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1/32 Early F-15B Eagle - 58TTW


RichieB

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Thanks Neo, adding lighting certainly teaches you new skills! Top tip is to start with something you can fit lots of stuff into as space can become a premium depending on how you light and power it. Good luck! 

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On 7/27/2020 at 12:40 PM, RichieB said:

Thanks Neo, adding lighting certainly teaches you new skills! Top tip is to start with something you can fit lots of stuff into as space can become a premium depending on how you light and power it. Good luck! 

I tink what keeping me the most is getting the startup kit/supplies. 

 

Would you have a recommendation?

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Hi Neo, there are many places out there selling LEDs, some actually do whole wiring set-ups for a particular aircraft. I tend to design my own circuits just because it gives me some flex when I decide to change my mind or get it wrong! I've used different sellers but the one below is quite good as they supply very small but bright leds (pico) which are great for cockpits etc and larger LEDs with resistors already included (for engines etc), so you don't have to worry so much about balancing voltages from different coloured LEDs. They also do small flashing LEDs (for anti-cols) and I like their connectors.

 

https://evandesigns.com/collections/hobby-leds

 

I'm sure other suppliers can do the same. There is also quite a lot of good info on the web on how to create an LED circuit which is basically how I picked things up (I am no electrician!). For some applications, fibre optics are better but they still need an LED light source. Hope that helps.

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Thanks for the info. 

I agree i want to build my own circuits too its more fun and allot cheaper.!! 

 

Last question Can you recomment what size of fiber optics to have there are so many im not sure what sizes are the most usefull for like cockpits and nav lights. 

 

Cheers

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You probably need a range from 0.25mm for fine lighting ie cockpit bulbs, 0.5 mm and 1 mm for instruments and nav lights. I have used 2mm for HUD and radar displays but not often. If need be you can always group fibre optics together but the smaller sizes are the easiest to bend, 1mm can be quite difficult to curve in tight spaces. In this case I slightly melt it. For stronger or larger light sources I'd use a suitably sized LED. Sometimes it just pays to experiment.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Whilst contemplating the front fuselage I decided to have a go at the intakes. These are notoriously challenging to remove the join seam and the revell ones are no different. To assist, I decided to glue them together then cut them in half. This achieved two things, firstly it made the job of creating a demarcation line between the main paint scheme (which extends into the intake) easier and secondly it meant I could access each bit of the join better. It pays to take care when cutting as the two halves have to 'seamlessly' fit back together again eventually. The back end was also shortened a little as I needed to use the bulkhead they normally fit into, to fix the acrylic rods for the in-flight stand instead.

 

49992707126_b351d5afcf_c.jpg

 

The back and front ends needed lots of TLC to fill the seams and I reinforced the join from the outside at strategic points to avoid cracking during sanding. Once primed the multitude of filling and sanding efforts are nicely blended.

 

49992707161_2ac6bb8522_c.jpg

 

Finally I used the GT Resin engine face instead of the stock Revell item as the detail is much better.

49992954482_c7c655b5db_c.jpg

Just need to paint and weather them up a bit now as they didn't stay clean for very long!

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  • 1 month later...

Just a very quick update to prove that (some) progress is being made!

Gary at GT Resin kindly supplied me a replacement set for the exhausts as my originals had a flaw in them. New set looks great and is a leap above the detail provided by the Revell kit (far right). As this is an early bird, they still have the turkey feathers on.

50433481356_dff988f051_c.jpg

 

Each exhaust comes in three pieces and includes a separate flame holder (not shown), for ease of painting. After a bit of tidying up and spot of primer on them I'm just about ready to paint them up.

50433480731_5086a401a3_c.jpg

This is the fun but slightly daunting part where you can bring a part to life .. or kill it stone dead! Not sure which method to use to weather them up as the images I've seen show quite a distinctive but complicated pattern. Much pondering to be done!

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Your lighting, especially the formation lights look brilliant. Just right.

I've found with some brands of old toothbrushes the colours can fade to very faint shades with age.

I used to scavenge broken brake light lenses from minor car accidents for red clear material, and even managed to find part of a broken green dome

from a doctor's emergency light, which were far more colourfast. 

But now while I still use my stash, I give them a thin brush of Tamiya clear colour which makes them a bit more bold,

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Many thanks for your comments chaps,

 

Chek- great top tip, always looking for other source material.

 

Maru5137 - thank you, it's slow but getting there. With added lighting you have to think 3 steps ahead as once you've glued it together its very difficult to add or correct. 

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One of the fixes you'll need to adress is the canopy. The only F-15 that had a tinted canopy was the demonstration a/c, the box top one you have.  Revell issued the kit at one point with a clear canopy and so did Revell of Germany.

 

Bruce

(from Parts-R-Parts)

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Thanks for the info Bruce, this kit didn't come with a canopy so I bought a cheap 'Bicentennial edition' which did and that one is clear luckily.

Of note, the bicentennial kit doesn't have any weapons or even the cradles for the sparrows!

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  • 4 weeks later...

About time for an update...

I've reassembled both intakes having cut them in half to making seam removing and painting easier and added the engine face at the rear. Have to say that bit worked out quite well and made the internal painting and a bit of light weathering (these were pretty new jets after all) pretty straightforward. Sorry the picture is not great, trying to find a depth of field where everything was in focus was the trickiest bit! 

 

50581351511_982d45454b_z.jpg

 

In test fitting the resin exhausts I found the Revell kit back-end to be a tad wide creating a small but noticeable step. My somewhat crude solution was just to file the back end down a bit and rescribe any lost detail. I've also been spraying primer as I go to make sure there aren't too many surface flaws and yes, I found quite a few!

50581475687_39f3950b96_z.jpg

 

The exhausts themselves are going to be sprayed a blend of Alclad metallics but first a bucketload of masking.

50581351486_8f5cd570c3_z.jpg

 

The exhaust internals where weathered using panel line wash and sand coloured filters to capture the slightly tinged ceramic look of the PW engines. I then added some soot pigment trying to mimic the images I'd seen the Jake melampy and DACO books. The bands on the outer  rings are two shades of Alclad Aluminium tinged with some Tamiya weathering pads. The rear exhaust has a clear hollow rod attached which will assist in creating the in-flight mode. This will need careful reinforcing as a lot of weight will get transmitted through this rod.

50581475642_761f549bce_c.jpg

(Very) Slowly coming together!

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Interesting to see this come together.

The peek down the intake trunking looks good.

 

It's not easy to tell from your second to last image but do the exhaust nozzles have the turkey feathers modelled? 

 

Also, a bit late for you now, but the real aircraft has a step from the end of the nacelles to the engine doughnut. Possibly something to consider if you should ever make another. ^_^

 

I'm eager to see this all in place. Keep at it. 

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