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Tamiya F-15C Kicked Up A Notch- Dec 1/17: DONE!


chuck540z3

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Guest Peterpools

Chuck

Geez, your reference images are easily one of the driving forces behind a lot of talent.

Keep 'em coming

Peter

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Thanks.

 

I can't take credit for that fantastic reference pic of the nozzle detail, nor the one below.  Although most of my previous pics in this thread are photos I took myself, I get some really good ones from the very source:  USAF Public Photos, like this one.  So cool.....

 

NozzleDetail2.jpgthi

 

 

 

This pic, however, is mine on a desert Aggressor.  Note the brownish tinge on the nozzle petals, which I think may be due to reflection from the brown paint job on the jet? 

 

 

NozzleDetail3.jpg

 

 

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited by chuck540z3
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Guest Peterpools

Chuck

Holy Smoke .. what an image. I'll be swinging over to the site and checking it out.

Thanks for the lead

Peter

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NozzleDetail2.jpg

Did this thing just come out of the wash?  Not that I know anything about anything, but I'm surprised it's so clean.

 

'which I think may be due to reflection from the brown paint job on the jet?'

Don't over think.  It'll get you into trouble.  Just my humble two cents worth.

 

Sincerely,

Mark

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Chuck,

   As Pete said, thanks so much for that link. Of course having the reference pictures is one thing, duplicating what's in those pictures is quite another. And you've certainly have the skills needed to easily replicate all that detail.

 

Joel

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Mar 6/17

 

Thanks guys.  With all those kind comments the pressure to perform is immense, so I hope I don't disappoint!

 

 

The final product.  I hope you like them because they weren't easy- with no Photoshopping whatsoever, other than lighting tweaks.

 

 

FinalNozzles5.jpg

 

 

In case you want to do something similar, here's how I did the above.  First off, is the choice of Alclad colors.  On the resin block I cut the Two Mikes nozzles from, I sprayed a few Alclad colors as shown below as a test.  Unfortunately, the exact colors do not photograph very well, but it appeared to my eye that Magnesium was good for most of the outside of the nozzle, a bit of Steel for the middle portion and a combination of Steel, Stainless Steel and Hot Metal Blue for the outside base.  Note the light colored Alclad Steel on the left has some of the paint removed due to masking tape pulling it off.  More on that later.

 

 

FinalNozzles1_1.jpg

 

 

As indicated above, it was my intention to color the outside of the inner nozzle petals a light blue, as per the reference pics shown.  To paint these petals a separate color is just about impossible at this late stage with all of the complicated obstacles around them, but I did have a plan that was almost as good.  A little known fact about the Tamiya pastels is that they are not oil based like most pastels, but water based, which means they can be dissolved in water to form a wash.  Here I have scraped off some of the Burnt Blue pastels into a cup and added a drop or two of water.

 

 

FinalNozzles2.jpg

 

 

I then “painted†the blue wash onto the individual petals that should be blue on the outside, as shown in earlier posts of the real deal.  One really cool thing about this wash is that it is easily removed with water, so if I screw up and get the wash painted on some parts that I shouldn't (and you will!), it is easily removed with water.

 

Alclad does not like to be touched with human hands due to skin oil that removes some of the lacquer.  Some Alclad colors -especially the lighter colored ones like Stainless Steel that I used on the base (along with Hot Metal Blue)- also do not react well to masking tape either.  After the bases are painted, they need to be masked off so that the rest of the nozzle can be painted a darker color. But how do you do that without removing some of the paint? 

 

An old modeling trick that I learned years ago for sensitive areas is to use Tamiya masking tape, but touch each piece of tape to your forehead to absorb oils from your skin, which reduces the tack of the tape.  As gross as that may sound and ironically, the reason you shouldn't touch the Alclad with your hands is the same reason the tack of the tape has been reduced enough to still mask without sticking too hard to the thin and fragile lacquer.  Here I show another trick to hold the nozzles securely without touching them with my hands, with the masking tape “de-tacked†at the base.  Plain old paper, rolled into a tube, provides a perfect platform to hold the nozzle without touching it while painting it- and it masks off the interior at the same time.  Set in a small raised box like the one below, it doesn't touch anything while it dries.

 

 

FinalNozzles3.jpg

 

 

 

Magnesium and Steel have been applied, then the Blue pastel wash....

 

 

FinalNozzles4.jpg

 

 

A few more angles of the finished product.  I think I've "Done Good". :rolleyes:

 

 

FinalNozzles6.jpg

 

FinalNozzles7.jpg

 

 

Dry fit to the rear fuselage, I think this will look excellent when the model is finished.

 

 

FinalNozzles8.jpg

 

 

Tip #1:  Dry fit the base of the nozzle to the fuselage many times before you attach the rest of the exhaust nozzle to this base, making the necessary changes (sanding and #11 knife) to make the base fit cleanly and snug without a lot of drama.  Left on their own, the kit parts do not fit very well at all, with the port side nozzle fit that is very tight, if not impossible to attach without modification.  You do not want to struggling with the nozzle attachment with 150 tiny parts and a good paint job at a later time.

 

Tip #2:  Get rid of that little tab on the inside of the exhaust nozzle that forces you to install it on the fuselage at a certain angle.  You will have some really good looking angles to your exhaust and maybe some not so great ones, so by cutting off this tab, you can rotate the nozzle to show off the best at the top and bottom and maybe hide some imperfections on the sides against the tail booms, that nobody will ever see.

 

Thanks for your continued interest in this build.  This thread is now a bit over 1 year so far, but I have never put a model on a shelf so far (although tempted from time to time), so I WILL finish this project!

 

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited by chuck540z3
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Chuck,

  I'm speechless :wow:  your exhaust cones are literally way beyond anything I've ever seen.  Every post I wonder what next will you accomplish to raise the bar to even higher levels, yet just about every update you do.  You Sir, are truly a Grand Master Modeler.

 

Joel

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