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

[Shaka HI]

Nice, Chuck..not sure how you do it, but you make scribing sexy!

[ClumsyDude]

Jeez you're good Chuck ... I'll also echo what Chris said, the time taken on the explanation is super helpful. Thank you!!

 

Jim

[F`s are my favs]

Awesome details!

[spyrosjzmichos]

Oh man! Such fantastic work! 

[A-10LOADER]

Nice work Chuck. All these small details will just add to the finished product. Model on dude !!

 

Steve

[Uncarina]

Chuck,

 

Fantastic work and tutorials! At the same time, I'm glad that you post your work without feeling pressured. After all, we have to follow our muse to do our best.

 

Cheers, Tom

[chuck540z3]

Thank you everyone!

 

In my haste to fill in that big gap on the bottom of the wing, I forgot to replace the rivet detail.  Soooo, better late than never.  As Chris said, Tamiya Extra Thin Cement is fantastic stuff.

 

 

Before....

 

 

 

 

And now after, with more rivet detail added.  Note how the other panel lines have tightened up as well by just re-scribing them.

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

Chuck

[Guest Peterpools]

Chuck

Simply unreal work and looking so good.

The tutorials are a huge help, bookmarked and added to my bag of tricks.

Much appreciated as always.

Keep 'em comiong

Peter

[Squizzy 78]

I'm so glad that I'm building a similar model to you Chuck, because you're teaching me how to build it! Now I know how to fix the wing fit, and I didn't know the trick with TETC.

[chuck540z3]

Edit.  See Below

Edited March 20, 2017 by chuck540z3

[Joel_W]

Chuck,

  As usual, your rescribing looks so much better then what the original parts did. As for your Tamiya black pin wash afterwards, it really lets you see the results.

 

  I've just started Trumpeter's A-4E and I started to rescribe the panel lines which are real soft. If it wasn't for your tutorials, I wouldn't have tried to go that one step further.  Scribing done on one of 4 fuselage sections, now trying to clean out the scribed lines, then a Swipe of Extra Thin and polish.

 

Joel

[chuck540z3]

Hey guys, one last tip I forgot to mention which is very important, is that if you use the TETC method of closing gaps as above, make sure you don't touch it it with a scriber or a rivet tool for at least a week.  It will be much too soft initially, but after a week, it will behave much like ordinary kit plastic. In this case, patience is a virtue!

 

Cheers,

Chuck

[jmel]

 

 

 

One area that stuck out to me on the kit parts is the brace-like feature on both the flaps and aileron.  I don't see them on any of my pics of the real deal or in Jake's book....................................

 

 

 

 

 

You are correct.  Those guys are not on the Eagle you're building.  Sand away!

[wpierson]

Hi, Just wanted to say how much I'm enjoying reading this thread. You are a serious wealth of modeling "how to" information.

 

That being said, I do have a question; on 1/17 you posted about using LS to beef up a pin the you had undermined while adding depth to a vent. I've heard of using LS on different threads, but no one has really offered up any information that I've found on how to make LS, use and store it. Could you do a small tutorial on that? How long is it good for once it's made etc. Thanks in advance! 

 

Bill

[chuck540z3]

Hi, Just wanted to say how much I'm enjoying reading this thread. You are a serious wealth of modeling "how to" information.

 

That being said, I do have a question; on 1/17 you posted about using LS to beef up a pin the you had undermined while adding depth to a vent. I've heard of using LS on different threads, but no one has really offered up any information that I've found on how to make LS, use and store it. Could you do a small tutorial on that? How long is it good for once it's made etc. Thanks in advance! 

 

Bill

 

 

Well, you came to the right person Bill, because I have made every mistake possible with Liquid Sprue (LS), so here goes for those who care!  I'll start with the basics.  As simple as it is, there are some things to watch out for.

 

Liquid Sprue is just basically plastic sprue pieces melted in plastic cement, like Tamiya Extra Thin Cement (TETC) or many other cements that weld plastic together by melting them.  I find that after I use about 2/3's of a jar of TETC, it will be quite cloudy due to brush contamination, so it's a good candidate for the creation of LS.

 

1)  Starting with a jar of cement about 1/3 full, add a few small pieces of plastic sprue and let them sit overnight covered.  Don't overdo the addition of plastic, because it's easier to add more plastic than more glue later if you don't get the mixture correct.  Make the pieces of plastic small, so that they are easy to dissolve.

 

2)  Stir the mixture until is is fully mixed the next day.  Your target viscosity is that of ordinary honey.  If the mixture is too thin, add more sprue.  If it's too thick, add more glue, etc.

 

 

When I first discovered LS during my 1/32 A-10C build, I thought I was in heaven.  What better filler in plastic than more of the plastic itself!?  Well, it didn't turn out that easy for these reasons.

 

1)  LS shrinks like crazy, depending on how thick it is.  This shrinkage can take anywhere from 1-2 days to months(!), depending on how thick you apply it.  50% shrinkage is common.

 

2)  The thicker the application of LS, the slower it will dry.

 

3)  Until the LS is very dry, it won't sand at all.  It just flexes with the sandpaper and won't shear.

 

4)  If mixed too vigorously, LS can trap air bubbles that are very hard to get rid of.

 

5)  LS can melt everything around it and make it soft if it is applied too thick.

 

 

I had many problems with LS initially and they can all be blamed on applying it too thickly and not giving it enough time to dry properly.  I had LS continuously shrink for as long as 3 months and deform adjacent parts, which is not a lot of fun after you've already painted your model, so here are some tips.

 

 

1)  Apply LS in thin coats with the brush in the bottle or microbrush, never more than 2 mm at a time.  Let each coat dry overnight (and shrink) before the next coat.

 

2)  Like paint, LS will tend to dry out over time in the bottle, so add more glue as required before each application.

 

3)  Again, you want a honey-like consistency to the mixture.  If thinner, it will be too harsh on surrounding plastic and if thicker, it is too hard to apply.

 

4)  Keep LS ventilated!  If LS is enclosed and not exposed to moving air, it won't dry.

 

 

So with all those warnings and caveats, one might wonder why one would ever use LS at all?  Well, if you have lots of time for it to dry- as I did reinforcing those posts in the fuselage- it is the same color as the plastic, sands like the plastic and welds to the plastic better than any filler.  You can even make small parts with it.  I use CA glue for most of my filling needs, but sometimes Tamiya putty is the answer and at other times Liquid Sprue is just the ticket.

 

Happy Modeling,

Chuck