spyrosjzmichos Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 Hi all! I'm a new member of this forum. First, let me introduce myself. My name's Spyros and I'm from Greece. I've been modelling for a couple of years now and my main interest is 1/32 modern jets. I usually try to build OOB but I do occasionally try to add some aftermarket accessories. Below is my current work on converting Tamiya's 1/32 F-15E Bunker Buster into an IAF F-15I Ra'am using Isracast's conversion kit. I decided to add further accessories and full list is as below: 1. Isracast F-15I Ra'am conversion set 2. Isracast Rafael Python 4/5 missiles 3. Videoaviation.com USAF GBU-38 bomb set 4. Quickboost F-15 seats 5. PWMP F-15 intake and antenna covers 6. SkyDecal early F-15I decals and custom made eagle heads from Fishbone Inc Work started about a month ago but I will gradually post my step-by-step pics as well as future work. I hope you like it and any feedback is welcome! Almost everything laid out before the start of the build Work started with the cockpit parts. Here all parts have been stuck on skewers with blue tack and primed NATO black is used as the base colour Raised details highlighted with USAF dark grey Switches and buttons painted in white All part were gloss varnished, then panel lines highlighted with light weathering wash and finally matt varnished. Front and rear cockpits done Instrument panels done. The screens were done by using the kit provided transparent parts and painting the rear sides black Coamings and rear cockpit panel done F`s are my favs, Babs, Shaka HI and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaka HI Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 Very precise work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyrosjzmichos Posted September 1, 2016 Author Share Posted September 1, 2016 Having finished the cockpit I moved on the preparing the seats. I decided to replace the kit seats with Quickboost examples which offer better detail. Only modification I did was to cut the ejection rails from the kit parts and add them to resin ones. My step-by-step process follows. The seat is initially base coated with NATO black and raised details are then highlighted with USAF dark grey. Further details are highlighted in white and silver The seat cushion is painted a bright green then the folds in dark green Further detail painting is done (harnesses, ejection handles etc) and the edges of the seat are highlighted in a lighter green shade. Then the seat is gloss coated, washed with black panel wash and then matt varnished. Both seats done! Complete cockpit Front cockpit Rear cockpit F`s are my favs, Azgaron and DesTROYer 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F`s are my favs Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 That's cooool. I like the black n white style! Hi and welcome to the big scale, I'm following you closely, as I started a few months ago the same plane but I'm making it as a bunker buster. It's basically the same an unparalleled plane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn M Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 looks nice, love the high contrast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F`s are my favs Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 Wow I was just typing... Now that's some real color. GJ. The black displays are awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 Welcome aboard, Spyros! It looks like you're off to a great start with your F-15. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viper Enforcer Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 Nice cockpit work. The Gloss MFD screens look cool. It's hard to pull of a black cockpit in scale. Even in the real, they look mundane. I have the same Isra set slotted for a future F-15I build. I hope it'll be timed with a corrected gear; wishful thinking I know,, BTW, those ACES II Seat pitots look quite odd; I think they are too large and the base is wrong. I thought the Aires ACES II seats were more accurate than that. Mike V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaka HI Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 Beautiful work. BUT, I think the highlights on the seat is too well defined and needs to be blended in a bit. Viper Enforcer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyrosjzmichos Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 Hi all! Thank you for your kind words and feedbac k. I'm not really bothered much on the accuracy of the seats as long as they make the area look busy. While I like Aires kits I just hate using photoetched parts to depict seat belts. I have a "violent" history with Aires stuff (fitting their F-16 cockpit in the Tamiya kit was a nightmare...) Regarding the painting itself, the F-15I cockpit is more or less black. So I thought high contrasting colours would be the best option here. You may be right about toning down the seats a bit but they are done now. Will try with my next build! More updates later today! Shaka HI 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyrosjzmichos Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 (edited) Nice cockpit work. The Gloss MFD screens look cool. It's hard to pull of a black cockpit in scale. Even in the real, they look mundane. I have the same Isra set slotted for a future F-15I build. I hope it'll be timed with a corrected gear; wishful thinking I know,, BTW, those ACES II Seat pitots look quite odd; I think they are too large and the base is wrong. I thought the Aires ACES II seats were more accurate than that. Mike V I'm quite impressed with the Isracast set so far. The parts are well detailed and once you remove the casting blocks they just drop in place! Hope to see your build soon! Edited September 2, 2016 by spyrosjzmichos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyrosjzmichos Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 Next up, the avionics bay! Decided to add a bit more detail in the form of cables. I used copper wire held together with Tamiya masking tape. I made holes through some of the boxes and superglued everything in place. The customary coat of grey primer is applied next For the weird metallic green that the USAF uses as primer I made my own mixture of Russian cockpit green, silver and medium green. I also painted the avionics bay cover and radar mounting plate the same mixture. The cables were first painted black then white. Further detail painting followed. Everything was then gloss coated, washed with black weathering wash and finally matt varnished. Here the avionics bay, cover and radar mounting plate are ready! Shaka HI, DesTROYer and F`s are my favs 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 Lovely! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantomdriver Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 The wierd met green primer is also in a Humbrol enamel colour... an IJN met green, will have a look in my paint stash, and get back later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantomdriver Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 whoops... my mistake, it was Xtracolor X355.Japanese Interior Blue, which can be flattened off with a matt coat later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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