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Tamiya F-15C Kicked Up A Notch- Dec 1/17: DONE!


chuck540z3

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Hi Roger,

 

No real progress lately, mostly because I put modeling on the back-burner during our short Canadian summers.

 

....

 

Chuck

Reminds me of the quote "In Canada, there are two seasons : winter and August the 15th !". So back to work, Chuck :popcorn:

 

Hubert

Edited by MostlyRacers
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Man what a beauty you have on your hands.  Thanks for posting all the details, I sure have learned a lot reading your threads over the years.  For example, I've always had trouble with clear coats in some form or another over the years but now I have another option with the X-22 mixture.  I recently started using MRP paints and I can't say enough how much I like them.  I have the MRP clear but I haven't used it enough to know if it's good for me or not.  Either way I will be giving the X-22 a try based on your recommendation.  

 

I lived in Vegas for a long time and have had the opportunity to see these fabulous aggressors over the years.  You really are doing them justice...

 

Bryan

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"We had a great summer last year! It was a Tuesday, I think."

 

Kev

 

 

So true- usually!  That's why I try to take advantage of every warm day possible outside in the summer, which doesn't allow playing with small pieces of plastic indoors.  This summer, however, has been a scorcher, relatively speaking.  Many days of +28 to +32 C. over the past 6 weeks which has been nice, but the forest fire situation in British Columbia where I have a cabin is at a record high and there is thick smoke almost everywhere, including here in Calgary.  We need rain right now and lots of it.

 

Chuck

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Chuck,

 

Thanks for the reminder not to rush the builds as they approach the finish, which I do too often.

 

Cheers, Tom

 

 

Hi Tom,

 

To tell you the truth, there is a very good local model contest in September that I like to attend and sometimes enter my model(s), because the subjects are all military which I am focused on and enjoy the most.  I could easily get this Eagle ready for this contest, but it would take a bit of rushing the remaining parts and it would turn into work rather than modeling enjoyment.  I have done this in the past and I still look at small flaws on some of my models that could/would have been avoided if I took my time instead.  The small medal you may get isn't worth the later regret.

 

Hawaii's been very nice this Summer, Chuck. Seriously, warm, but no oppressive heat. Acclimate for about a couple days and you're copacetic. You can still retire to your nice AC'd hotel room. I guess no Maui this year?

 

 

Hi Shaka,

 

Until only this past year, I had a partial ownership in a condo in Maui with a few other owners, but for a variety of reasons the other owners wanted to sell, so I had to comply.  Huge Bummer for me and my family.  It was really nice to come "home" once or twice a year to something familiar in paradise.  I will return to Maui soon, but short term I'm going elsewhere for my break from our Canadian winters.

 

Cheers,

Chuick

 

Edited by chuck540z3
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August 23/17

 

After some time off enjoying our very warm summer, I finally did a little modeling, in this case the painting of the rear titanium panels.  Painting a bare metal finish is tough to do effectively at the best of times and getting the correct color and finish of the F-15 even tougher, because Alclad doesn't make the correct color.  Alclad Stainless Steel is too bright and shiny, the Steel is way too dark and Duraluminum, the darkest of the metallic shades before Steel, is only partially correct in some light angles.

 

Let's take a look a few pics of the real deal, which not only shows what the titanium panels should look like, but also some very interesting painted panels that are almost always forgotten or not noticed by F-15 modelers.  In this first pic, notice how the painted area overlaps the lip at the side, with a thin strip of paint underneath.  Also, since that little triangular piece that is usually painted grey on a grey jet, modelers usually paint it a metallic color, because it's hard to notice.  I have a really good close-up of this part in the first post of this thread if you're interested.

 

 

jU5MaK.jpg

 

 

Another pic of a Desert Aggressor that shows the same thing, as well as some darker petals at the rear where the engine is inserted into the fuselage.  According to many other pics I have, the presence of these darker petals is totally random and sometimes they don't exist, so I assume they are replaced once in awhile- hence the color difference.

 

 

2oQJEJ.jpg

 

 

On my subject jet, I noticed that there is a thin panel that is painted on the bottom of both sides, just forward of the tail booms.

 

 

Rt4enR.jpg

 

 

And although it's hard to see in this pic, also on the top….

 

 

PShFsn.jpg

 

 

 

Getting a good photograph of this area is hard to do unless you're looking for it, but I found that these panels are almost always painted the same way on the F-15C, while the panel forward of this is always painted on the F-15E.  Here's a public USAF pic of another F-15C. Note the painted panels on the right.

 

 

oka1uY.jpg

 

 

As you know by now, I am painting the rear titanium panels last for a few reasons.  First of all, overspray from the camo paint can easily be removed with solvent on the bare plastic, as you can see on the next few pics.  Later, when the titanium panels are painted with Alclad, metallic overspray can easily be removed with solvent from the camo paint, because it is now protected with a couple of good coats of acrylic X-22 clear gloss.  If I painted the titanium panels first, any overspray from camo paint would be really hard to remove without ruining the metallic finish.

 

Here's a couple of pics of the bare plastic and associated details before the application of the Alclad primer.

 

 

wSI2kn.jpg

 

 

Be very careful when masking the Archer resin rivets, because they are effectively just decals.  I always coat them with Future/Pledge first and use low-tack masking tape when I do.  As gross as it may sound, sticking Tamiya masking tape to your greasy forehead de-tacks the tape just enough to stick to the paint without lifting the rivets.

 

 

alu94V.jpg

 

 

I used to use Krylon gloss black as a primer for Alclad, but I have found that Tamiya Gloss Black Lacquer works just as good, but it also dries much quicker, allowing the application of Alclad within 12 hours, although 24 hours is better.

 

 

WQHLGh.jpg

 

 

As careful as I tried to be to get the plastic perfectly smooth and dust free, I always wind up with a few areas that need to be buffed out and re-painted, in this case with “Mr. Laplos†polishing cloths in #4000- #6000 grit.

 

 

z3hyJD.jpg

Edited by chuck540z3
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Now the fun, but a bit nerve racking part.  How do I create a metallic finish that is shiny in some areas, dull in others and has a multitude of metallic colors like the first few pics above?  The rest of what you will see below was a pure experiment, which I think worked quite effectively in the end.

 

 

First, I applied a thin misting coat of Alclad Stainless Steel, which is really shiny and bright.

 

 

j9rnbX.jpg

 

 

Next, I applied a lighter color of Alclad Duraluminum, the darkest of the aluminum colors.

 

 

bJN0KH.jpg

 

 

Next, I applied some Alclad Steel and then did the unthinkable after the paint dried for 24 hours:  I polished and buffed the Alclad paint with Tamiya Coarse polishing compound to reveal a bit of every layer, including a hint of the black primer underneath.  This way the finish is smoother than before after 3 coats of paint and the finish is quite complex with different shine and colors, just like the real deal.

 

 

W6cAcv.jpg

 

 

The results with a caveat:  Photographing a metallic finish under strong light doesn't reveal the true color and sheen, so I will show several angles and you'll just have to believe me that the finish looks almost bang on to the real deal overall.

 

 

KizHth.jpg

 

 

After Alclad, the various panels were painted according to the reference pics above.

 

 

kzpIBi.jpg

 

 

Another angle, to show how shiny the finish is that still looks natural.  BTW, never paint a gloss coat over Alclad if you can help it, because it always dulls the finish- always.

 

 

e07w4e.jpg

 

 

The top…..

 

 

UIMA1U.jpg

 

 

Another angle showing more painted panels.  Masking these little guys off in this tight space was a bear!

 

 

UZ1BHx.jpg

 

 

And finally the “Money Shotâ€, because I just HAD to see how my nozzles looked attached to the engines.    :rolleyes:    I really like how the purple/blue petals on the nozzles contrast with the blue camo paint.

 

Note:  I will not be applying any true "weathering" to this model.  I will be added some exhaust, oil and rust stains here and there, but no dark washes overall to make every panel line and rivet detail "pop".  That would look cool, but these jets were always kept pretty clean and lots of grime would look out of place.

 

 

HxzgmY.jpg

 

 

That's it for now guys.  I still have a ton of work to do, including a lot of decals.  This will take awhile….

 

 

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited by chuck540z3
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