chuck540z3 Posted October 6, 2017 Author Share Posted October 6, 2017 (edited) Oct 5/17 As I said before, I'm running out of parts! After a year and 7 months working on this build so far, the concept of the end coming soon becomes more and more of a reality. Good thing too, because I'm starting to get really tired of anything F-15 and Eagle. Before I get to decaling this big bird, I wanted to get all the tiny parts and sub-assemblies put together and painted. In random order, here they are: Bits, bits and more tiny bits. Most of these little suckers took a LOT of work to remove seam lines and pin marks before painting. AMS Resin ACMI Pod This resin pod comes with 3 different heads, but in all my pics of F-15 Aggressors, they always have the one I glued on. This pod is superior to the other offerings out there, including Two Mikes, which I also own. Painted up and decaled according to references, it can look pretty good. Note that I have added steel pins for insertion into the missile launchers later without using glue. Decals were derived from the Two Bobs AIM-9 CATM decal set, which I also used on the AIM-9X missile below. Zactomodels AIM-9X Missile As modelers we are blessed with many great after-market resin sets, but it would be hard to beat the Zacto AIM-9 missiles in several variants, mastered by Alexander Rogal of Russia (“Easternâ€) and Chris Wilson (“Zactomanâ€). They are awesome!! Hardly any cleanup and they have the best tiny detail I have ever seen on a resin set. I used the AIM-9M version on my A-10C build, as shown below: The Zactomodels AIM-9X, as used on all Aggressors, is just as good. Here's what you get for parts, including a head cover, 2 different motor ends, umbilical cord and iridescent seeker head. Note that the CATM version does not have those circular fuse windows, which are found on the live 9X's. A few more angles. The decals aren't totally accurate, since they are made for the AIM-9M and earlier versions, but with some edits, they are fairly close to the real deal. The finish of the fins, head and wings are quite a bit duller than the AIM-9M, to replicate reference pics of the AIM-9X, which has a much flatter finish. Remember that brass gun? It got a little work done to it as well. Edited October 7, 2017 by chuck540z3 Starfighter Jock, Gazzas, F`s are my favs and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted October 6, 2017 Author Share Posted October 6, 2017 (edited) Wolfpack ELTA 8222 ECM Pod F-15 Aggressors often had the Israeli ELTA 8222 ECM pod mounted on the bottom corner of the port side intake where Sparrow missiles used to go. This one is from Wolfpack and isn't too bad, but the decals it came with are very thick and hard to hide. As with the missile and ACMI pod, I added pins to attach it to the intake- and the semi-circle adapter that fits in the missile holders. I also added a small strip of styrene to the front of the adapter to keep it lying flat against the pod. Painted up and decaled, it looks the part. Here's where it goes against the port side intake. Finding pics of this pod and where it goes is almost impossible, but I think I got it right. Pod mounted using the pins. Ever wonder how to hold fuel tanks while painting them? With the holes drilled into the top for the pins, this method worked out great. The best time to put all this stuff together is NOW, before the pylons are glued to the underside of the wings. You can adjust things without stressing the pylon join and none of it requires glue with all the pins that I have used. Port side, with the AIM-9X missile. Edited October 6, 2017 by chuck540z3 A-10LOADER, sandokan, Shaka HI and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted October 6, 2017 Author Share Posted October 6, 2017 (edited) Starboard side with the ACMI pod. I'm pretty happy how that little ball shaped connector at the rear of the fuel tank and pylon turned out, by cutting it off, drilling it out, adding styrene rod, then painting it separate from the tank, which is much easier to do. I'll add the other one above it when I attach the pylon to the wing. That's about it for now boys. I have a few weeks of decaling ahead of me, which I always like to take slow- and be very careful. Cheers, Chuck Edited October 6, 2017 by chuck540z3 Marcel111, F`s are my favs, Uncarina and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaka HI Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 Hot damn! Orgasmic! Every picture is fantastic, I can even see one with your fingerprint on it! Better wipe that off! I forget, what camera/lens are you using? chuck540z3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted October 6, 2017 Author Share Posted October 6, 2017 Hot damn! Orgasmic! Every picture is fantastic, I can even see one with your fingerprint on it! Better wipe that off! I forget, what camera/lens are you using? Thanks, Yeah, I noticed that fingerprint as well. Good thing it's still at the gloss coat stage and I can just wipe it off! For taking my pics, I use a Nikon D610 (sometimes D810) which is 24 MP (D810 is 36MP), but the real star is the 60mm f2.8 Macro lens. The aperture goes all the way up to f36!, so almost everything is in focus, even at close range, using a timed exposure and a tripod. Note how most of the pics also show the weave of the blue background cloth, which I don't really want, but you can't have deep depth of field without it. Cheers, Chuck Shaka HI, A-10LOADER and F`s are my favs 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaka HI Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 Thanks Chuck. I recently switched from Canon to Nikon and have the D850 on backorder...still struggling a bit with the D750! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 Excellent update as always, Chuck! Kev chuck540z3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 (edited) 'because I'm starting to get really tired of anything F-15 and Eagle' You and me both. Ha! Wonderful update, Chuck. Everything is so beautifully rendered. Photography is TOPS! Great Show!! Sincerely, Mark Edited October 6, 2017 by dodgem37 chuck540z3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted October 6, 2017 Author Share Posted October 6, 2017 Thank you Gents! First, Thank you for sharing your wonderful work. It is always a joy and education to read of your posts and I never tire of your good humour, knowledge and superb craftsmanship. But I was wondering how you do keep your interest and enjoyment high on these long builds. Your work never suffers form a sense of being rushed or bored with your subject. Your are builds last months, years and they get better and better. Each with more chance for disaster or abandonment through disinterest or frustration. ( Multiple parts, details and fantastic finishes.) Can you offer any advise or tips for those of us who are easily... oh, look squirrel …. distracted? I hope your models bring you much joy. Because I sure do like reading about them. Dan GOOD question, which I have been asked before: How do I remain motivated after so many months on the very same project? The answer is two-fold. 1) Take a break from modeling once in awhile. As mentioned several times earlier, I don't model that much in the summer, mostly because our Canadian summers are usually so short, spending time indoors robs myself and my family of outdoor activities while the weather is nice. Same can be said of winter vacations, which I take fairly often. 2) Treat sub-assemblies like mini-models all on their own and ignore the rest of the model. The pods and missile above are little "models" and took a few weeks to create and are all quite different from each other. The same can be said of the landing gear, cockpit, engine exhausts, etc. I could and probably should be spending time on other parts and assemblies at the same time, but then modeling becomes an assembly line of work, rather than individual challenges to enjoy. You may have noticed no decals on the main model while I made the sub-assemblies. This is due to the above (2) and the need for practice decaling. I think I'm pretty good at applying decals, but after a year (19 mths in this build) you get rusty and the decals on the pods and missile remind me of just how to apply decals properly. Also, it gives me a chance to try different decals. The Two Bobs decals are terrific, while the Wolfpack decals for the ELTA pod are really thick and hard to settle down. The Tamiya decals that came with the kit (and the F-15E kit) are horrible (fall apart and thick), which is why I did not apply the lift line decals on the bottom of the fuel tanks, which are usually there, but thankfully not always. None of the other decal sets have these fuel tank decals, so this is a case of "less is more", which has saved me future grief applying some Tamiya decals to the main fuselage. The other thing I was able to experiment with is the application of gloss coat followed by a variety of flat coats to hide decal boundaries after proper application. If I was doing all this at the same time on my model, I would likely have some flaws that I couldn't fix without a lot of extra work. This weekend is our Canadian Thanksgiving, so I'm not touching this model for at least 5 days. With all the turmoil in the world, which seems to be much, much more than usual lately, most of us have a great deal to be thankful for and we are very, very lucky. Happy Thanksgiving! Cheers, Chuck F`s are my favs, Starfighter Jock, ungoliat and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F`s are my favs Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 Awesome big little small progress! Lovely details and top notch pods(parts ) as always! These birds have only a little decals so the vista to the completely decalled plane is not so foggy though. It is a wonderful feeling to start applying something different(decals) for the first time after quite some time not doing it, undoubtedly. I used the Testor's decal setting solution on only some of these "bad" Tamiya decals, and the result was outrageous, really flawless. Which indeed was one of the biggest surprises for me. However, some decals I had to glue them with a super glue ))) they just didn't want to bent onto the highly rounded curves of the details - the white/black bands along the hook are the first to recall. It's kinda funny, but super gluing thick decals sometimes works well. chuck540z3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted October 6, 2017 Author Share Posted October 6, 2017 Awesome big little small progress! Lovely details and top notch pods(parts ) as always! These birds have only a little decals so the vista to the completely decalled plane is not so foggy though. It is a wonderful feeling to start applying something different(decals) for the first time after quite some time not doing it, undoubtedly. I used the Testor's decal setting solution on only some of these "bad" Tamiya decals, and the result was outrageous, really flawless. Which indeed was one of the biggest surprises for me. However, some decals I had to glue them with a super glue ))) they just didn't want to bent onto the highly rounded curves of the details - the white/black bands along the hook are the first to recall. It's kinda funny, but super gluing thick decals sometimes works well. Super glue!? You are a brave man. Have you tried Future/Pledge? It will work too, but still allow removal if things go wrong. Cheers, Chuck F`s are my favs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-10LOADER Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 Beautiful, beautiful work as always Chuck. She's gonna look really sweet all finished up. Got any advice for a 56 month 1 /18th scale Tomcat conversion ??!! Happy Thanksgiving eh, enjoy. Steve chuck540z3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted October 7, 2017 Author Share Posted October 7, 2017 (edited) Thanks Steve EH! You made me laugh during a time in our world when it is hard to do so. Thank you, Chuck Edited October 7, 2017 by chuck540z3 A-10LOADER 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F`s are my favs Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 Super glue!? You are a brave man. Have you tried Future/Pledge? It will work too, but still allow removal if things go wrong. Cheers, Chuck Yep, super glue, just a little of course, but it works only on the "baddest/thickest/most persistent" decals. Now i remember that the decals on all the pylons of the landing gear were literally superglued as well. There is no option for adjustment of the decal once it touches the superglue, but at least it stays curved around the small diameter of the pylon. Whilst for the lacquering technique - i tried that one too, but it`s not enough. There is plenty of time to wait until the lacquer dries and throughout this time there is nothing to keep the decal steady laying over the surface. One touch and it moves, and the lacquer couldn`t set properly, and it could easily become a real mess. Yet i use this method only sometimes. chuck540z3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucio Martino Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 Chuck, Let me thank you for all this happiness! Nothing match your threads, both in terms of modelling and narrative. Keep going, I am altready dreaming about your forthcoming Spitfire... I have a question: If I remember well you are using inexpensive micro drills for pins. Where do you buy them? chuck540z3 and sandokan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now