F-15DJ Kai or Eagle Plus- Finished!

[Peterpools]

Carl

Making some mighty nice progress and no question one of the messiest part of any build. 

[DocRob]

There is a lot of work involved, Carl, but in the end you will have a really unique F-15X.

Cheers Rob

[Martinnfb]

Exactly , once done this is going to be incredible.

[BlrwestSiR]

Thanks folks! It'll definitely be unique once it's done. 

 

[BlrwestSiR]

I got the putty sanded to what I hope is the final shape. 

The light grey is Apoxie Sculpt, the dark grey Mr Surfacer 500 and the white is styrene sheet. 

To see how the contours look and make it easier to spot any imperfections, I sprayed a coat of Mr Surfacer 1200.

I'm happy with the overall shape of things. There's a few more imperfections to take care of and then I can start engraving the panel lines. 

[Martinnfb]

That looks like million dollars 

[Peterpools]

Carl Right with martin - as on my end, looking awesome.

[DocRob]

If the US Air Force had known.... 

Cheers Rob

[HubertB]

I am sure you have spotted the asymmetry between the right and left fairings on the underside of the beast, near the nozzle …

This said, the result is amazing !

Hubert

[BlrwestSiR]

On 4/22/2024 at 4:41 PM, HubertB said:

I am sure you have spotted the asymmetry between the right and left fairings on the underside of the beast, near the nozzle …

This said, the result is amazing !

Hubert

Thanks Hubert! Yes, the one side bulges a bit more. I'm going to try and sand it down so they're a better match. 

[BlrwestSiR]

I sanded the left side (right side in the pic) a bit to reduce the asymmetry. Hopefully it's enough as I'm afraid if I take too much off, I'll have a hole. 

 

[Peterpools]

Carl

Looking good and being on the underside is a huge plus.

[BlrwestSiR]

Time for an update. I finally broke down and started work on the ailerons. I sanded the trailing edges of each part down a bit. I then filled in the existing panel lines that were on the parts.

Then I added some tabs to the rear of the wings. These helped to space the wing out and helped me get a bigger bonding surface. 

Finally I started gluing the ailerons on ,one side at a time. 

 

[Martinnfb]

This is super exciting to watch. Can't wait for the finish product.

[Peterpools]

Carl

Right with Martin, terrific progress and looking forward to each build update.

[BlrwestSiR]

Thanks guys! 

After getting the ones due done, I noticed that I hadn't dealt with the small gap by the wing root.

Combined with the gaps around each aileron, there was also a notch at the wingtip that would need dealing with. 

So rather than having possibly 7 parts per side to deal with, I decided on a new approach. 

I cut the wing and made a single straight line. 

I then trimmed back the wingtip. 

Using sheet styrene, I made new ailerons. These are a single piece top and bottom so much less seam work and a better fit. You can compare it to the first side I did.  

To give it shape and the thickness needed, I made an inner structure from various thicknesses of sheet styrene. 

From the end showing the profile. 

Dry fit in place. The fit is a lot better. It holds in place without glue and the thickness is a much better match to the wing. 

Now to make the other side and replace the original ones I did. 

[HubertB]

Real improvement there, Carl 👍 !

Hubert

[Peterpools]

Carl

Way to go! Removing and replacing the wing control surfaces was quite a job, including building in the airfoil shape - looks fantastic. 

[BlrwestSiR]

I got both ailerons made and scribed in some panel lines. 

Next step, I mounted them to the wings. 

The wing tips will need a bit of aligning once the main joint dries but otherwise the fit is much better than my first try. 

With the tail surfaces dry fitted, it's really looking the part. 

[Martinnfb]

That's pretty awesome ! 

[DocRob]

Lots of fitting design elements there, Carl. The Super F-15 is coming together nicely.

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Carl

Right with both Martin and Rob - what an improvement and the control surfaces look; oh so good. Some mighty fine scratch work for sure.

[BlrwestSiR]

Threw a coat of primer on. I think the cloth I used to wipe it down was a bit static-y (is that a word?) as I had so much dust and fur stuck to it. 

It's going to need another sanding and some small areas need touch-ups but it's getting there. 

[Martinnfb]

I am impressed by your skillset Carl, this is so involved and the results are mind blowing . 

[ScottsGT]

Looking great Carl.  You need a can of Endust on your bench.  
 

Necessity for builders that own very fuzzy animals!

Don't spray it on the model.  I spray on a micro fiber cloth, kind of squish it into the cloth and wipe down the model.