Bitburg F-15C ODS Mig Killer

[ghatherly]

I decided to build another Tamiya F-15C Eagle, this time in Bitburg colors post ODS. I decided to start with the exhausts which are based on a combination of Flightpath PE kit, Eduard F-15E exterior detail set, and some of the kit parts. One of the biggest challenges is correcting the length of the Flight path feathers, as they are made too long, just like the Tamiya plastic parts.

 

What I use is the tamiya exhaust plastic base with the turkey feather connection points removed, but make sure to leave the control rod brackets in place. I file/scrape/sand the outside of the ring to eliminate the steps in the plastic and make a smooth surface for the metal PE to attach to. I anneal the FP part, and cut off all of the extra brackets and control rods to just end up with a curved, soft, tarnished, PE ring to attach to the plastic exhaust base. The pictures tell a much better story than I can, so just take a look and I will be happy to answer questions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to work on the After burners. Thanks for looking. Gary

[Daywalker]

Bravo Gary, that looks spectacular! WAAAAAY better than the kit parts, can't wait to see more of this one. I love Eagles!

[ghatherly]

Hey, Thanks Daywalker, Here is what is going into this build:

 

Tamiya F-15C kit

Airies F-15C Late Cockpit

Wolfpack MSIP MIsc part

Revell mail wheels, Fuel tank, LG ECM fin Probe

Eduard F-15 interior, F-15, F-15E exterior, F-15 Placard, F-15Eseat

Flight Path F-15 Exhaust

Two Bobs Bitburg Eagles Decals

Sky Stencils/ panel numbers

That's all I can think of right now, but I am sure I have forgotten something. I am building many items from scratch, such as the A/c intakes between the intakes and the forward fuselage, the A/C discharge behind the cockpit, JFS Intake, the front landing gear, main gear and well detail, and panel line corrections.

 

I am a lousy writer, so please ask questions if something does not make sense with my explanation. Thanks, Gary

Edited August 23, 2013 by ghatherly

[Guest Peterpools]

Gary

Fantastic start on the Eagle. The Turkey Feathers look absolutely spectacular.

Keep 'em coming

:popcorn:

[jmel]

Great work, Gary. I really enjoy these big Eagles.

 

Jake

[Derek B]

Those exhausts are stunning Gary

 

Derek

[ghatherly]

Hey Peterpools, Thanks for the kind words. The Eagle is my favorite bird. These only look real to me when metal is used to model metal. This is my 4th iteration of the FP kit, as I will explain shortly.

 

Thanks Derek, I have screwed up enough sets so it feels good to finally get some good results. Plus, Chuck is helping me with my model photography so the pictures are at least presentable.

 

What's up Jake!! We run into each other everywhere! How is the Kadena book shaping up? As I mentioned, Chuck has been kind enough to help me get my pictures at least up to a acceptable standard for viewing. He is really a God send to the hobby.

 

IF you notice this exhaust is completely different than the the last set I build for the Kadena Eagle. On those exhaust the base was Tamiya, but I left the turkey feather fittings on the base and used all FP PE for the open/close mechanisms and the struts and their detail. It looked OK but very 2 Dimensional except for the Tamiya control arm and push rod. This new set uses none of those parts and only uses the FP feathers, outer ring, slide straps, lower control arm mounting plate, and the control arm. Many of these were cut out separately from other part of the FP set. All of the end detail at the end of the turkey feathers by the strut is from the Eduard F-15E exterior set. The struts are modified Tamiya kit struts with scratch pivot details. The control rods are .4 mm x 4.5mm plastic rod, the connection blocks are .75mm square x 1.5mm drilled for the .4mm rod. They are then attached to the Control arms. Here are the finished pictures of the exhausts, and also how I thin the rear vanes at the engines and mount the exhaust like the real jet..

Thinned and separated fairing vanes.

 

Test installation of engines.

 

Completed Exhausts.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the kind comments and stopping by, Gary

[HerculesPA_2]

Greaaaaatt job ghatherly !!!

[Guest]

Wonderful work. Best nozzles I think I've ever seen !.........Harv

[Youngtiger1]

Very nice work n the exhaust. You can never go wrong with another Eagle build

[Guest Nigelr32]

As already said, very impressive work indeed.

 

Thanks for all the "How to" information on how to do these mods and use a mixture of kit parts and PE to get that oh-so-real look!!

[ghatherly]

Helculespa - thanks for posting and for the kind comments.

 

Harvey - Thanks for the very nice comment, I feel humbled. If you see the set that I built three years ago that was on the Kadena Eagle I posted in the completed works forum, this difference becomes clear as to how much these are an improvement over that set.

 

Youngtiger1- Always glad to meet new people, especially new brothers who are in Christ. John 1:1-8 is my verse. Thanks for posting and your kind words. I build models full time now as I am on disability retirement, so the build will go pretty quickly, plus I started this one 7 weeks ago and was undecided on if I was going to post it as my picture taking left much to be desired. Chuck has helped me a great deal, and with practice they are at least acceptable.

 

Nigelr32 - Thanks for the kind words. When you do things we forget all the steps, and going back and writing them down help to understand what you did. Not everyone is going to try and build these, but I have ruined/built 6-8 sets of the FP exhausts to get to this point, and like I mentioned above, what I just presented two months ago as my best ever is now something I would not even show because the process has evolved. If I miss steps or you or anyone has question, please ask as I am not a great writer.

[ghatherly]

In the first picture below from the Kadena jet I just finished, you see how the struts, control rods, and the parts at the end of the feathers on that build are really two dimensional and not at all like a real exhaust.

 

 

in the new version all of these flat items are replaced withe three dimensional parts like I described above. All of the FP feather detail at the end of the feathers was replaced with Eduard PE parts and scratch build parts.

 

 

I also need to mention that the Flight path feathers are too long, just like the Tamiya kit. You can see in the picture below I had to shorten mine by 6mm. all of the long and short feathers have to be shortened.

 

 

 

 

You can also use the standard kit burner tubes and exhaust, you don't have to use my method of installation.

Edited August 24, 2013 by ghatherly

[ColinR]

Superb work .. truly amazing workmanship, looking forward to see the rest of the build

[Guest Peterpools]

OMG ... absolutely incredible detail work.

Keep 'em coming

:popcorn: