Joel_W Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Chuck, Wasn't too sure that another update was coming before your Canadian Summer put an end to your modeling till the fall, but I'm thrilled to see your update when I logged on this morning. Those master barrels as well as your modification to extend them into the wing opening looks great. As far as I'm concerned you made the right decision to pull them forward. I guess that when the engineers did the design on the real aircraft, they didn't give us modelers any forethought If Marcel had issues with assembling them, you certainly made a most difficult job look easy, which is the mark of a master builder. Joel chuck540z3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Great job on the gun Chuck. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:M61_Vulcan_Mount_on_F15.jpg Jari chuck540z3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted May 30, 2017 Author Share Posted May 30, 2017 Wow, blown away by how you assembled those gun barrels so cleanly. I really struggled when I assembled (three of) them for my Chico build. Marcel If Marcel had issues with assembling them, you certainly made a most difficult job look easy, which is the mark of a master builder. Joel Thanks a lot guys, but the assembly of the guns was quite easy, because I "cheat". While I am likely better than most modelers when using CA glue, I still make a mess now and then, as I did with this gun. Some of the CA glue was a bit thick in certain areas, so I literally soaked the barrels in stuff I've been recommending for years: Great Planes Pro CA Debonder. It dissolves the CA glue, but more importantly if you want some of the glue to remain, it lets the glue re-harden as it evaporates. This is why I use CA glue for just about everything, especially filling gaps and seams. If I make a mess or need to alter anything, I just apply a few drops of this stuff, clean up the dissolved glue and try again. Cheers, Chuck F`s are my favs, Shaka HI, Rdrunner and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel_W Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Chuck, I've become a steady user of Debonder as well, and it has made a big difference in my decisions as when to use CA glues. BTW, it also does wonders degluing my finger tips Joel Uncarina and chuck540z3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Still amazing Chuck !!.......Harv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vandy 1 VX 4 Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 What debounder do you guys use? How fast does it work and does it affect the plastic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F`s are my favs Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Oh that's that beautiful! chuck540z3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel_W Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 What debounder do you guys use? How fast does it work and does it affect the plastic? I'm using the Unicure Debonder from Sprue Brothers. Works almost instantly on little areas, but will dissolve a large area given a little more time. I haven't seen any issues with it effecting the plastic. Joel chuck540z3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vandy 1 VX 4 Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Thank you Joel for the response. The debonder I use doesn't work worth a damn. chuck540z3 and Joel_W 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Chuck Terrific work on the M-61 Vulcan and some mighty nice broken field running on the fit - looks tremendous. As usual, very much appreciate the tutorial on working with CA Keep 'em coming Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 (edited) Thank you Boys! June 7/17 I'm getting very close to painting this beast, but before I do, there are several final steps to finish off, especially on the bottom. The front nose area can have a variety of antennae according to your subject, so the following is true of my bird and likely not many others. This F-15C is a bit “old school†when I took many pics of it, but I have noticed that it has been upgraded later. I'll stick to what was true 10 years ago in 2007, especially since American Aggressor Eagles don't exist anymore, or at least as far as I know. There are 3 square blade antennae on the kit and the very front one should almost always be cut off and filled. The other thing that I filled is the square hole for another circular ICMS antenna, because by subject only has one. My bird also has the square UHF/VHF and IFF/UHF, but either one of these can be swept back and replaced with parts from the Wolfpack or GT Resin Upgrade sets if your subject needs it. I used only one tiny part from the Wolfpack set, which I'll show later. Right behind the front gear door is usually another, but a bit larger, ICMS antenna. My subject doesn't have this either. Although the front gear door is usually closed, I left it off because I need access underneath when re-attaching the front landing gear to my modified screw attachment. The main front gear doors, however, can be glued on at this stage, because there is nothing underneath I need access too. This makes painting- and masking the gear well- a lot easier. Behind the gear wells I replaced all of the tiny drain pipes I removed earlier with styrene rod. I took really good care of the kit ones and 2 of them broke off anyway, so this step is almost inevitable. I would have preferred tiny brass piping, but I don't know how to cut it without pinching the opening closed and besides, this model won't be flipped over very often anyway, if ever. I am also deleting the center line pylon, so the attachment points were filled with CA glue and sanded smooth. Now something a little different. Most modelers, including me on previous builds, paint the bare metal areas first, then mask them off and paint the rest of the jet with the main paint color(s). I have decided on using Alclad Stainless Steel for the titanium panels, which like the other Alclad “High Shine Lacquer†paints, is actually alcohol based and not a true lacquer. As a result, it doesn't mask off very well and some decal solutions can attack it (Check out the Alclad website). I learned this on my P-38L build, so I painted then masked off the regular Alclad paint like the Aluminum colors, then sprayed the High Shine paint last, which in this case was Chrome. Here's how it turned out, which is pretty good if I do say so myself! Also, the key to an almost perfect metal finish is perfectly smooth plastic, followed by a perfectly smooth lacquer primer, which is usually gloss black. If I got any enamel (or acrylic) overspray on the metal areas after they were painted, getting the metal finish to look smooth and seamless again is almost impossible. Trust me, I know, so my plan is to mask off the metal areas first, paint the enamel camo colors, add a gloss coat, do the decals, dull coat the finish back to the sheen of the real deal, mask off the painted areas (special care around decals), then paint the titanium panels. After that, there are a number of very small titanium area panels that should be fuselage color, so I will carefully mask off those areas using very low tack masks. As I said, that's the plan, so we'll see how that goes. One thing I'd like to point out is that the front of the bottom titanium panels are tapered backwards on each side, not square to the panel line which is almost always done. Many pics in Jake's book on Page 142, including an underbelly shot on the front cover and a few pics of my own, show this subtle detail that is very easy to miss. It would appear that this angled line is merely a painting scheme, rather than a true panel line. Also, the fuselage paint color usually wraps around to an inch or two under the bottom of the real deal, so I masked it this same way. An area of concern on the top is the masking of all the many Archer raised rivets I applied, because they really are just resin bits on decal film and as everybody knows, decals do not like masking tape! I de-tacked the masking tape at the front where you can still see some of the Archer rivets still exposed, but if it still lifts after tape removal, they can easily be replaced on the bare plastic, which is another reason for painting this area last. Same goes for the rivets on the rest of fuselage where it is painted with enamel, where enamel repairs can be made almost seamlessly. I left this pic until the end to show you the only part I used the Wolfpack F-15C Upgrade Set, which is the small round GPS dome dry fitted, because all of the other resin parts were duplicates of either the GT Resin kits or the two resin cockpits I used. Most of the brass parts are useless as well, because most are supposed to replicate the stress crack repair panels which are for a specific jet, not all of them. As mentioned earlier, these repair panels are different for every F-15C and no two Eagles are identical. I also added a small strip of styrene which may be a stiffener place just ahead of the GPS panel, which usually IS found on most of the pics I can find of this area on other Eagles, including mine. It is narrow, doesn't meet the panel lines on either side, and has rivet detail only along the aft side of the strip. Note that almost all of the surrounding panel lines and rivets have been altered to match reference pics as well. Other than the crap I plan on hanging underneath this big bird, the construction is basically finished, so my next post should have some camo paint applied. This is my favorite part of any modeling project, so stay tuned! Cheers, Chuck Edited June 20, 2017 by chuck540z3 F`s are my favs, allthumbs, Vandy 1 VX 4 and 10 others 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squizzy 78 Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Amazing as always Chuck. Thank you for pointing out the smaller details for other modellers to follow, I see your posts as a step by step guide to building better models. It's actually amazing how many of your tips I find myself using! Joel_W, Shaka HI and chuck540z3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Nice attention to detail Chuck, one thing to add, when pylons are removed there are usually blanking panels to put on to cover the holes. You can see them in these 2 examples: https://media.defense.gov/2009/Oct/20/2000451745/-1/-1/0/091013-F-6911G-377.JPG https://media.defense.gov/2008/Jun/13/2000608910/-1/-1/0/080605-F-6911G-965.JPG the circles between the rear gear doors. You can see them more clearly in the grey jet while the aggressor one has a red panel as well, most likely where the fuel probe goes. Jari chuck540z3, Shaka HI and A-10LOADER 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 Nice attention to detail Chuck, one thing to add, when pylons are removed there are usually blanking panels to put on to cover the holes. You can see them in these 2 examples: https://media.defense.gov/2009/Oct/20/2000451745/-1/-1/0/091013-F-6911G-377.JPG https://media.defense.gov/2008/Jun/13/2000608910/-1/-1/0/080605-F-6911G-965.JPG the circles between the rear gear doors. You can see them more clearly in the grey jet while the aggressor one has a red panel as well, most likely where the fuel probe goes. Jari Thanks Jari. I have those same pics but I wasn't sure which were the blanking plates. Easily added now. Thanks again! Chuck Shaka HI and A-10LOADER 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 (edited) There are more holes to cover: http://aviationarchives.blogspot.ca/2015/05/f-15-eagle-armament-pylons-and-missile.html the front one is the main one that hooks the pylon to the airframe, next is the ejector for the pylon since it can be jettisoned. The rest are fuel, air, electrical for the tanks and further aft are the electrical connections to the pylon and weapons that go on the pylon. Jari Edited June 7, 2017 by Finn Shaka HI and chuck540z3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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