Lee White Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Great job so far, keep the pics coming! BTW: the company is called "Aires", not "Aries"! ;-) Huh. I've been saying it wrong for, well, forever. Durn Dyslexia. Jer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony T Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I'm going to ask the old Bay 5 question again!! The Eagle i'm depicting is 79-0076 the Bay 5 colour would have been the infamous metalic greeny blue as the colour apparently changed to white from the 80's. I have a pot of the Xtracolor X159 from a previous Eagle build but i'm wondering would anyone know or know how i can find out if it would have been repainted white at a later date? Any advise appreciated. I was reliably told by former Eagle Keeper Dave Wheelan that FY 1979 tails had the metallic toolbox blue-green colour in Bay 5. These were repainted AFAIK during one of many depot overhauls since then in Georgia - any *current* C model featuring AIM-9X etc has probably been through a complete re-wiring also, so some pics of older bundles are likely out of date. The freaky bit is that those jets also originally featured metallic LG bays, but white inner gear doors, also long since stripped and repainted. Great build going on. You've upped scales with great aplomb! Tony Jer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jer Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 You are just fine with two wing tanks and the load out you want to carry. The mission has changes to a more BVR emphasis and the Xis very reliable so you only need two. For a current bird I would use White. Cheers Gary for the expert advice. Unfortunately i will be asking more questions as you're proving extremely helpful and you may regret that!!! :-) Does anyone have to had a picture of the underneath framework of the canopy coaming, the kit piece has cross supports forwhich i have drilled holes through (more of representation than accurate) but i want to know if i need to add in piping and gummings too. Bill, Lee, Peter, MARU5137 thanks for the support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jer Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 I was reliably told by former Eagle Keeper Dave Wheelan that FY 1979 tails had the metallic toolbox blue-green colour in Bay 5. These were repainted AFAIK during one of many depot overhauls since then in Georgia - any *current* C model featuring AIM-9X etc has probably been through a complete re-wiring also, so some pics of older bundles are likely out of date. The freaky bit is that those jets also originally featured metallic LG bays, but white inner gear doors, also long since stripped and repainted. Great build going on. You've upped scales with great aplomb! Tony Cheers Tony for the info thats very helpful. Preferring acrylic to enamel this is good news as that xtracolor paint took days to dry! Thanks Jer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghatherly Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Cheers Gary for the expert advice. Unfortunately i will be asking more questions as you're proving extremely helpful and you may regret that!!! :-) Does anyone have to had a picture of the underneath framework of the canopy coaming, the kit piece has cross supports forwhich i have drilled holes through (more of representation than accurate) but i want to know if i need to add in piping and gummings too. Bill, Lee, Peter, MARU5137 thanks for the support. No Problem. It is so cold here 20's these few days that I am in front he shop and working at the table. We have had a exceptionally cold bit if weather these few days so no resin is getting poured. My heater will only keep things around 70 under normal temps 40's 50's, So I am working on Mock ups and such and have the computer close by. IF you can be patient with aa response I will do what I can to help. One thing I noticed in your photos, and I may have not been correct in the cockpit alignment, is that you need to slide it back 2-3 mm. That will put your fire wall to the back side of the panel line, and this is where mine ended up. Sorry for not being more clear but it was 3 years ago that I worked on that section. This opens up a small gap to the front of the dash that is not seen when the canopy frame is installed. I blocked mine off just incase light would show through from the underside. Sliding it back will help with the rear gaps that you show, but you will have to remove more from the sides to get the NoPressure fit. I suggest taping the rear fairing onto the forward fuselage to get the fit right with the cockpit and the canopy frame. In reviewing my notes the front of the canopy opening did not line up with the bulkhead cross member, and I had to add to the front of the canopy frame at that location, although sliding the pit back helps to make a better fit. That closes the gap at the rear to where I could shim the firewall and not have to extend the deck. In the real bird this cross brace is where the pressure seal is for the cockpit when the canopy is closed. To get a frame layout for the canopy, buy the 1/48 Verlinden or the 1/48 Eduard F-15 sets for the Hasegawa C kit. These both have a PE Layout for the frame in 1/48. IF you upside it on a copier you then have templates for all of the sheet metal work underneath the canopy deck. Enlargement will be 147% to 151% depending on the copier brand, you just have to print a few in different sizes and see what fits properly. Later Jer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jer Posted January 11, 2015 Author Share Posted January 11, 2015 First off here's a picture of the drilled holes to the underside of the canopy frame. Like I mentioned earlier they're only a representation and probably inaccurate, but they were very fiddly to do and I'm happy with the result. Not a huge amount of forward progress mainly due to me getting the fit of the cockpit correct. Having achieved a better fit I can progress now with painting the pit. Cheers Gary for the hints and recommendations.... First off I removed the forward screw thingy that sits on top of the front wheel well to allow the pit to move. I'll have to glue the pit to the wheel well itself. In doing this the canopy frame sits on top of the cross panel...... In sliding the pit back I had to remove about 3mm of the step on the side panel to marry up with the fuselage. As Gary advised if the centre bulkhead and cross member are slightly behind the panel line then you'll know the canopy frame will sit on the cross member. However in moving the pit backwards the front coaming has a gap appear. This I'll fill up later on in the build. Now with the pit moved back the gap is pretty well much gone, I'll tidy that area up when the front fuselage is attached to the main body of the plane. Thanks for looking...... geedubelyer, ghatherly and Uilleann 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Hi Jer, That's a neat method of Gary's for fitting the Aires tub and you did a great job. The cockpit is going to look superb with the details all picked out. You're making fast progress on this bad boy. Keep at it. Cheers. Jer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jer Posted January 12, 2015 Author Share Posted January 12, 2015 Cheers Geedubelyer and Maru5137, Gary's help on the pit was invaluable. Tonight I have added thin piece of plastic sheet to the inside edges of the canopy and drilled multiple holes. I have added a lever for which I presume is the locking mechanism (saw it in a reference photo) but if anyone could confirm I would be interested. From a screen shot of a YouTube video I managed to get a good idea of what the canopy catch looked like. So I trimmed the two pronged kit piece down a fair chunk and drill a small hole and inserted a cut sewing pin through it. With piece of sprue I drilled a hole to represent the piece the spike thing ( sorry for the lack of technical knowledge) from the bay 5 floor goes into. Added some PE and spare sprue. As mentioned before I couldn't find any great reference so this is a representation more than anything. Cheers for looking.... Uilleann and Whitey 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark31 Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Great work and thans for All the pics and info. Will be Handy when i start my c. Keep going Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmel Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Tonight I have added thin piece of plastic sheet to the inside edges of the canopy and drilled multiple holes. I have added a lever for which I presume is the locking mechanism (saw it in a reference photo) but if anyone could confirm I would be interested. With piece of sprue I drilled a hole to represent the piece the spike thing ( sorry for the lack of technical knowledge) from the bay 5 floor goes into. Added some PE and spare sprue. As mentioned before I couldn't find any great reference so this is a representation more than anything. The first part you ask about on the canopy rail is the manual canopy unlock handle. The 'spike' thing on the floor of Bay 5 is the canopy remover for canopy jettison. It pushes up into the receptacle on the bottom of the canopy decking (called the catcher's mitt). You've done a nice job of depicting these items, as the kit parts leave a lot to be desired and Aires ignores them. Depending on which specific jet and squadron you're depicting, there are a host of other small changes to the cockpit that you may want to address, from the NVIS lighting, to the Map case/AVTR/CCU box, to the MPCD camera, and even the HUD camera. These items vary depending on Guard vs. active duty, for example. You'll need to scratch build the JHMCS sensor for any modern Eagle. The common load of Eagles now is a pair of wing tanks. You'll be hard-pressed to find a centerline tank on any Eagle, save for those flown by the B course kids at Klamath Falls. There hasn't really been a case of an Eagle requiring a true war ordnance load the past several years, so it's hard to say if they'd use a pair of AIM-9Xs, but I suspect they would, paired with two AIM-120s. Great progress so far. It's always nice to see a big Eagle. Jake Jer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jer Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) Cheers Jake for the expert advice. I've had a look at the JHMCS sensor and can see an example photo showing the device standing vertically on the inside of the port side of the canopy. Are they always on the port side and i take it it's just one? As to the NVIS lighting, to the Map case/AVTR/CCU box, to the MPCD camera, and the HUD camera, how would I know if the F-15C I'm depicting (79-0076) of the 173rd FW ANG Oregon would have these? I'm always happy to add in stuff if I'm technically able to do so!! Again, many thanks for the advice! Edited January 13, 2015 by Jer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jer Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) Tonight I have included thanks to Jakes advice the JHMCS sensor. Built with bits and bobs found around my desk, various attempts disappeared into the carpet but in the end I'm fairly pleased with my representation. Also added the canopy locking hooks. Think the rear ones are a bit too far back so if I remember I'll move them. Edited January 13, 2015 by Jer Whitey and Erick Swanberg 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmel Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Yes, the JHMCS sensor is only on the left. There is no F-15 with the serial 70076. Could you double check that? What decals are you using and what timeframe? Then I can better answer your questions. Jake Jer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jer Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) Yes, the JHMCS sensor is only on the left. There is no F-15 with the serial 70076. Could you double check that? What decals are you using and what timeframe? Then I can better answer your questions. Jake Cheers Jake. I am an idiot.....I meant 79-0076 !!!!!!!! ( I have since updated the previous post ) Caracal Models decals : F-15C 79-0076, 173FW, Oregon ANG - 2011 Appreciate your help! Cheers Jer Edited January 13, 2015 by Jer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmel Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Being a schoolhouse jet, your options for ordnance are limited. I've shot this jet a few times at Klamath Falls, and every time I've been up there, the standard load on the jets is a single centerline tank, a captive AIM-9X, an ACMI pod, and a single captive AIM-120. Sometimes a pair of 120s are carried and it isn't uncommon to fly without any external fuel tanks. The MPCD camera will be present, as it is on any modern-day Eagle. The HUD camera will be the type used by the ANG, and the map case will house the AVTR tapes, rather than just an empty basin for storage. Jake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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