F-15DJ Kai or Eagle Plus- Finished!

[BlrwestSiR]

Ok, I just realized we're coming up to the end of May which means I have a little over a month until the end of the GB. Time to get back to this build. The good news is I finally found my Tamiya scriber so I can fix some of the panel lines and get on with the build. So hopefully I'll have an update this week. 

[CANicoll]

Carl,  The work you are doing is awesome!  What a cool subject and you are killing it.  Wow!  Nice work on the replacement flaps - definitely a better profile and fit.  Excellent.

[BlrwestSiR]

Alright time for an update even if it's a small one. 

I started on the cockpit finally. Guess I'm doing it backwards since most builds start with the 'pit but anyways 

One thing I decided to do was update the cockpit a bit. I'm using a couple sets of F-35A cockpit details from Eduard. One is for the Trumpy kit and the other one for Italeri. Notice the slight size difference. I'm going to use that to my advantage. 

First up was smoothing out the kit IP panels. I cheated a bit and simply flipped the panels over. The angled ends were cut off and glued back on to the opposite side. Voila, instant smooth IP. Close enough anyways. 

The "backside".

Once dry, I can start painting. 

[Martinnfb]

Smart move,, saves time and sanding stick tree.

Cheers

Martin

[CANicoll]

Brilliant!!  Wish I had thought of that on many previous builds....

[Peterpools]

Carl

Nice solution for sure

[BlrwestSiR]

Ok, here's the IP panels done. 

I painted the side consoles as well.

The black came out darker and flatter than expected. Not the end of the world. 

I finally got the second intake assembled. I then painted them so that hopefully I end up with a clean demarcation between them and the intake trunking. 

[Martinnfb]

clean work Carl 👍

[BlrwestSiR]

Thanks Martin! 

The cockpit is now done. 

[CANicoll]

Carl,  Super detail on those side panel - nicely done!  Toothpick?  The IPs too terrific, too.  Watching this build as I'm thinking about an F-15 in the future..

[BlrwestSiR]

Chris, I use Gundam markers for the little details. They come in many colours and widths and are meant for models. 

They're great for doing the red edges on aircraft landing gear doors. 

[CANicoll]

7 minutes ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Chris, I use Gundam markers for the little details. They come in many colours and widths and are meant for models. 

They're great for doing the red edges on aircraft landing gear doors. 

Chris is furiously checking the website of a local gaming store which sells a bunch of Gudam modeling stuff....  

[BlrwestSiR]

20 minutes ago, CANicoll said:

Chris is furiously checking the website of a local gaming store which sells a bunch of Gudam modeling stuff....  

Oh, that's a dangerous rabbit hole to fall down. Wait until you find other stuff that they carry ...

[BlrwestSiR]

Time to join the front section to the main fuselage. 

I needed to add a spacer to get the correct height between the two sections and not have a step. 

On the bottom, I glued the section immediately aft of the nose gear bay. Once dry, I'll push the rest into place, again trying to limit any steps/gaps. 

[BlrwestSiR]

It's starting to get a bit big. 

[Martinnfb]

This is taking some gnarly shapes Carl. 👍

[BlrwestSiR]

The fit of the intakes needs a bit of work. 

Thankfully I was able to get the lower lip lined up. That's probably the weakest bit of the intakes. 

With a few clamps in place...

...much better. 

Now to let it dry. 

[Martinnfb]

Ouch. That looks really painful.  But you’ve got it handled with ease. 

[BlrwestSiR]

Thanks Martin. Yeah, it was really annoying. The intakes warped one way while the upper bit warped in a different direction. Plus the lower lip was a butt join and only a couple mm wide. 

[BlrwestSiR]

With the intakes dry and the gaps mostly dealt with, I finally added the vertical stabs. 

Because they're canted outwards instead of straight up and down like they were originally, I've had to fill in the gaps along the base. Once that's dry, I'm sure there will be more sanding and filling until smooth. 

[BlrwestSiR]

Next up are the wing pylons. I'm using the Tamiya ones as the detail is a bit more refined. They're a simple fit, just need to drill holes instead of the slots the kit pylons use. 

Both fitted but not yet glued. 

For the centreline, I can use the centreline tank. Another option I have is mounting an ASAT. One of the Revell kits still has the original sprue with an ASAT in it. Could be an interesting load out. Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising anyone?

[Martinnfb]

ASAT painted like V2 ?  

 

[CANicoll]

Love the ASAT idea!!

[BlrwestSiR]

I think I'm going to stick with the drop tank. It'll be closer to what's seen in the anime. Although I will definitely be keeping the ASAT for a future project. 

[BlrwestSiR]

Vertical tailplanes are filled and sanded. I'll see what touchups, hopefully minor if any , are needed after a coat of primer. 

I've now glued the horizontal tailplanes on. 

Again, some decent sized gaps along the top edge so duly filled and puttied. 

This just leaves the canards to mount. 

Edited June 7, 2024 by BlrwestSiR
Fix typo