BlrwestSiR

The cockpit looks great. Glad the seat fit, if just.

Almost, a model company called HMA did a 1/144 kit of the plane and I've got that on my bench for reference. Back of the instructions. HMA even did a model of the F-16 that's in the film but all you see of that one is a shadow in the film.

I actually forgot. There's another fictional version of the Eagle which might closer to what I've got. Dale Brown wrote a novel called Day of the Cheetah which is about a deep cover Russian agent stealing an advanced prototype USAF fighter called Dreamstar that uses thought control for flight. The plane sent up against it is a heavily modified F-15 Strike Eagle called Cheetah which is very similar to my build. A fun book and sequel to Flight of the Old Dog.

Thanks, actually they've been fairly straightforward. To be honest, a lot of it I'm just winging it. Lots of TLAR* in this build. The vectored thrust nozzles are going to be the big challenge. I'm leaving that for last and if I bodge it, then I'll use the kit exhausts and call it done.

Working on the tailplanes, the kit ones mount to the fuselage vi a pair of very large tabs moulded to the fuselage halves. I scored them lightly and gave them a bend downward then slid the tailplanes on to see if it would work. They're angled down more than they will be when things are glued but it seems to work. So next step was to re-shape the tailplanes themselves. I also cut the canards out from an extra set of tailplanes. Again, just mocked up for fit. I got some close inspection of the work courtesy of our carpet monster.

It really is. I'm having lots of fun. The best part is I don't have to worry about 100% accuracy.

Really nice paintwork on the interior Rob. Same goes for the instrument panel.

Next up was the tailplanes. I took the kit ones and cut them apart to make a longer rear section I could attach to a second set. This ended up being vertical tails from a Tamiya Strike Eagle. It was easier to bend them in. I modified the base of the tailplanes slightly by levelling them so that the tailplanes could be angled outwards instead of straight up. The horizontal tailplanes are next.

Just enough of a factual base to make it so much more plausible.

Nice IP panel. I finally found a Red Fox set for my copy. Glad it looks to be worth it as the upgrade is very impressive. The seat looks great too. Carl

Back in 1993, a Japanese anime film called Patlabor 2 came out. It's based in the near future and has a fair bit of mecha action and some great military stuff but it was mostly about political intrigue. One scene really stuck with me and that's when the antagonist hacks into the JSDF and convinces them they're under attack. A pair of F-15 Kai fighter are sent to intercept. The Kai is based on several advanced prototypes of the F-15 that were actually built and flown, just not with all of these features at the same time. Anyways, I've wanted to build one of these for a long time. I need a break from the 262 so I figured why not. I'm starting with a pair of Revell F-15 Strike Eagles. I got them cheap and I figured that the JASDF would have updated some of their two seaters. I started with the main wings. They should be an easy mod to the F-22 shape. I scribed in the section I wanted to remove. Popped it out. Using a second upper wing , I cut out the new panel. This way I keep the correct airfoil profile. Compared to the stock wing. I then repeated this three more times for the other wing halves. This took about 90 minutes so that was good.

The engine nacelles were definitely not an easy part of the build so I know what you went through.

On a plane like the He111 I would definitely consider masks if they're available. So many tiny windows....

Thanks Martin ! I have an AM radar set from Master but the details are different so I'm trying to decide what to do. I may just replace the vertical poles with wire and leave it at that.

Wow Peter, sounds like quite the challenge ahead of you. Sometimes we just don't have the choice if it's the only game in town. Knowing what you're getting into ahead of the build should help at least with the frame of mind.

Sometimes with the amount of her fur on my bench, it wouldn't surprise me if she did.

With the canopy masked inside and out, I painted the inside in RLM66. While I had the airbrush out, I decided to start on the 262. I preshaded the wings. Then it was time for some RLM83. The pre-shading is still there, just a bit subtle which is what I wanted.

Peter, it's nice to have additional options for .asking these days like you said.

When you look at your pic and then the one I posted, that is one tall blonde...

The rare 2 seater variant.

Nice find in the stash. The bombs looks great.

Time for an update. I finally received my paint masks and decals for the build. So I spent some time today starting on the canopy masks. They're made by New Ware and are precut. I picked the inner and outer set since I'm planning to have the canopy open. The New Ware masks work nicely. The fit is good and I like the option of being able to mask the inside.

Just don't do that near your wife's ankle! What glue did you use for the gear? I have some 1 min epoxy I'll use for that sort of thing. Not as fast as CA but stronger and you have time to finesse the fit.

A bit more progress on the Badger. The exhausts are multi part and a bit fiddly, probably the most so of any assembly yet on the kit. I ended up losing one of the brackets that the exhaust pipe sits on. Sadly I didn't have my usual carpet monster lap cat to catch it for me. There's 3 per side and they are covered so no one will notice. With a quick coat of paint. Followed by their covers. The smoke launchers were next. Okay, these were more fiddly than the exhausts. Guess I spoke too soon.

I didn't have any Chieftains to climb on as a kid since Canada didn't use them. Just an Easy 8 Sherman and a Lancaster to play under.