Bucking the trend,......not a WNW build

[LSP_Kevin]

Nice work GD! You're really shooting for the top end of town here.

 

Kev

[geedubelyer]

Thanks Kev. I admit that the Eagle is my favourite aircraft so getting to build one in this scale is always a treat. As an enthusiast it's easy to see where little improvements can be made and I just can't help myself. My goal is to have the best looking F-15 in my cabinet that I can. Since very few people will see it and even less care what it is, I am the only one who needs to be satisfied with the way it looks.

Truthfully, most modellers could build this model out of the box and be happy with how it looks. I think Tamiya did a superb job but that's not to say that I can't find the odd thing to tinker with.

 

Talking of which, I got a little time on the model this afternoon so decided to tackle the Primary Heat Exchanger inlet and exhaust as well as re-visit that ram air intake again.

 

I was n't happy with my modified ram air intlet when I compared it to references. I'd made the opening too deep and rounded. The solution was to infill using a piece of shaped metal foil. This sliver was shaped and then inserted into the hole to reduce the circumference of the opening.  

Next up, the PHE inlet. The kit part is overly thick when compared to photos of the real deal so I shaped a small piece of aluminium sheet (a pie tin,......mmmmm...pies..  ) then folded it to represent the intake mouth.

 

 

Finally, the PHE exhaust. These are quite prominent under the rear fuselage and I began thinning the plastic of the kit parts. After a short while I was looking for a better solution. Once again, I turned to my pie tin. I cut out a small square of the aluminium sheet and held it over the part. Using a wooden paintbrush handle with a rounded tip I began to burnish the metal over and around the edge of the plastic part. Once I'd got the shape roughed in I found a slightly sharper tool in my tool kit and went around the shape again. I repeated the process, slowly forming the aluminium sheet around the kit part.

 

Finally, (after a few goes) I was able to cut away the surrounding metal leaving the correct shape. I used the same sheet metal to create the centre rib which I punched lightening holes in before glueing it in place down the centre of the formed exhaust.

 

 

A little tidying around the edge and I should be good to go. Using the aluminium gives a more scale effect (although the exhaust is now probably a smidge over-sized by the thickness of the sheet metal).

 

I've found more that I can do on the underside of the jet so I'll be back soon with more.

 

Cheers for now

Edited October 1, 2017 by geedubelyer

[LSP_Kevin]

Wow, love that exhaust work GD! Thanks for explaining how you used the aluminium foil (filed away upstairs for use later).

 

Kev

[Daywalker]

Great googly moogly...

 

Fantastic stuff, can't believe you went to the trouble to add the lightening holes in the center rib- INSANE!

 

Love watching your work, can't wait for more updates.

[DaneBramage]

Wow Your attention to detail is mind blowing!! Reporting for class Professor. Taking notes. As someone stated earlier Pinching ideas in general.

[geedubelyer]

Hi folks, it's good to see that some of the ideas might find their way into other builds. Kev, Dane, glad there is the odd thing that folk might use from this build.

Hi Frank, glad you like things so far. Yeah, I could n't help myself.

I have this theory that although the viewer might not consciously notice all of the subtle modifications, sub-consciously the brain takes them all in and this helps in making the model feel a little more realistic. Well, that's my theory and I'm sticking to it....

 

Talking of subtle mods, (see what I did there....?)  here's another.

 

Whilst tinkering with the undersides of the intakes I had a look at the tail of the jet where the engine "doughnuts" (donuts) fit. Tamiya have modelled the feathers that surround the doughnut in a taper to join the engine ring.

On the full sized bird the feathers are straight resulting in a gap around the engine

 

 

To replicate this I adopted a techique I used on my last Eagle build. This involves removing the molded on detail and replacing it.

 

To begin the process I scraped, filed and sanded away the feathers where they meet the engine panels removing just enough material for the depth of some metal foil.

 

I cut out the opening and thinned the plastic then glued a small square of foil inside to represent the engine casing visible in the opening.

 

The next step is to cut out an arc of foil to fit the shape we've created. I made a template and traced the arc.

 

I'm using the foil closure from a wine bottle which is soft and maleable. I tried aluminium from a pie tin for these feathers but it was too brittle snd springy.

With the shape cut I scribed the feather detail onto the surface and used scissors to cut part way into the feathers.

 

 

On the last build I made this alteration late in the day and left it in the raw aluminium of the foil which is a tad bright.

 

This time, I hope to paint it in common with the other BMF parts to help it blend in better.

 

Cheers.

Edited October 1, 2017 by geedubelyer

[Derek B]

Excellent work Guy

 

Derek

[Daywalker]

Cheers Guy, amazing work! It's details like this that make your work stand out. Good catch on what I believe is an often overlooked detail.

[Vandy 1 VX 4]

Hi Guy A old trick is to use Tin Foil and boil it when you hard boil some eggs. I use a metal sauce pan. Put the Tin Foil in before the eggs and bring to a boil. It will naturally tarnish the Tin Foil. Also use tap water that is Hard water. That is what I do. Chers Mate

[Rainer Hoffmann]

Great work, Guy.

Loved your Tomcat build, But as long as that one is on hold I'll simply enjoy this one.

 

And it's another flame thrower!!! Imho there are not enough jet WIPs on LSP

 

Cheers

Rainer

[Out2gtcha]

Hi Guy A old trick is to use Tin Foil and boil it when you hard boil some eggs. I use a metal sauce pan. Put the Tin Foil in before the eggs and bring to a boil. It will naturally tarnish the Tin Foil. Also use tap water that is Hard water. That is what I do. Chers Mate

 

 

I might even suggest doing some experimentation with the egg method. Its really the liner/shell of the egg that works its chemical magic on the foil, so what I normally do is boil up the eggs hard and strip off the shells liner and all, and plop the shells back in the same boiled water with the foil and bring things back up to a boil. Also dont touch the foil with your bare fingers, or put it in the egg water wrinkled, unless that is the effect your going for.............as the oils in your fingers (similar to CA vapor) will show up big time as fingerprints in the etched foil, and wrinkles in certain spots will prevent the chemical reaction from taking place in that spot and give you light streaks there.

 

This technique does work well.................when it works. Ken and I (AKA foiler on LSP) have both experimented with chemical colorization of foil and the eggs Ken gets dont change the chemical make up of the foil at all.............but the eggs I get do. No clue why. *EDIT* I never did ask Ken if he used hard water or not...............maybe he has soft water?

 

The other way forward on foil you want weathered (greys, titanium's ect, ect) or heat treated (see my SU-30 exhaust) is a soaking the foil in a combo of lead, copper (pennies) and bleach. More lead will get you more greys and platinum's and more copper will get you more colors, greens, reds, yellows. Just monitor things at ALL TIMES in that solution, as leaving it too long well yield you some dissolved aluminum dust in the bottom of the bleach jar.

 

The F-15 is looking wonderful whatever your using!!

Edited February 8, 2013 by Out2gtcha

[geedubelyer]

Hi guys,

 

Hi Derek and Frank, many thanks for the kind words. As you've probably gathered, I'm quite into my details.....

Hi Guy   A old trick is to use Tin Foil and boil it when you hard boil some eggs. I use a metal sauce pan. Put the Tin Foil in before the eggs and bring to a boil. It will naturally tarnish the Tin Foil. Also use tap water that is Hard water. That is what I do.   Chers Mate

Hi Danny, thanks for the tip. It's a good idea and looks superb when it works.

 

Great work, Guy.

Loved your Tomcat build, But as long as that one is on hold I'll simply enjoy this one.

 

And it's another flame thrower!!! Imho there are not enough jet WIPs on LSP

 

Cheers

Rainer

Hello Rainer, thanks for stopping by. Do not fear, the big Kitty will return in the not too distant future. This build is to re-invigorate my enthusiasm. Once that is recharged to capacity I intend to return to the Tomcat and see it through. Oh, and I agree, far too few kerosene burners on these pages.   

 

 

 

This technique does work well.................when it works. Ken and I (AKA foiler on LSP) have both experimented with chemical colorization of foil and the eggs Ken gets dont change the chemical make up of the foil at all

 

The other way forward on foil you want weathered (greys, titanium's ect, ect) or heat treated (see my SU-30 exhaust) is a soaking the foil in a combo of lead, copper (pennies) and bleach. More lead will get you more greys and platinum's and more copper will get you more colors, greens, reds, yellows. Just  monitor things at ALL TIMES in that solution, as leaving it too long well yield you some dissolved aluminum dust in the bottom of the bleach jar.

Hi Brian, many thanks for the tips. I tried using eggshells on a past model but could n't get any discoloration. Perhaps I'm using the wrong water?

The other technique sounds rather caustic and a little bit toxic   I'm sure the result looks superb so I'll keep it in mind whilst I work on other parts.

 

The items I've been dabbling with recently are the intakes.

To start this update off, here is an image of the real deal...

 

 

On the Tamiya Eagle there are three components per side, two walls and the intake ramp.

 

There are one or two things that benefit from a little clean up but all in all everything looks reasonable. One area where the kit item can be improved is the subtle hole detail. They are raised on the plastic parts so I turned to Eduard for some help. Their F-15E exterior etch set provides metal replacement vents.

 

Fitting them was simply a matter of sanding off the raised plastic detail and glueing the etch in place. I'l have to be careful with the paint though as the holes are minute. 

 

Taking a closer look at the detal on the kit parts reveals neat and tidy recessed panel lines which look

 

,........umm,........wrong when compared to the real deal.   Have a peek at the first pic and you'll see that those lines are raised beads of sealant...... 

There's only one thing for it,..........add raised lines   (I can here the collective gasp from here). I know this flies in the face of contemporary modelling trends but I've never been a slave to fashion (ask my missus  )

I used some thin stretched sprue and Tamiya extra thin cement to fill in the existing panels lines. This will get a rub down prior to paint to reduce the effect some more. (BTW, Tamiya sprue stretches beautifully)

 

 

The next step was to assemble the intake trunking and here is where I hit a snag or two.

One thing that helped the fit was sanding down the additional bulkhead in the main gear well.

 

Once that ridge was cleaned up the intakes sat in the fuselage more neatly. However, I found quite a gap between the trunking and the fuselage side...

 

After a bit of thought I found the culprit, a plastic nub and pin for alignment.

 

 

Removing that helped the trunking sit better in the fuselage.

Edited October 1, 2017 by geedubelyer

[geedubelyer]

I'd like to enlist the help of anyone who has built this kit if possible. I appear to have some fit issues with the intake mouths and want to know if this is typical of the light grey Eagles. I don't remember anything like this on the Strike Eagles that I've already built.

 

There is a gap between the fuselage part and the intake mouth (#2)

 

 

I will have to give more thought to how to tackle that thorny problem tomorrow. Also, the hinge point (#3) looks a bit exaggerated on the model and the top portion (#1) seems to be at too steep an angle.

In addition to that, there is a large and unsightly gap on the inner intake sides.

 

Oh well, it gives me something to think about before I drift off to sleep..... 

Edited October 1, 2017 by geedubelyer

[Daywalker]

Cheers Guy, sorry I cannot help you on your problems (haven't built an Eagle yet ) but I hope a good night's sleep brings the solution to you.

 

Have you considered using AM seamless intakes? Not sure if that would do anything for the problem at hand, but they sure look cool.

 

Seamless F-15 intakes

[geedubelyer]

Hi Frank, thanks for the link. The seamless intakes look good in the photos. I'll save the link for use in possible future builds (-I and -K or -SG if funds allow eventually).

For this build I think I'll tackle the problem from a different angle. What I'm considering is cutting the intakes and removing a short section which should allow the nodding intake mouth to sit directly to the fuselage. This will keep the joint nice and tight. It will also allow me to insert a thin fillet to cover the gap on the inboard side of each intake trunk. The down side of a conversion like this is that the intakes will no longer function. Plus, the inside of the trunking will look horrible. Thankfully, I don't want the intakes to operate and since my intention is to depict a static airshow bird I can fashion a pair of intake FOD plugs and hide the mess inside.

The final bit to attend to will be the area on top of the intake where the joint is at too sharp an angle. Perhaps I'll be able to remove some plastic from that region and replace it with card stock at a shallower angle....

 

I'll keep you posted on the progress.

 

Cheers.