and turning it into an F-15DJ, this project was easier since you didn't have to worry about trying to mate 2 different fuselage parts, and the other bits to make it a D won't take that much work, but I shelved the project early on, I think I had it assembled, but not much beyond that. Ken Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Impatient Pete Posted June 6, 2007 Author Share Posted June 6, 2007 Thanks for the input Ken. Good stuff! I took a look at the conversion (this is where I usually stop from analysis paralysis) and this is what I came up with. replace the tub only with the Monogram C tub (see pic), cut the vent from the E and sand down the small area aft of it. Try to keep the cuts clean so the work stays on the outside of the vent. The main part is to cut the tub area from the C and install it in the E. After all, the tub detail in the C is outstanding! That way you get to keep all that sweet detail in the C pit! What do you guys think? Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MickeyThickey Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 What do you guys think? Spend the extra $10 and get a Hasegawa kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
otis252 Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Well MickeyThickey, your right. But, why do that? Let's see some more, I've got 4 Revell F-15Es and 3 Mono -Cs. I've wondered about this conversion for years. For me, it's a cheap, but nice -C model Eagle. Chuck Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Impatient Pete Posted June 6, 2007 Author Share Posted June 6, 2007 (edited) And...the Revell kits are available at Michaels for $18.00 with the coupon and lots of us have the old Monogram kit. The Revell E fits well, goes together easily, has nice intakes, you can use the seat, the Monogram C has really nice cockpit detail, and, from my topic starting post: "I'm not really interested in hearing a discussion about whether it's "worth it" or not BTW. What's "worth it" to one modeller, isn't worth it to a lesser motivated one and vice-versa, eh?" So, having said that, here's an hours worth of work just for kicks: Pete Edited June 6, 2007 by Impatient Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aggressor Supporter Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 (edited) This is an interesting build. Watching with interest. Edited June 6, 2007 by Raptor Supporter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 At first I thought: "to much hassle ...." but now that I look at the progress, it has me thinking: "Hmmm, he might actually make this a doable project!" ! Nice work so far ! Gregg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Two Mikes Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Spend the extra $10 and get a Hasegawa kit. Classic Mike!! I was going to say the same thing. In all honesty the Hasegawa kit while suffering for some shape issues is simply not worth buying two kits to cut up and get nearly the same result is just not worth the hassle. Just my two cents Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kenlilly106 Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 And...the Revell kits are available at Michaels for $18.00 with the coupon You must be in an expensive area, around here the mudhens are $25 w/o coupon, so I can get one for a shade over $13 with tax. Dug out my half built kit, the C canopy frame is a shade larger and longer than the cutout in the E kit, I'd guess it was .010 or .015 wider than the E fuselage, but only at the bottom. The 'hump' difference appears to be only 0.40 higher on the E kit than the C kit. Personally, I wouldn't try and graft the forward fuselages together, too much cut and patch work, I'd keep the E forward fuselage and fix the spine area and use the C canopy and cockpit parts. After doing the work though, I think that the E kit is more suited to be converted into an F-15DJ due mainly to the ease in converting one 2-seater into another 2-seater. Ken Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Impatient Pete Posted June 6, 2007 Author Share Posted June 6, 2007 (edited) Ready for glue... Revell Strike Eagle at Michaels: $18 Monogram C: $0 Hasegawa kit: about $30 plus $10 for shipping Total cost so far: $18+0 + (Oh no!) Some of my time! Eegad! A modeller spending time having fun at my bench...what a waste. Just my two cents Pete Edited June 6, 2007 by Impatient Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Two Mikes Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 Ready for glue... Revell Strike Eagle at Michaels: $18 Monogram C: $0 Hasegawa kit: about $30 plus $10 for shipping Total cost so far: $18+0 + (Oh no!) Some of my time! Eegad! A modeller spending time having fun at my bench...what a waste. Just my two cents Pete Nobody is knocking you Pete. Please dont take it that way. I for one am interested in the outcome. Maybe if you look at the other side of the coin, I choose to take the easy way out!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Impatient Pete Posted June 7, 2007 Author Share Posted June 7, 2007 Hahaha... Having never seen a Hasegawa F-15 in the raw, I am curious as to what it's like. Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Two Mikes Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 Hahaha...Having never seen a Hasegawa F-15 in the raw, I am curious as to what it's like. Pete Send me your addy Pete, I will mail you one!! :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Netz Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 Just curious, what are you going to use for a canopy? As the Monogram canopy doesn't have the correct "Blown" cross section. Curt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Impatient Pete Posted June 7, 2007 Author Share Posted June 7, 2007 (edited) Thanks Mike! I guess I get a little jumpy sometimes. Curt, Dunno... I could tweak the Monogram one fairly easily and vacuum form it. Maybe insert a shim in a slot cut down the "spine" of the kit canopy and spread it that way? That's what I did for my A-4M conversion back before Hasegawa released theirs and it worked well. Pete Edited June 7, 2007 by Impatient Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hatchet Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 Interesting project Pete! Not judging pro or con, but from what I understand the panel lines are different between the C and E. Of course, me being a 1/72 builder, I'm used to inaccurate panel lines on F-15Es Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Impatient Pete Posted June 7, 2007 Author Share Posted June 7, 2007 (edited) I'm not too concerned about a few inaccurate panel lines, as long as they are not so off as to "look wrong" if you know what I mean. The lines on the nose of the Monogram C match the E pretty closely, so I'm just gonna go for it. I have yet to see a nice model and think to myself "Oh that's a sweet model, but the panels lines...tsk tsk tsk." Is there a nice E model in 1/72nd scale. I'm not a big F-15 guy myself so I'm not really up on them. In fact, I don't know much about Air Force types at all. Curt, I just looked at the Monogram canopy and even though it's not "blown", they did a good job of making it look "bubblish". Pete edit: Took a dinner break, had some applle cobbler and ice cream and then I completed the other side graft. So far a pretty easy project! I'm going to have a flip through the F-15 walkaround to check some things. Edited June 7, 2007 by Impatient Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hatchet Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 I'm not too concerned about a few inaccurate panel lines, as long as they are not so off as to "look wrong" if you know what I mean. The lines on the nose of the Monogram C match the E pretty closely, so I'm just gonna go for it. I have yet to see a nice model and think to myself "Oh that's a sweet model, but the panels lines...tsk tsk tsk." Is there a nice E model in 1/72nd scale. I'm not a big F-15 guy myself so I'm not really up on them. In fact, I don't know much about Air Force types at all. Curt, I just looked at the Monogram canopy and even though it's not "blown", they did a good job of making it look "bubblish". Pete edit: Took a dinner break, had some applle cobbler and ice cream and then I completed the other side graft. So far a pretty easy project! I'm going to have a flip through the F-15 walkaround to check some things. I don't know how inaccurate the panels are, just something I picked up here. I think Murph knows tho'. There aren't any F-15Es in 1/72. There are some F-15Ds sold with CFTs and either pylons or MERs. MERs are inaccurate for a production bird and nonly the Airfix kit have all the pylons. It lacks in other areas tho'. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Impatient Pete Posted June 7, 2007 Author Share Posted June 7, 2007 Finished the splice- For the blend between the upper fuse and the rear of the cockpit area, I am going to force the little "tabs" of the hinge area down against the rear bulkhead of the C pit and that will help establish that shape. Then, I'll glue the vent in carefully and do a little blending. Hatchet...Maybe one day they will cut molds for a reduced version of their beutiful E model in 1/72nd scale. It sure is a lovely kit. Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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