MarioS

Step? What step??!? I'd probably glue the damn thing, putty and sand and completely whine about how bad the fit is!

Thank you Gentlemen!  It is my intention that this thread be a resource for future builds of this kit, so I appreciate your comments that indicate it could be.  This kit is a bit complicated in certain areas, but I think I have licked one of the biggest problems- The Wings!
 
 
 
 
Thanks Milan for both the kind words and the feedback.  My initial reaction to your comment about the "Step" on the wing I showed above and below got me a little defensive at first, because I have seen this very same step on many builds of this kit, so I just considered it "normal".  Doing a little more research, I don't see it on all builds, so it got me to wondering why?  Once I figured it out, I went back to other builds with this step at the wing root and, sure enough, they all used seamless intakes like I did.
 
First, let's look at the step again.
 

 
The reason the fuselage is higher than the wing at the rear is due to the top of the fuselage bulging over the seamless intakes, which in most cases are fatter than the kit parts, causing them to swell the fuselage on the inside.  I was wary of this when I installed mine and after a lot of dry fitting and removed the lip at the rear of the intakes that might touch the top of the fuselage, I was happy to seal everything up.  I shouldn't have been. 
 
If I could do it all again- as you should in the future- glue the intakes to the bottom fuselage on the inside, using lots of CA glue like I did before on the intakes and flame tubes.  This will keep them resting on the bottom where they belong, but before you can even attempt to do that, you must trim the tops of the two plastic sockets for the landing gear pin and screw, which interfere with the intakes, holding them upwards.  I should have taken a pic before I cut mine, but here they are, both trimmed and covered with CA glue to create a strong bond.
 

 
 
The bottom of the GT intakes I used have a spacer at the bottom, which should be more or less flush with the bottom.  After trimming the plastic sockets, I fused the spacer to the bottom with more thick CA glue.
 

 
 
You probably noticed the metal pin in the pics above.  Since this wing root will be slightly flexible with a bit of a gap, I drilled a hole in the wing and fuselage, then inserted the base of a drill bit as a pin.  I use a lot of pins in my models and they are almost always made from drill bits, which I buy cheaply in bulk.  They are super strong, won't bend and I can find any diameter I want, even tiny ones.
 
 

 
 
For some reason Tamiya has provided a small hook at the front of each wing, so that you place the front into the fuselage first, then slide the rear into place.  Great idea, but it doesn't work and the fit is so tight, you wind up damaging parts every time you dry fit the wing.  I cut both of them off, eliminating a lot of future headaches.  All I've done to the wings so far is glue them together, so they are still quite rough and lack detail.
 
 

 
 
With the above modifications, the wing root at the top looks pretty good and I will need almost no filler to close the gap.  I'll use thin styrene, because I don't want any flex that can crack later.
 
 

 
 
The bottom looks even better and the gap is minimal.  Here you can see how good the main landing gear wells look attached to the bottom of the intakes- and you don't even have to paint them!
 
 

 
 
I have already dry fit the left wing and the results are almost identical, so I will have no anhedral or dihedral issues.  The Eagle has only 1 degree of anhedral (downward) angle, so the wings should look almost perfectly flat.  There's a few builds out there of this kit with saggy wings, no doubt because of this wing root problem, which is pretty easy to fix.
 
 
Cheers for now,
Chuck

Before.  The other side isn't much better and has the same miss-matched panel lines.
 
 

 
 
Real Deal   Note all the patches on this side as well.
 
 

 
 
That lower right patch is huge!
 
 

 
 
After.  My interpretation of the above, but I reduced the size of the lower patch because it is so big.  Note the kit parts have patches on both sides to begin with already.
 
 

 
 
Before.  The rear parts fit a bit better, but there is an ugly gap in the middle where the tail hook faring is supposed to go.
 
 

 
 
Real Deal.  It should look something like this instead.
 
 

 
 
After.  Thankfully the Eduard F-15E PE kit has a cover plate for this area, but the top circular panel is too small and the bottom slot is too narrow.  After widening the slot for the tail hook, I added a circular disc to the top.
 
 

 
 
That tail hook was modified as well, also using the Eduard PE parts.  First I hollowed out both the top and bottom of the hook, then attached the PE part with CA glue.
 
 

 
The rear of the hook should have a hole in it as well.
 
 

 
 
Using more CA glue, I smoothed out the sharp edges and sanded both the plastic and brass smooth so that it will look like one piece when painted.
 
 

Real Deal.  The tail booms have lots of repair patches as well, but these are very crude and thick with huge rivets.
 
 

 
 
The right boom on my jet with the rear antenna has some small rivet patches to the top and a big one underneath.  Note the chaotic pattern of the bottom rivets.
 
 

 
 
Same as the left side.
 
 

 
A closer look at the left bottom
 

 
 
After.  I created a hybrid patch of several pics I used as references, using more Archer raised resin rivets.  My rivet patterns are nice and straight instead, just because I like them better that way.
 
 

 
 
The bottom of the same side.  I added that little access panel as well.
 
 

 
 
For the top of the right boom, I tried to replicate the rivet pattern close to the real deal above.
 
 

 
 
Since I attached the right wing earlier to see how it would fit, I was surprised that it wasn't all that bad.  It will take some work to get things looking right, but the gap is not near as bad as I have read about many times.  This shot also shows how plain the detail is on the top of the wing, much like the fuselage before I added all the new panel lines and rivets.  It looks like I have a lot of work to do!
 
 

 
 
That's it for now boys.  Besides the new wing detail, I need to modify the vertical and horizontal stabilizers quite a bit as well.  The horizontal stabs do not fit very well at all, but I think I have a pretty neat solution for that.  Until next time!
 
 
Cheers,
Chuck

Feb 12/17
 
Thank you everyone for your supportive comments!
 
With the intakes and flame tubes done, it's time to attach the top fuselage to the bottom.  Based upon several dry fits of this procedure, I wasn't looking forward to it because the fit is really crude.
 
Nonetheless, here goes.  Don't worry, I had almost no pressure on those clamps, but I did need to hold a few bits together while the glue dried.
 
 

 
 
I will now show each quadrant of the sides of the fuselage to show you what the fit looks like to begin with (Before), what it should look like (Real Deal) and the final product after a LOT of sanding and added detail (After).
 
Lets' start with the rear starboard side.
 
Before
 

 
 
I noticed on pics of my subject that the formation light on the starboard side is split, while the port side is one piece.  According to Jake's book, only the right side of F-15C's have this feature to accommodate an avionics access panel.  On F-15A's, the left side is split instead, on F-15 B/D's, neither side is split and on F-15E's, both sides are split.  Cool thing to know…….
 
Real Deal Right
 
 

 
 
Real Deal Left.  Note the lack of panel line and rivet detail aft of the light, which in this example looks pretty bad……
 
 

 
 
After.  I simply cut the light approximately 1/3 of the way, then sanded it down from the back to make it thinner, as well as the front to reduce the recess, both of which are way too thick.  It still looks a bit thick, but I can find plenty of examples that look about the same.
 
 

 
 
 
The other side, with all the panel line and rivet detail deleted aft of the light.
 
 

 
 
Before.  The front right gun area is a mess and why the kit was molded to leave a gap at the front is a mystery, because it would have added some stability to the join.
 
 

 
 
Real Deal 1.  One thing that I've always wondered about is the presence of several square and odd shaped patches on the exterior of the jet, especially along the sides of the intakes and main landing gear wells.  According to Jake's book, these are repair patches to reinforce stress cracks (or avoid them) and no two jets look identical.  NOW I know why many of my reference pics don't match!
 
 

 
 
Real Deal 2.  Same side from the rear.
 
 

 
 
After.  Using thin styrene sheet, I created a few patches to sort of match what I see on the above pics, but total accuracy was not my goal, since the pattern of these patches is always changing.  I also rounded the sides of the gun compartment a bit, since the kit parts are square instead and added some detail to the edge of the top gun door.  The seam of the join is filled with CA glue, which allowed the dark wash to wick behind it from the panel lines, so it still looks visible.  Also, the major panel line that is supposed to go all the way from top to bottom is offset at the join on both sides quite badly, so I had to delete part of it and create another in its place.  The right wing has been dry fitted to see what does and what does not show underneath.
 
 

Chuck you're a wealth of information and you've got a knack on how to explain things in great detail   Thank You
 
P.S.  If you don't mind could you be able to post a direct link to that F-18 Hornet build.

Sure Mario, it's here.  As I mentioned about a link to my F-4E build the other day, the text is corrupted due to a server crash over at ARC, but you should be able to figure out the missing parts.
 
http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/196766-132-academy-f-18d-to-cf-18b-kicked-up-a-notch/
 
Cheers,
Chuck

Chuck you're a wealth of information and you've got a knack on how to explain things in great detail   Thank You
 
P.S.  If you don't mind could you be able to post a direct link to that F-18 Hornet build.

Now the rear.  First, here's some pics of the real deal supplied publicly by the USAF.  Note in this first pic that the flame tube can be white or sometimes an off-white buff color, as shown on the left.
 
 

 
 
A close-up.  Note that the central dome is both rough and a bit rust colored.
 
 

 
 
On another jet, the same thing…
 
 

 
 
Here is the rear of the flame tubes where the fan/flameholders are inserted.  The tubes were painted with flat white, followed by a bit of flat black, but only at the front, which is the rear of the tube.  The fan/flameholders were also painted with Alclad Steel.
 
 

 
 
A shot from the rear with everything glued into place.  Unfortunately, taking pics of this angle is really hard to do and a lot of the detail gets washed out with enough light to see inside, like the black at the rear.  The central resin hub is a bit rough and I was going to sand it, but I found it more interesting left as is with some Tamiya heat red pastels to give it a bit of a rust color, just like the real deal.
 
 

 

 
 
With the engine nozzles attached, it will be hard to see the sidewalls, but I plan to darken those 2 rings with pastels later.
 
 
 

 
 
A little housekeeping before I forget.  I painted the top of the front intakes and the lower gun assembly on the left with flat black before I glue on the top fuselage.
 
 

 
 
The reason is that with the new resin vents, you can see through them now, so looking at a white resin intake would look a bit weird underneath.  I will also add some fine mesh screening to the back of that gun vent on the left before I glue everything together.
 
 

 
 
That's it for now boys (and at least 1 girl!).
 
 
Cheers,
Chuck

Thank you all again!
 
 
Feb 1/17
 
I finally got my left arm out of its sling after six weeks and although it still doesn't work very well yet, I can now Paint!  This is particularly important at this stage of the build, because I need to paint intakes and engine bits before I close up the large upper and lower fuselage halves.
 
Before I show you the intakes, let's take a look again at the real deal- and I have another tip or two.  First the intake on the starboard side:
 
 

 
 
A little deeper.  Note the dirt in the intake and that needle-like probe at the front of the fan.
 
 

 
 
As shown earlier, I filled the front lip of the intake with Tamiya putty and a bit of CA glue, then sanded it smooth.  This took several hours over the course of 3 days!  The reason is that I wanted the join to be as blemish free as possible and it took several tries to do so.  Although this looks a little rough, it is actually very smooth as you shall soon see.
 
 

 
 
Now a tip.  Although Tamiya putty can be sanded quite smooth, it often has a bit of a gritty and porous surface, depending on how much you apply at once, the age of the putty and the sanding grit you use.  After a first coat of putty has dried for a day, I sand it as smooth as possible, then fill the small cracks and blemishes with a second coat of thinned putty.  Based upon smell and how well it mixes together, I am quite certain that the carrier in the putty is Tamiya's own lacquer thinner, so I mix 2/3's putty and 1/3 thinner in a jar.
 
 

 
 
Applied with a microbrush, it will fill those little blemishes perfectly and can be applied very thin, to minimize further sanding.  It also shrinks like crazy due to the extra thinner, so apply about double what you think you need and let it dry for 24 hours.
 
After sanding it smooth and giving it a coat of paint, the gaps disappear.  The front intakes were painted glued onto the lower fuselage, but with the rear of the intakes left off to allow air flow through the pipes- and keep the rear intakes white.  Note the overspray to the rear of the intakes.
 
 

 
 
Smooth as a baby's bum….
 
 

 
 
Since the rear of the intakes are white already and at least 6 inches away from your eye (in the dark), I just added some Tamiya pastels to dirty them up a little.  While the above intake pics are quite dirty, other F-15C reference pics show that they can be quite a bit cleaner, so I didn't want to overdo it.
 
 
 

 
 
 
For the front fan face, I used the kit parts and added a sewing pin to the top to replicate the front probe.
 
 
 

 
 
A close-up.  The parts were painted with Tamiya gloss black lacquer, followed by Alclad Steel.
 

 
 
Installed on the rear of the intakes which are now screwed into place, they look pretty good- even without a flashlight!
 
 

 

Thanks Peter.
 
The key to gluing fine mesh PE parts with CA glue is the viscosity of the glue and how much you use.  Using the extreme example of what not to do, using lots of very thin glue will fill every bit of detail and leave you with a mess- and it will dry too quickly as well.  You want a glue that's relatively medium- thick, and just enough to cover the surface you are attaching it to.  Thicker glues, as you know, also give you more time to move the part around to get the correct alignment.  Apply the glue to the surface where the part is going, not the PE part itself, and apply it relatively sparingly in terms of thickness, but not area.  ie;  Cover the entire area where the part is going, but keep it thin.
 
For PE and other parts requiring CA glue, I almost always "mix a batch" before I use it, just like I do paint.  By mixing very thin and medium viscosity glues, you can create a glue mixture that is just right for the application at hand.  Sometimes you want the glue thin so that it leaks around parts without much of a tell-tale glue signature (which may need no mixing), while other times a nice glob of glue is the ticket to hold a part for several seconds before it dries, giving you time to play around a bit.
 
The other key thing to have on hand is CA glue accelerator, when you need a bond in a hurry and a very good CA glue Debonder.  Here's a pic I've used a few times before- probably too many times- showing two key things I use.  I  mix the glues in this deep plastic cup because it holds the glue and it will not dry for several hours- even days- left uncovered!  I'm not sure why, other than the fact that CA glue dries by absorbing water molecules from the air, rather than degassing solvents like other glues, which is why it doesn't shrink.  Maybe the glue forms a protective barrier within the cup, repelling the moist air above?  I don't know, other than it works and it saves me from wasting a lot of glue.
 
The other key gluing aid I use is Great Planes Pro CA Debonder, which has gotten me out of a lot of tight spots when I want CA glue removed.  I bet I've tried 5 different kinds of debonders, including the one made specifically for this Mercury product, and nothing comes close to dissolving the glue and removing it if that's what I want.  Many times I just use it to just redistribute the glue, because when it evaporates, the glue bond is restored.  Using the mesh PE example above, if I used too much glue and some of it oozed through the mesh, I'd just get a Q-tip soaked in this debonder and work on the mesh until the detail was restored, or almost restored, depending on the situation.  The effectiveness of this debonder does not have a time limit on it either, because I can remove CA glue many months after application.  I know this, because too often I have removed CA glue from a part, only to discover that I also removed some glue nearby where I had meticulously used CA glue to fill a crack. 
 
 

 
 
I hope that helps.
 
Cheers,
Chuck

Thanks guys.  This kind of work isn't the sexiest part of a modeling thread, but when the model is finished, I think the added detail will be viewed as very worthwhile in the end.
 
Also, another thought that I missed before.  When this bird is painted with Alclad on the titanium panels at the rear, just about everything you see above will still show up, which is what I want.   I think this area is either the highlight of an Eagle build, or it's downfall, because unless you have a realistic metallic finish, it will look like a toy.  The same goes for the engine nozzles.  They need to look PERFECT (or almost so), which is no easy feat.  More on that later.
 
Where the model is painted in blue camo paint, about half of the new detail will disappear, unless you get up close to examine the subtle detail.  With no weathering washes of any kind to highlight panel lines, etc., this model should look quite clean and natural, just like the real deal F-15C Aggressor that I have photographed many times.  I say this because other modelers like Guy Wilson are actually filling the panel lines in his F-15C build, and here I am making them show up more!  I think that has a lot to do with our modeling styles, because as much as Guy loves accuracy, a love the "artistic" side more, so it will be very interesting to see how this all turns out in the end.
 
Cheers,
Chuck

Intakes adventure.
 
The movement of the second intake is done and it`s good. But first i had to straighten the "first edges that meet the air" because i noticed a little V-shaped angle... it`s not easy to explain... the 90-degree part (the outer walls and the tops of the first ramps are one piece) is not exactly 90 degree, but some 85-90-ish degrees, which resulted in a little tension that makes the intakes move smoothly. However, that little tension on the back of the ramps resulted in a slightly V-shape of the front edges and it was very very noticeable. So to get rid of the tension, i slightly "carved" (not cut) the intakes (which are the two parts at a roughly 90 degree angle) along the upper long edges... )) excuse me... sometimes even i couldn`t understand myself..., in the following pic with the white line, which is filled and sanded, to slightly bend the outer walls and thus adjust the 90 degree angle justly. 
 

 
And then here are the edges, reflecting light, way better than before. I`m very happy.
 

 
The basic movement of the second intake is done too. It may look confusing, but here is how they look from the front, open and closed, with the front ramps still detached:
 

 
 

 
And with the front ramps attached:
 

 
 

 
And for a dessert - these "things"...
 

 
Btw i`ll open the bleed air ramps and will try to synch them with the diffusor ramps.

Cool!  Wish they would put out a whole LINE of these in 32nd.       This one is great inspiration for a phantom in any scale. Well done! 

Take a look at what i was dealing with this Fall`16!!! The newest F-4J in 1/48 is a SWS kit from Zoukei-Mura and they invited me to participate in the kit`s Concept Note. Such an honor and excitement. About the model: i built it as a typical standalone model, nothing too fancy like movable parts, only some texturising, riveting, seatbelts from paper tape, and wiring. I may forget something, but the complete build review is in the book. I`m waiting it to arrive and to see which pics are included, and plan to post here something like walkaround pics. Here are just two from top and bellow. About the airframe: VF-92 Silver Kings from the Vietnam period - with the yellow tail, heavily weathered, parked, open canopies...
 

 

 
Now some texturising Yet in the Concept Note should be included more info (about how it looks before/after painting, which areas, etc.) and i tried to capture only the final effect as much as i can. So this is my first finished model with texturising. It`s 1/48 and the "textures" are much smaller, more subtle, and thus even invisible. Still at a certain angle... this is in dark room and with a small light pointed at a very shallow angle. I don`t know if the difference between texturising and preshading is noticeable...
 
 

 

 

 

 
... but at normal daylight the effect is basically invisible, and i weathered it quite much too, so the surfaces are not exactly glossy:
 

 
Here the rivet lines of the stabilators are texturised, and it is more noticeable:
 

 

 
Phabulous Phantom! It`s a wonderful kit... it`s just connecting parts and the joint lines disappear. The canopy is so crisp and clear, because it`s very thin. The plastic is very strange - so dry and easy for sanding, like resin. The large parts are also thin and even look brittle, but when assembled and glued - become "rock solid". This kit in a word: sophisticated.
 

Hi and Welcome! I remember your model and these pics. Yet i can`t remember a better F-16 in this scale. Beautiful!

Thank you for your interest
 
Dieter

Hi guys,
 
i am new here.
My real name is Dieter and I live in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany.
I only build in 32 and wonder why I have not registered here earlier.
A few of you will have seen my models already in other forums - this can not be avoided. 
Here are some Pictures of my Viper in "Arctic-Scheme".
 
F-16C, Blk.32, 64th AGRS SQN, Nellis AFB, 2012.
 
Kit: Tamiya "Thunderbirds", 1:32 with Afterburner Decals
 
Additional Parts:                 A.M.U.R.Reaver -  Chaff/Flare Dispensers
                                          Aires -  AN/ALQ-188 Pod (with scratch-pieces)
                                          AMS Resin -  ACMI Pod
                                          Cross Delta -  Stiffener Plates
                                          Master -  Pitot Tube, AoA-Probes
                                          Eduard -  Ladder
                                          Some selfmade Decals and Gunze colours
 
Edit: Pictures uploaded again.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 
The wheelbays are detailled by myself
 

 

 
 
 

 

 

Hi Milan,
 
Very good model building, looks perfect. The latest video you just put up of the closing panels in the nose section; that was awesome watching it. The panels fit perfect and including the nose section, it was a perfect fit as well.
 
Keep it up Thanks,

There it is - the nose section - glued and painted. It became like a Christmas tree that needs decoration.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
This is with nightlight again... And about the closing of the doors - i made a video. The clicks are awesome i think. 
 

 
 

Only the buckles are improvised pieces of PE, otherwise the seatbelts are just paper tape, a couple of layers, textured and painted. Then only CA (superglue) for gluing them on the figure, which indeed is gluing paper tape to paper tape, which is very easy and moreover - it is self adhesive paper tape from the one side. The seatbelts are ready and just about everything for the WSO figure, and it`s again nighttime here and i just took a couple of "bad" photos... They are gut for an overview tho. During the numerous testfits, before the major gluing:
 

 

 
And a few more with only one small light pointing at them. Looking at these pics now and wow - the cockpit looks alive. This is the first time when i see something similar in this scale... 
 

 

 

That's good to hear Milan
 
So I'm going to look forward to that F/A-18F Super Hornet in 1/32 scale model build that you're going to do one day (I hope)   as your friend Eagle Driver said.
I have 3 of them all in the boxes, Trumpeter F/A-18E & F and an Academy  F/A-18A all in 32. I've been collecting all the aftermarket parts throughout the last few years.
 
Like you I'm very fussy so if I don't have the time to do it I'll just leave them in there box.
 
Love to see what you can do with an F-18 hopefully by the time you finish yours I'll be able to get a chance to grab one of mine and start on it…
 
Thanks,

Hi F's
 
Great work you're doing there and it just goes to show what can be achieved; so thank you for opening up my mind, I've learnt a lot of new techniques just by looking at what you've been doing throughout this build.
 
 
Not sure if this has already been posted here on LSP but if not I would also like to share with you guys this link that I came across the other day I know it's a bit late as you were commenting about the MTU on page 6. Well this video clip is of an F/A-18F with a different perspective view, great video to watch plus you can see the MTU in the background on the right and also a great image of the helmet